Bede’s World goes into liquidation

A museum dedicated to the life and times of the Venerable Bede on the site of his monastery has closed with the loss of 27 jobs, writes Elena Curti.

Bede’s World in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, was a popular venue for school trips with pupils encouraged to dress in monks’ habits and get a sense of monastic life in AD 680. They visited the seventh-century church where Bede worshipped and a typical farm of the period.

A statement on the museum’s website stated that it ceased operating on 12 February and that the company was going into administration. It said arrangements had been made to care for the farm animals.

The announcement came as the Friends of the World of Bede raised €40,000 (£31,400) for a facsimile of the earliest Latin Bible, the Codex Amiatinus, which was produced at the monasteries of Wearmouth-Jarrow. The codex was to have gone on display at the museum later this year to mark the 1,300th anniversary of Abbot Ceolfrid taking it to Rome.

According to the OpenCharities website, Bede’s World has lost money for four out of the last five years. For the year ending 31 March 2015, income was listed as £732,569 and expenditure was £1.06m. South Tyneside Council said it had given an annual grant of £152,000 since 2013.

A spokeswoman said that ownership of the land and buildings would revert to the council under the terms of the existing leases. She added: “The council is currently looking at a range of options for the site, and most importantly, to find a more affordable way to keep the facility open in the long term for the people of South Tyneside to enjoy.”

Professor Dame Rosemary Cramp, the Anglo-Saxon archaeologist who excavated the monastery site and founded the first museum there in 1979, said: “People in the North East are proud of their heritage and there has been a massive response to the closure. I hope that whoever takes over Bede’s World will continue its mission.”

On Monday, the decision to close the museum was criticised by the broadcaster Melvyn Bragg. Speaking on BBC Radio 4, he said: “Again and again, when authorities are in trouble, they take it out on culture, which they see as a soft target … These places are our heritage and without them we are just another generation beached up on what happens next.”

The outgoing chairman of the board of trustees, Mike Smith, said the council was prepared to provide funding only if a new board was put in place that could raise more money. “It’s not the end of the world. The council have made that commitment,” he said.