MONKWEARMOUTH, NEAR JARROW
THE HOME OF THE "VENERABLE BEDE"
=How to get there.=—Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly.
=Nearest Station.=—Jarrow (2 miles north-east from Monkton).
=Distance from London.=—268 miles.
=Average Time.=—Varies between 5-1/4 to 7-1/2 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares=—Single 37s. 7d. … 22s. 3d.
Return 75s. 2d. … 44s. 6d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=—At Jarrow—"Ben Lomond Hotel,"
"Burkett's Hotel."
=Alternative Route.=—Train from St. Pancras. Midland Railway.
Monkwearmouth, a little town 2 miles distant from Jarrow, the large shipbuilding town on the southern bank of the river Tyne, is famous for being the birthplace of the Venerable Bede. Bede, who was born in 673 A.D., was placed, at the age of seven years, in the monastery at Monkwearmouth, from which he went to Jarrow, to the new monastery just built by Benedict Biscop. He remained at Jarrow for the rest of his life, studying the Scriptures and writing books. His greatest work was the Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, which has given him his position as the father of English history. The story of his death is very beautiful. He was translating St. John's Gospel into English when he was attacked by a sudden illness, and felt he was dying. He kept on with his task, however, and continued dictating to his scribe, bidding him write quickly. When he was told that the book was finished he said, "You speak truth, all is finished now," and after singing "Glory to God," he quietly passed away.
The abbey churches of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow are interesting, because they have remained practically unaltered from their construction in the seventh century. The monasteries never grew sufficiently to require great enlargements, and thus they would have been to-day very nearly as the Anglo-Saxon monks saw them. Monkwearmouth Church was built in the Romanesque style by Benedict Biscop, who sent to France for workmen to put in the glass for the church windows. Besides the church, no trace remains of any monastic building at Monkwearmouth. The chancel and tower of the abbey church at Jarrow bear a great resemblance to those of Monkwearmouth, both being the work of Benedict Biscop. The domestic part of the monastery at Jarrow, where Bede lived and died, has disappeared, for the present ruins show Norman and not Saxon work. Monkwearmouth possesses one of the earliest Christian gravestones in England.
[Illustration: Valentine & Sons, Ltd.
MONKWEARMOUTH CHURCH.
Partly built by Bishop Biscop in Bede's time.]