Three specially commissioned stained glass windows are unveiled at Bede's World by the Mayor of South Tyneside, Councillor Alan Kerr, on 1st December 2001, to coincide with the beginning of Advent.

The three windows are modern works of art inspired by the Golden Age of Northumbria. They celebrate Bede and the twin monastery of St Peter and St Paul's, Wearmouth-Jarrow, in which he lived and worked. The middle window shows Bede, writing. The other windows look north, towards the monastery of Lindisfarne, home of the famous Gospels, and south, towards Hild's monasteries at Whitby and Hartlepool. All three windows draw inspiration from artefacts from Northumbria's Golden Age - for example, the Lindisfarne Gospels, the St Petersburg Bede, and the Whitby Cross.

Stained glass artist Paul Georgiou said: 'I was inspired by the brilliance of Bede: his mind was so far ahead of his time. In the central window I wanted to capture something of the essence of his soul. This is one of the most unusual and exciting designs I have created in over 20 years as a stained glass artist. I gathered a unique collection of old stained glass to put into these windows, and in some cases I painted the same pieces three or four times to get the designs exactly right. I am very pleased with the end result.'

Return to Home Page