St George's Church, Osborne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland

The Church of St George has a superb Arts and Crafts decorative interior; it was built in 1888-9 for Charles Mitchell, art collector, partner of the local industrialist Lord Armstrong and father of the painter Charles W. Mitchell. Mitchell chose T. R. Spence as his architect, as Spence had recently enlarged Jesmond Towers, Mitchell's home. Externally the church is rather stern in aspect, with a striking campanile, but the interior decorative scheme, especially in the chancel, is dramatic and beautifully executed. The figures in the chancel mosaic were designed by Charles W. Mitchell and executed by Rust & Co; the highly glazed tiles below, with their abstracted twirling, leafy pattern, were designed by Spence himself, apart from the roundels of the Evangelists; these were by G. W. Rhead. The manufacturer of the tiles is unknown, but they may have also been provided by Rust's. The photographs show the chancel as a whole, then details of the tiles, and finally the mosaic fish design near the font at the west end of the church.

	The chancel; the altar table was carved by local craftsmen from a solid block of white pavanozza marble ten feet long. The floor mosaics show an olive branch, a peacock and other symbols. Tiles line the chancel between the dado and the mosaics above, which portray figures designed by Charles W. Mitchell.
	The north side of the chancel, showing how the tiles and roundels fit into the scheme as a whole.
	The roundel, designed by G. W. Rhead, shows the winged lion of St Mark.
	The Agnus Dei with lettering below - alpha and omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet - signifying the beginning and end of all things.
	The roundel of St Luke, the winged ox.
	The baptistry mosaic showing fish, used to denote the name of Jesus. The mosaic designs throughout the church appear to be based on those found in Ravenna and elsewhere in Italy.