St Johns Roman Catholic church in Billingham. Built 1959-61. Opened 7th June 1961 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
St Johns Roman Catholic church in Billingham. Built 1959-61. Opened 7th June 1961
I too made my first communion at St John’s. Long before the actual church was built. I attended school there. Mass was held in the school hall and my first communion took place there. We school children would donate a coin every Friday to go towards the cost of building the church. Two of my lovely teachers were twins, the misses Welch. One got married and became Mrs English.
I know this church very well and have been going now for what must be about twenty years or more and still attend mass there whenever possible. I was not aware that they used to have film nights in the church but you learn something new everyday
I, too remember the penny films on Friday night at St. John”s school. My brother Harry (now deceased) and I used to have this weekly treat after buying a ha”porth of cough sweets from the Co-op – our weekly treat. I think the adults went to their picture show on Sundays…………..
St John”s Church. Billingham. Hands up if any one can remember(not many now ,I suppose) Friday nights in the church hall, Film night, for one penny you could go Six -o-clock and sit enthralled by the deeds in ,”the Perils of Pauline” seeing her roped to a chair and thrown down a well, thats the end of her , we thought, next week , she got caught on some sort of a peg ,stopped her fall, of course she got free, at 10 yrs of age were worried sick till next friday night.who can forget “Felix The Cat”. all for a penny .all nominations attended, no Problem.Times were hard in them days ,where on earth I found a penny to go I”ll never know