The Bishops Transcripts (copies of original parish records) for large parts of Northumberland and Durham, including Newcastle St. Andrew are online at :
http://search.labs.familysearch.orgClick on "Europe"
Click on "England Diocese of Durham Bishops' Transcripts ca. 1700-1900"
Then select the county, parish and years of interest
There are no indexes so have to be manually searched, records are often mixed up by date, and some dates missing, but its still a massive boon for research. Many hours can be happily spent trawling backwards and forwards searching for your ancestors.
This doesn't help with your search, but something I spotted when looking for parents of Matthew, which you my find interesting if you don't have it already. These things bring our ancestors to life as human beings. An article in the Northern Liberator newspaper, Saturday August 10, 1839.
On Sunday night, Matthew Westerby, bricklayer and freeman of the borough, was returning from the house of a friend, had occasion to pass in front of the Manors Station House. It seems that the "Austrians" were at this moment dragging a ship carpenter, named Hall, into "durance", and Westerby happening to inquire what he had done. Policeman Moore No. 80 gave him a blow with his fist on the side of his head and knocked off his hat, and on his remonstrating swore that he would knock the "Sowl" out of him. Westerby applied for redress to the superintendant, Stephens, who observed that those were troublesome times, and contented himself by laying his injunctions on "80" to be, in future, less profuse of physical force.
Today you could have sued.
Alan.
