Totem storyboards planned at 'healing' well as first step to restore derelict site

THE site has been derelict and neglected for years - but now the first stage of a plan to revitalise historic St Bede's Well in South Tyneside is coming to fruition. Sitting untended and virtually forgotten on the border of Hebburn and Jarrow, the story of the former 'healing' or 'dipping' well - named after the local saint, Venerable Bede - can be traced back centuries.

- By DAVID MORTON

The first step in the process of breathing new life into the crumbling relic will be the installation of totem storyboards on Campbell Park Road, Hebburn, not far from the well, outlining the site's fascinating history, much of which has been lost to the passage of time.

The impetus for reclaiming the site has come from a local Facebook group, Friends of St Bede's Well (sister group of Pictorial Hebburn) which has secured financial and practical support from South Tyneside Council, Hebburn and Jarrow Community Area Forums, local businesses, individuals and charitable concerns.

A spokesperson for the group said: "We have a three-stage plan for the restoration of the site and the first part is marking the site with two totem storyboards detailing the history of St Bede's Well, using some of our fantastic old photographs and pictures. The installation of the storyboards is taking place this month near the road on Campbell Park Road. We then hope to raise funds to protect the site of the well, then finally to restore the well itself."