News story

Wearmouth and Jarrow World Heritage bid withdrawn

Decision follows ICOMOS evaluation report’s recommendations

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The decision to withdraw the bid follows an evaluation by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) which has recommended the site is not given World Heritage status. The twin monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow is located on two sites in north-east England. It was founded in the late seventh century AD.

In a statement, a DCMS spokesperson said: “DCMS, English Heritage and the Wearmouth and Jarrow team have agreed that we should withdraw from the nomination process for this year. Clearly, everyone involved is disappointed with the recent ICOMOS evaluation. There is strong local support for the world heritage bid and the team there have done some great work, which ICOMOS have acknowledged. We will study the report further to look at what still needs to be done, building on the work so far.”

Further information

Published 15 May 2012