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Jarrow ( or ) is a town in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the River Tyne and has a population of around 27,000 (2001 Census).
Anglo-Saxons re-occupied a 1st century Roman fort on the site of Jarrow in the 5th century. Its name is recorded around AD 750 as Gyruum, representing Anglo-Saxon [æt] Gyrwum = "[at] the marsh dwellers", from Anglo-Saxon gyr = "mud", "marsh".
Monastery of Saint Paul in Jarrow, part of the twin foundation Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory, was once the home of the Venerable Bede, whose most notable works include The Ecclesiastical History of the English People and the translation of the Gospel of John into Old English.
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Encyclopedia
Jarrow ( or ) is a town in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the River Tyne and has a population of around 27,000 (2001 Census).
History and Naming
Saxon foundation
The Anglo-Saxons re-occupied a 1st century Roman fort on the site of Jarrow in the 5th century. Its name is recorded around AD 750 as Gyruum, representing Anglo-Saxon [æt] Gyrwum = "[at] the marsh dwellers", from Anglo-Saxon gyr = "mud", "marsh".
Wearmouth-Jarrow Priory
The Monastery of Saint Paul in Jarrow, part of the twin foundation Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory, was once the home of the Venerable Bede, whose most notable works include The Ecclesiastical History of the English People and the translation of the Gospel of John into Old English. At the time of its foundation, it was reputed to have been the only centre of learning in Europe north of Rome. In 794 Jarrow became the second target in England of the Vikings, who had plundered Lindisfarne in 793. The Monastery was later dissolved by Henry VIII. The ruins of the Monastery are now associated with and partly built into the present-day church of St. Paul, which stands on the site. One wall of the church contains the oldest stained-glass window in the world, dating from about AD 600. Just beside the Monastery is "Bede's World", a working museum dedicated to the life and times of Bede. Bede's World also incorporates Jarrow Hall, a grade II listed building and significant local landmark.
19th century to present
Jarrow remained a small town until the introduction of heavy industries like coal mining and shipbuilding. Charles Mark Palmer established a shipyard - Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited - here in 1852 and became the first armour-plate manufacturer in the world. John Bowes, the first iron screw collier, revived the Tyne coal trade, and Palmers was also responsible for the first modern cargo ship, as well as a number of notable warships.
Palmers employed as much as 80% of the town's working population until its closure in 1934 following purchase by National Shipbuilders Securities Ltd. This organisation had been set up by Baldwin's Conservative government in the 1920s but the first puiblic statement had been made in 1930 whilst Labour was in office. The aim of NSS was to reduce capacity withing the British shipyards. In fact Palmer's yard was relatively efficient and modern, but had serious financial problems. Around 1,000 ships were built at the yard. As from 1935, Olympic, the sister ship of RMS Titanic, was partially demolished at Jarrow (in 1937 she was towed to Inverkeithing, Scotland for final scrapping). The closure of the shipyard was responsible for one of the events for which Jarrow is most famous. Jarrow is marked in history as the starting point of the Jarrow Crusade (to London) to protest against unemployment in Britain in 1936. Jarrow MP Ellen Wilkinson wrote about these events in her book The Town That Was Murdered (1939). Jarrow was also one of the focuses of Philip Gibbs's absorbing book England Speaks (1935). Some doubt has been cast by historians as to how effective events such as the Jarrow March actually were (Lloyd "Empire to Welfare State",1970), but there is some evidence that they stimulated interest in regenerating 'distressed areas'(Marwick "Britain in our Century", 1984).
Famous former residents of the town, including Ellen Wilkinson MP, Charles Mark Palmer and William Jobling have been remembered in the names of beers produced by Jarrow Brewing Company, a microbrewery in the town.
Twin towns
Jarrow is twinned with the following towns, under the umbrella of the South Tyneside town-twinning project which saw individual twinning projects brought together in 1974:
Wuppertal in Germany, originally twinned with South Shields in 1951.
Noisy-le-Sec in France, originally twinned with Hebburn in April 1963.
Épinay-sur-Seine in France, originally twinned with Jarrow in June 1965.
Education
Jarrow's needs for secondary education are currently served by Jarrow School, formerly Springfield Comprehensive. Springfield was merged with another of Jarrow's secondary schools, Hedworthfield Comprehensive at Fellgate, following a gradual reduction of the number of new pupils for the yearly intake of 11 year olds to the point where keeping both schools open was no longer viable.
As of 2008 plans to revamp Jarrow School have come into action. Building work has now began with aims of turning the school into a modern learning facility with Specialist Engineering Status. The Head Teacher at the school plans to improve the schools grade point average, by improving the learning facilities, costing millions of pounds.
Famous Jarrow residents
- Roger Avon, actor.
- Bede, Benedictine monk and scholar.
- Charlie Cairoli, Circus Entertainer. A foundling discovered in a basket in Ellison Street, 1909. Adopted and moved to Milan, 1910.
- Catherine Cookson, writer.
- Chip Simpson, Famous TV presenter, presented the likes of the Naked Chef, and Chips Talk Time.
- Steve Cram, Olympic Athlete.
- Peter Flannery, playwright.
- William Goat, awarded the Victoria Cross.
- Stephen Hepburn, politician.
- Jarrow Elvis ,Elvis impersonator
- William Jobling, last man to be gibbeted in Britain.
- Lee Kyle, Professional Wrestler, Former IWF Northeast and tag team Champion.
- L.S. Lowry, the artist spent time in Jarrow in 1964.
- Jem Mace Famous pugilist died at 6 Princess Street, Jarrow in 1910.
- John Miles, rock musician, singer, songwriter.
- Jarra Jim half marathon runner
- Fergus Montgomery, Conservative MP.
- Charles Mark Palmer, shipbuilder, first mayor of Jarrow.
- Alan Plater, writer
- Kylie Minogue - Spent Summer of 1981 working at 'Topshop' in Viking Precinct during gap year.
- Alan Price, musician. Alan was born in Washington and brought up in Jarrow.
- David Sharpe, Silver medalist at 1992 European Championships over 800 Metres.
- Patrick Stewart, Star Trek actor, spent the majority of his childhood living in Jarrow, although was born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.
- Paul Thompson, rock musician, drummer of Roxy Music.
- Ellen Wilkinson, Labour MP and Jarrow March organiser.
- Wee Georgie Wood, music hall star.
Transport
Road
Jarrow is reached from the south by the A1(M) via the A194, and is connected to North Tyneside and Northumberland via the Tyne Tunnel.
Metro
Jarrow is served by three stations on the Tyne and Wear Metro: Jarrow station in the centre of the town (on the Yellow line) Bede station in the Bede industrial estate (also on the Yellow line), and Fellgate station (on the Green line) to the south.
Air
The nearest major airport is Newcastle Airport, about 10 miles away.
External links
- - Local council website
- are also in Jarrow Library
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