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In a part of a Tyneside town once known as “little Aberdeen”, a tiny piece of Thailand has taken root.

A church with a landmark 190ft steeple, built mainly to serve hundreds of Presbyterian Scots who settled in Hebburn, is now a Buddhist temple and meditation centre.

The Dhammakaya meditation centre in Church Street, run by five Thai monks, is holding an open day on Saturday.

It is the latest, and most unlikely, chapter in the history of the listed church, whose story began with Andrew Leslie, the son of a displaced Shetlands crofter.

Andrew’s father moved to Aberdeen, and his son was apprenticed to a boilermaker.

When his employer died, Andrew took over the running of the business.

Hearing tales of a booming Tyneside from collier ship crews, Andrew set off for the Tyneside town in 1853, aged 34.

He set up a shipyard, and built hundreds of houses for his workers, many of whom had followed him from Aberdeen, bringing their Presbyterian religion with them.

St Andrew’s Church continued for more than a century but in recent years had fallen empty, attracting around 30 planning bids, including schemes to use it as a brewery and a recording studio.

The building was put up for sale and was bought by the Dhammakaya centre, which is based in Thailand and has bases in London, Manchester and Glasgow.

As part of the event on Saturday, a new image of Buddha, imported from Thailand, will be installed at the temple, which offers weekly meditation and yoga sessions.

Teaching monk Pra-aa-jaan Panchanok Srinualnad has also held his first meditation class for pupils at a North Shields school.

He said: “I think children nowadays have many stresses and meditation helps calm and relax the mind. Dhammakaya is a form of meditation.

“The Buddhist temple has now become part of the local landscape.

“I have asked local people how they feel about the temple and they tell me about the building’s history, and that they know people who have married and worshipped here, and that they are pleased we have brought it alive again.”

Local ward councillor Richard Porthouse, who is chairman of Hebburn Community Area Forum, will attend Saturday’s event.

He said: “The building was going to wrack and ruin, and they have done a fantastic job. It is beautiful inside.”

Visitors on Saturday from 9am to 4pm will be able to experience traditional Buddhist ceremonies, with a parade at 12.30pm.

It is a world away from that of Andrew Leslie who, having established his shipyard, built his workers’ houses and provided rooms for a school, was approached for advice by a deputation as part of a movement to build a Presbyterian church.

He proposed that if the congregation could raise £1,500, he would match the sum.

Eventually, the church cost £10,000, with Andrew meeting most of the cost.

The foundation stone was laid on June 18, 1870, with the band of the 18th Regiment of Foot playing at the celebration lunch and procession to the site.

Andrew Leslie opened the church on April 25, 1873, when among the guests was fellow shipbuilder Charles Mitchell and his wife, who built St George’s Church in Newcastle and lived at Jesmond Towers, later La Sagesse school.

A clock was set in the spire and the six bells were rung on the opening day by the bell ringers from St Nicholas Church in Newcastle.

Soon after Andrew’s retirement, his shipyard merged with the engineering firm of R W Hawthorn.

Andrew Leslie died in 1894 at his home at Coxlodge Hall in Gosforth in Newcastle.

Among the hundreds of vessels built by his shipyard were more than 40 cargo steamers for the Lamport and Holt line between 1860 and the 1890s and 12 ships for the Russians.

The yard launched 45 torpedo-boat destroyers between 1890-1916, including HMS Viper, the world’s first steam turbine-driven warship.

It also produced the liners Ranpura, Ranchi and Andania and its most famous vessel of all, the Second World War destroyer HMS Kelly, whose story was portrayed in the film In Which We Serve.