Jarrow Hall – Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village and Bede Museum

St. Paul's Monastery

The reconstructed Anglo-Saxon farm

Jarrow Hall - Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village and Bede Museum (formerly Bede's World) is a museum in Jarrow, South Tyneside, England, re-opening in October 2016 which will celebrate of the life of the Venerable Bede; a monk, author and scholar who lived in at the Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Wearmouth-Jarrow, a double monastery at Jarrow and Monkwearmouth, (today part of Sunderland), England.

The site will feature a museum and other educational services dedicated to the life and times of the famous monk, with other features and attractions - including a reconstructed Anglo-Saxon farm and the 18th Century Georgian building Jarrow Hall itself - reflected in a calendar of activities, including special themed events, an educational programme for schools and heritage skills workshops, alongside space for businesses and events.^[1]

History

The Anglo-Saxon attraction Bede's World opened on an 11-acre site in Jarrow in 1993 at a cost of almost £10m, and was run by the Bede's World Charitable Trust, with grant support from the local council. Although the complex attracted 70,000 visitors a year, it became no longer financially viable and ceased operation in February 2016.^[2]

The writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg was critical of its closure, and in an item on BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House in 2016, he contrasted the museum's plight to the funding made available to the Garden Bridge Project in London.^[3]

Reopening

It was announced in August 2016 that the former Bede's World site would re-open in October of the same year as 'Jarrow Hall – Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village and Bede Museum', to be managed by the charity Groundwork's South Tyneside and Newcastle trust.^[4]

Features

While the site operated as Bede's World, the main museum building featured an "Age of Bede" exhibit, which included excavated artefacts from the historic monastery such as stained glass, imported pottery, coins and stone carvings, and exhibits about Anglo-Saxon culture, Bede's life and works, the life of a monk, and the medieval Kingdom of Northumbria.

There was a working reconstructed Anglo-Saxon farm called Gyrwe (pronounced "Yeerweh") after the Old English name for Jarrow, showing animal husbandry with full-size reconstructions of three timber buildings from Northumbria based on the evidence of archaeological work. Thirlings Hall was the largest, with animal hide and other objects. The wood-burning fire in the form of a small pit/designated area was used throughout the year, and allowed for a great smell to filter through the building. The two other buildings, smaller in size, were a grubenhaus - a sunken building used as a cold store - and a monk's cell. All buildings are thatched and were built using traditional techniques.

The farm animals were of similar breeds to animals that would have been present circa 1300 years ago, to simulate the types of animals which would have been seen in Anglo-Saxon England; cattle are smaller and sheep more varied - before selective breeding methods were introduced. Ancient strains of wheat and vegetables, such as those the monks might have eaten, were selectively grown on site.

Visitors were able to tour the ruins of the Anglo-Saxon monastery of St Paul, which had been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The site also featured a café located in Jarrow Hall, an 18th Century Georgian property adjacent to the museum, the Medieval herb garden situated at the rear of Jarrow Hall with over 200 species of herbs, and a gift shop situated within the museum. Bede's World also housed conference facilities, both within Jarrow Hall and the main museum building.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jarrow Hall – Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village and Bede Museum.

• Jarrow Hall Official Site

Coordinates: 54°58′57″N 1°28′26″W / 54.9824°N 1.4739°W / 54.9824; -1.4739