Bishop celebrates 20 years of the Angel of the North

The 66 feet steel angel presides over Gateshead and has been standing there 20 years.

Bishop Mark told Premier he loves how the angel has become a place that is visited by locals who just want to think and people who plan to propose.

He told Premier: “I suppose what fascinates me and what I love about the angel is that the angel has become a place to which local people come for the things that really matter in life.”

He explained that a number of years ago he saw a man drive up to the angel after having been in hospital with a heart attack and had said: “I’m out now and I had to come and see the angel”.

Bryant also recalled how he saw a man get down on one knee there and propose to his girlfriend and that many people have made memorials to family members that have died at the foot of the angel.

“There’s just a sense that over the 20 years the people of the North East have taken the angel to their hearts,” he said.

“I live exactly one mile from the Angel of the North and in the ten and a half years that I’ve been in the north east I’ve really come to love the angel. I drive past it a couple of times a day and there’s nearly always someone there.”

The Angel is seen by 33 million every year and was installed in February 1998. 

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

Rt Rev Mark Bryant, the Bishop of Jarrow, has said the Angel of the North plays a significant part in people’s lives.