£72,000 grant to keep Jarrow Hall Anglo-Saxon farm, village and Bede Museum going during pandemic

Jarrow Hall Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village and Bede Museum, is one of 588 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support, with £76million of investment. This follows £257million awarded to 1,385 organisations, also from CRF.

Jarrow Hall, formerly Bede’s World, has been operated by environmental charity Groundwork since 2016 in partnership with South Tyneside Council.

The venue’s visitor numbers had grown year on year before the pandemic forced it to close between March and July. In May the Church Bank tourist attraction was also stuck by vandals.

The grant will help keep the venue open over the autumn and reopen in February. The money will support the development of digital tools for use by local communities and school groups, develop the farm and support the installation of new exhibitions and engagement tools at the museum.

The grants are overseen by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Further funding in the cultural and heritage sector is due to be announced over the coming weeks.

Chief executive of Groundwork South Tyneside, Andrew Watts, said: “Since we reopened in July 2020, feedback from visitors has been overwhelmingly positive, people felt safe and thought that Jarrow Hall offered value for money.

“We have welcomed back our dedicated volunteers who have been invaluable support.’

“This funding will enable us to continue throughout autumn and get the site and programming ready for opening in February 2021. The team are very grateful for the lifeline we have been provided.”

Chair of Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said: “Culture is an essential part of life across the country, helping to support people’s wellbeing through creativity and self-expression, bringing communities together, and fuelling our world class creative industries.

“This latest set of awards from the Culture Recovery Fund builds on those announced recently and will help hundreds of organisations to survive the next few months, ensuring that the cultural sector can bounce back after the crisis.

“We will continue doing everything we can to support artists and cultural and creative organisations.”

Jarrow Hall is open Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.

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