Jarrow

Town in Tyne and Wear, northeast England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, 10 km/6 mi east of Newcastle and connected with the north bank by the Tyne Tunnel (1967); population (2001) 27,900. Industries include the production of chemicals, oil, iron and steel, processed foods, industrial pipework, and paper. In 1933 the closure of Palmer's shipyard in Jarrow prompted the Jarrow Crusade of 1936, a landmark event of the Depression.

The Venerable Bede lived in a monastery here from about 682 until his death in 735.

Features The chancel of St Paul's Church incorporates part of the original 7th-century monastic foundation, as well as a Saxon window with Saxon stained glass. Bede's World illustrates the history of the monastery and the life of Bede.

Early history The marsh for which Jarrow is named is the Jarrow Slake (a corruption of Jarrow's Lake), an estuary of the Tyne to the east of the town. Bede wrote his Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum/Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731) while living in the monastery.

Industrial history In the 19th century coalmining began in the area, the shipbuilding industry was established by the Palmer brothers, and iron works were founded alongside the shipyards. The world's first oil tanker was produced here and some 900 ships were launched from Jarrow prior to 1933. However, demand for ships and steel declined after World War I and many of the workforce became unemployed.