St Paul's Church, Jarrow, is a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

in the Parish of

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

and Simonside, on the south bank of the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

in northern England. It was founded in 681 as a part of the

Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Monkwearmouth–Jarrow, known simply as Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey (), was a Benedictine double monastery in the Kingdom of Northumbria, England. Its first house was St Peter's, Monkwearmout ...

. Most of the church is later, but the chancel is the remains of a free-standing chapel of the original monastery. Above the chancel arch is a dedication stone dating to 23 April 685, making this one of, if not the, oldest church dedication stones in England. The Church was dedicated to St Paul by King Ecgfrith and Abbot Ceolfrith. The priest and scholar

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

spent most of his life at the monastery and almost certainly worshipped in the oldest part of the church.

Architecture

Anglo-Saxon

The original church on the site was built in 681 at the behest of King Ecgfrith, who donated land for its constitution as a part of the

. The chancel is the remains of a free-standing chapel of the original monastery. Within the church, in the centre of the North

Nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, the foot of a fine Anglo-Saxon cross is on display, its surviving Latin inscription reads: ''In this unique sign, life is restored to the word''. On an inner wall of the tower is a dedication stone dating to 23 April 685, making this one of, if not the oldest, church dedication stones in England. The Church was dedicated to St Paul in the 15th year of King Ecgfrith and the 4th year of the Abbot Ceolfrith. The remains and markers for some of the later (medieval) abbey can be found in the church ground. In 794, the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

sacked the church and monastery, but in 1074 it was repaired and the monastery refounded by Aidwin, Prior of

Winchcombe Abbey Winchcombe Abbey is a now-vanished Benedictine abbey in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire; this abbey was once in the heart of Mercia, an Anglo Saxon kingdom at the time of the Heptarchy in England. The Abbey was founded c. 798 for three hundred Bene ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. The monastery became a daughter house of the Benedictine community in Durham. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries, St Paul's became a parish church.

Gothic and Gothic Revival

The rest of the church is much later. The late 15th-century choir stalls on the north side of the chancel are noteworthy. The nave and the north aisle were built by Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

. There is, in addition to the older windows, including a few pieces of Anglo-Saxon stained glass, a more modern window by John Piper (1903–92).The church also has on display 'Bede’s Chair' (but evidence suggests that this originated after

's death).

Modern

Three works by

Fenwick Lawson Fenwick Justin John Lawson, Royal College of Art, ARCA (born 19 May 1932 in South Moor, County Durham) is an English sculptor based in the north-east of England. Life Fenwick Lawson was born in 1932 in South Moor, County Durham, and spent his ...

can be found in the church, "The Risen Ascended Christ", "Bede", and "St Michael and the Devil".

References

Other references

* Boyle, J. R. (1887). ''Hand-book to the Church and Monastery of St. Paul, Jarrow: with a short account of the life of the Venerable Bede''. Newcastle-on-Tyne: W. Scott. * Colgrave, Bertram. (1959). ''A Guide to St. Paul's Church, Jarrow, and its Monastic Buildings'', Gloucester * Cramp, R. J. (1976). ''St Paul’s Church, Jarrow. The archaeological study of Churches'' (CBA research report 13., p. 28‑36). London: Addyman (P.) & Morris (R.). * Jenkins, Simon. (2002). ''England's Thousand Best Churches''. London: Penguin Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jarrow, St Paul's Church 7th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in Tyne and Wear