On 4 December 1849, St Cuthbert's Church in South Shields was opened.

It was opened by Bishop William Hogarth, the Apostolic Vicar of the Northern District.

[5] By the early 1870s, St Cuthbert's Church had become too small to accommodate its congregation.

The site of the current church on Westoe Street was purchased by the priest Canon Waterton.

The architect was recorded by Nikolaus Pevsner in The Buildings of England as being Gibson Lidbetter under the supervision of Thomas Cooke Nicholson.

[5] St Bede’s Catholic Primary School is located in the parish, adjacent to west of the church.