St.Matthew’s Church, as it stands today, was built on the site of the former church at Newbottle. The former church was built in October 1850 and consecrated and opened in December 1850, as a Chapel of Ease for the mother church at Houghton-Le-Spring; the land was given by the Earl of Durham.This church eventually became too small, as it only seated approximately 200 people for worship, so it was decided to build a new larger church on the same site.