Jarrow has a rich history that spans well over a thousand years. In the
eighth century the monastery of Saint Paul was the home of the Venerable
Bede, who is regarded as the greatest Anglo-Saxon scholar and the father
of English history. Jarrow remained a small town until the introduction
of heavy industries like coal mining and shipbuilding. Charles Mark
Palmer established a shipyard - Palmer's Shipbuilding and Iron Co. - in
1852 and became the first armour-plate manufacturer in the world. John
Bowes, the first iron screw collier, revived the Tyne coal trade, and
Palmer's was also responsible for the first modern cargo ship, as well
as a number of notable warships. In 1907 there was a terrific slump in
shipbuilding; the whole of the industry was severely affected, but
cracks were to appear in 1915 as the decline tightened its grip. It was
the First World War that was to save Palmer's from closure and revive
the town's fortunes and spirit, as the Royal Navy was greatly in need of
ships to replace the war losses. Jarrow is marked in history as the
starting point in 1936 of the Jarrow March to London to protest against
unemployment in Britain. After 1945 the shipbuilding industries were
nationalised. The last shipyard in Jarrow closed in 1981. Well-known
local author and photographer Paul Perry takes the reader on a tour of
this Tyneside town. Fully illustrated with pictures from the past,
Jarrow From Old Photographs is sure to appeal to anyone who lives or
works in the town.
