Jarrow Hall lands £250,000 to restore buildings at Anglo-Saxon village, aiming to bring 'skills of the past for the future'

Visitors, volunteers and the community are set to benefit after a £250,000 lottery grant was awarded to restore buildings at a popular South Tyneside attraction.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Groundwork South and North Tyneside has landed a £249,979 grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore the reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village at Jarrow Hall Museum, ‘delivering skills from the past for the future’.

Bosses at the charity, which runs the attraction, say, thanks to National Lottery players, the project will work with people from the community alongside heritage specialists to restore three reconstructed Anglo-Saxon dwellings, supporting volunteers to learn new heritage skills and bringing the village to life for visitors.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Groundwork say there will be opportunities for people to be involved in this over the next two years.

Alene Lee, Dr Marco Romeo-Pitone, Dr Amanda Wintcher (volunteer), Andrew Watts, Jim Robertson (volunteer), Councillor Joan Atkinson, Chris Carr (volunteer)Alene Lee, Dr Marco Romeo-Pitone, Dr Amanda Wintcher (volunteer), Andrew Watts, Jim Robertson (volunteer), Councillor Joan Atkinson, Chris Carr (volunteer)
Alene Lee, Dr Marco Romeo-Pitone, Dr Amanda Wintcher (volunteer), Andrew Watts, Jim Robertson (volunteer), Councillor Joan Atkinson, Chris Carr (volunteer)

The project aims to carry out essential restoration of the timber framed dwellings, creating volunteering roles and skills workshops in practical heritage skills such as thatching, carpentry, textiles and bee keeping.

It will also see the installation of an accessible composting toilet, improvements to the Jarrow Hall website with 3D scans of the dwellings and recruitment of a culture engagement apprentice to support the team.

Originally built in 1995 after the ground-breaking archaeological dig which took place at the nearby St Paul’s Church, the museum includes an extensive open-air Anglo-Saxon demonstration farm and authentically reconstructed Anglo-Saxon dwellings, based on structures excavated in Northumbria, giving visitors an impression of the world Bede would have known during his childhood.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The village now built nearly thirty years ago and bosses say it is in desperate need of repair, and the specialist support and training will keep threatened heritage skills alive, passing knowledge to younger generations and bringing history to life for 30,000 annual visitors.

A file picture from Jarrow Hall.A file picture from Jarrow Hall.
A file picture from Jarrow Hall.

Andrew Watts, chief Executive of Groundwork, said: “We’re delighted that we’ve received this support thanks to National Lottery players. This project marks the next step in our 15 year masterplan and delivers on our access for all ambition, as we create training and volunteering opportunities for young and old alike and bring Anglo-Saxon Northumbria to life – enriching lives through culture and heritage”

Councillor Joan Atkinson, deputy leader of South Tyneside Council, with responsibility for Culture, Leisure and the Visitor Economy, said: “This is fantastic news for Groundwork, for the Jarrow Hall site and for the wider Borough.

“This funding support will not only help to restore and preserve our history and heritage assets for visitors to enjoy in the future but give people the chance to access specialist training and develop traditional building and craft skills that have continued to survive for hundreds of years.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

David Renwick, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, this project will not only give people the opportunity to not only learn about heritage, but to become truly involved in it by trying their hand at some really impressive heritage skills, such as thatching. We know that giving people a chance to have a closer understanding and relationship to their heritage reaps many benefits, and we are really proud to be supporting Groundwork to deliver the ‘Skills from the Past for the Future’ project.”

Jarrow Hall, Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village and Bede Museum is a unique 11 acre site, dedicated to the life and legacy of Bede and the Golden Age of Northumbria.

If you would like to get involved, contact Marco Romeo-Pitone [email protected] or visit https://jarrowhall.com/