The Friends of St Paul, Jarrow

AGM - 28th April 2007

From the Chairman

Major News from 2006

The most significant news of 2006 was that the Wearmouth-Jarrow monastery (comprising St Paul, Jarrow and St Peter, Wearmouth) has been awarded the United Kingdom\'s 2009 nomination for World Heritage Site status. If all goes to plan, we shall be inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2010. This is a major landmark in the history of St Paul\'s, and a recognition of the significance of the place itself, and of its most famous son, The Venerable Bede, in the history of European and world history.

Although there is much to do yet, the news is just cause for rejoicing!

Other significant happenings in the year past

The major funding need at St Paul\'s continues to be the Roof Appeal. The Nave roof was renewed in 2005, leaving the North Aisle roof to be done later when the funds are available; the estimated cost of the works being around £150,000. For most of the year the Church Council was engaged in preparing and submitting a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a grant to enable this work to be carried out. In the meantime there has been ongoing fundraising, and we have to date raised over £5,000 from other sources. The news from the HLF came in January 2007 and was mixed: a grant of £70,000 was being offered. This would leave us with another £75,000 to raise from other sources, whic is a very tall order. The Church Council is presently taking advice from English Heritage and others about how we might be able to do this. The help and support of our Friends would be invaluable in this.

In addition to the ongoing effort for the roof, St Paul\'s has hosted another very succesful Jarrow Lecture in 2006 (\"Maps in the Age of Bede\", by Professor Paul Harvey). The ever-more popular Bede\'sWay pilgrimage attracts people all year, andparticularly for the annual pilgrimage on the last Saturday in June: some 75 walked with us this time. There has also been a successful programme of occasional concerts, featuring performers ranging from members of the Royal Philoharmonic Orchestra
through to the local Church Primary School choirs. These concerts are always very well received, and well worth atending. Long may they continue.

More about all this at the AGM. I hope to see you there. Best wishes,


24.11.2007 18:23 - Fr Bill

Our prayers and sincere hopes for recovery go out to the flood victims in Mexico.
02.11.2007 05:32 - Andy Wiltshire.