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.