Jarrow Hall

Discover Jarrow’s own open air, living history museum, across our Anglo-Saxon village and delve into Anglo-Saxon life during the time of Bede. Learn about the animal residents of “Gyrwhe” and discover the primitive, rare breed and rescued animals that would have been present in Anglo-Saxon Northumbria.

Our experimental buildings were developed based upon archaeological excavations carried out in Northumberland. Thirlings Hall represents a large, high status hall where people would have feasted and held meetings. Our Monastic Workshop cell would have been used for praying and reading, and the Grubenhaus would have been used for many purposes including, grain storage, weaving and as a sleeping accommodation.

Our museum tells the story of Bede and his time, from the beginnings of the Anglo-Saxon period through his life, death and extraordinary legacy. Widely regarded as the ‘father of English history’, Bede was an author, scholar, linguist and translator who also composed works on astronomical timekeeping and the motions of the sun, Earth and Moon. An English monk at the twin monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow, his most famous work is The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. One of the most important original references on Anglo-Saxon history, this work also played a key role in the development of an English national identity. Home to Europe’s largest collection of coloured glass from the 7th and 8th centuries alongside unique stonework, artefacts, and the Abbadia Reliquary gifted to Jarrow Hall as part of our twinning with the Museum of the Abbey in Tuscany. The museum also hosts a full-sized reproduction of Codex Amiatinus; the oldest complete Latin Bible in existence. While one copy was passed on through time, the other two have been lost to history and our exhibition tells this incredible story. Codex Amiatinus and the coloured glass were featured as part of the Great Exhibition of the North’s A History of the North in 100 Objects.