South Tyneside Council has stepped in to safeguard a local heritage attraction to ensure it has a long term future in the local community.
Bede’s World, the Anglo Saxon museum and farm in Church Bank, Jarrow, celebrated the life and work of one of England’s greatest scholars, the Venerable Bede.
Until recently, the venue had been run by Bede’s World Charitable Trust, with the Council providing substantial grant support. Despite this support being maintained, the Trust became insolvent, with the ownership of the land and buildings reverting back to the Council.
Since then the Council has been working to put a new operator in place to carry on the work of celebrating Bede and the Borough’s Anglo Saxon history and to introduce a range of new services and facilities to strengthen the appeal of the site.
Councillor Alan Kerr, Deputy Leader of South Tyneside Council with responsibility for Culture and Leisure, said: “Bede’s World was an important cultural and heritage attraction giving visitors a fascinating insight into Anglo Saxon life.
“Following concerns over the sustainability of the trust and careful consideration of a number of options, we believe we have found a solution to ensure this venue has a long term future for the people of South Tyneside and the wider region.
“We want the site to remain open for education, training and community uses and feel this option would protect this valuable place of learning from closure in the long run.”
The Council is in discussions with local ‘Changing Places Changing Lives’ charity Groundwork South Tyneside and Newcastle (STAN) about taking on the lease of the Bede’s World site. The organisation has an excellent track record in improving environments, creating educational and training opportunities and enhancing neighbourhoods.
South Tyneside Council already has a long standing partnership with Groundwork which currently manages the community facilities at Marsden Road Health and Wellbeing Centre, along with many others. The organisation’s extensive portfolio ranges from environmental and community engagement projects to public events, business, education and training.
Councillor Kerr added: “The Council has a successful partnership with Groundwork and its contribution to developing innovative and practical solutions in local communities is highly valued across South Tyneside.
“Groundwork has a strong community engagement ethos and we are really excited at the prospect of leasing Jarrow Hall, the farm and museum to Groundwork. We look forward to supporting the organisation as it develops its work to protect, preserve and improve this wonderful heritage and educational attraction for future generations to enjoy.”
The aim is to grow the educational and training elements of the attraction while retaining the museum and driving up visitor numbers by offering a wider range of family fun activities.
Andrew Watts, Executive Director of Groundwork STAN, said: “The opportunity to be part of this wonderful educational and cultural facility fits well within Groundwork’s vision and strategy as we have great expertise in supporting projects that are of importance to local communities.
“We firmly believe we can work in a highly positive way with the Council and partners to preserve the history and importance of the site, whilst ensuring the commercial viability of the venue for the future.
“Subject to the finer detail, we believe there is an exciting future ahead for the site and we hope to work with schools, colleges and universities to build on the excellent legacy of educating the people of the north east and beyond about Anglo Saxon times and Bede himself.
“To add value to the Bede’s World site, we are investigating new ways to create a wider visitor attraction and community offer, such as craft fairs, summer plays and celebration events.
“Over the next few weeks we will be developing our ideas and we will be working with partners to finalise our plans.”
The move has been supported by Jarrow MP Stephen Hepburn, who said: “Bede’s World has been a hugely valuable and internationally recognised cultural and educational resource to the Borough and our region as well as being of world historical and religious importance.
“Since the sudden closure of Bede’s World was announced, I have been in extremely productive talks with the Council to see this much loved facility reopened at the earliest opportunity. I am delighted that a solution has been found to preserve the long term future of the Bede’s World site for the local community and of course the wider region.”