The world of work down the decades
THE STORY OF JARROW IN A NEW BOOK
YOU could argue that Jarrow provides an apt metaphor for the life and times of wider industrial Tyneside.
Anybody who knows the town will know that it went from boom to bust, before slowly recovering and re-inventing itself.
A new book by Paul Perry, the photographer and a leading authority on the history of Jarrow, recalls the long, tumultuous story of the town’s working life.
Paul who was born and bred there has produced over 20 photographic and history books, and this new one again features many striking images from his 25,000-strong personal archive.
Jarrow At Work explores the life of the town and its people, from pre-industrial beginnings through to the present day, using 150 photographs and illustrations.
It takes us through the phenomenal growth of the shipbuilding industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
We see its subsequent decline and brief revival during the Second World War when the Royal Navy needed more ships.
Then there is the post-War nationalisation of the shipbuilding industry; the closure, in 1980, of the last shipyard in the town; and finally the book looks at how the town is coping today with the loss of such a major part of its history.
Paul said: “Jarrow has a rich history going back well over 1,000 years but the town is best known for its longterm association with shipbuilding.
“It 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 Company – in 1852 and it 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.
“Palmer’s employed as much as 80% of the town’s working population until its closure in 1933 following purchase by National Shipbuilders Securities Ltd.
“The closure of the shipyard was responsible for one of the events for which Jarrow is best known. The town is marked in history as the starting point in 1936 of the Jarrow Crusade to London to protest against unemployment in Britain and call for the return of jobs to the town.” ■■Jarrow at Work: People and Industries Through The Years, by Paul Perry. Amberley Publishing. £14.99. On sale now.