WEARMOUTH-JARROW WORLD HERITAGE PROJECT – 3D & VIRTUAL
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
TENDER REFERENCE: QTLE-7WKJ2D
PRE-QUALIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRE – BRIEFING NOTE
1. Introduction
1.1.
The overall objective at this time is ‘to achieve World Heritage Site status for
Wearmouth-Jarrow in 2010.’
1.2.
This project’s objectives are to:

To provide audiences with relevant, interactive material to explain and
visualise the Wearmouth-Jarrow story

To encourage repeat visits to the website and increase clicks per page

To encourage visits to the physical sites of Wearmouth-Jarrow

To develop a learning tool.
NB - Other works taking place to achieve World Heritage Site status include
producing of the Nomination Document and Management Plan, public
consultation, physical internal works and interpretation in key venues, external
works, signage and marketing and communication activity.
2. Background
2.1.
The twin Anglo-Saxon monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow was one of Europe’s
greatest 7th/8th century cultural centres and inspired the Venerable Bede (673735) to become the greatest scholar of his day. It is to be nominated by the
UK Government for World Heritage Status in January 2010.
2.2.
World Heritage Site status is awarded to the world’s most important cultural
and natural sites. The UK Government is only permitted to make one
nomination for World Heritage Site status per year.
2.3.
Wearmouth-Jarrow’s importance rests in a combination of factors:

The surviving 7th century architecture in the two churches

The archaeological site – known and potential – surrounding the two churches

The surviving 7th century archaeological collections, particularly the windowglass and stone-carving

The visible relationship to the original landscape setting (i.e. at the two river
mouths of the Tyne and the Wear), still evident today

The international connections and inspiration for the site established by
Benedict Biscop, who made 6 journeys across Europe to Rome and brought
stonemasons and glaziers to build in new materials. Ceolfrith, his friend and
successor, also travelled to Rome.

Surviving manuscripts produced at the monastery, including the Codex
Amiatinus – the oldest surviving one-volume Latin Bible in the world.

The works of Bede, Europe’s greatest 8th-century scholar, produced at the
monastery.
2.4.
Nominations for World Heritage Site status are made by the Department for
Culture, Media and Sport (on the advice of English Heritage and ICOMOSUK) to UNESCO (the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation). They are then assessed by ICOMOS (International Council on
Monuments and Sites) and a decision made by the Intergovernmental World
Heritage Committee.
2.5.
The timeline for the process of nomination is:

The public consultation finished 7th July 2009.

The results will be incorporated into the final Management Plan and
Nomination Document, which will be presented to UNESCO by January 2010.

The final decision on whether Wearmouth-Jarrow becomes a World Heritage
Site will be made in July 2011 by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
Therefore the project is running to a very tight schedule and there is a major
emphasis on completing this procurement in a timely fashion and as this part
of the project is funded by Single Programme this task must be delivered and
paid for by March 2010.
3. Scope
3.1.
This contract is to design and build suitable interactive information and
content which can be shared through a number of different hardware options
both on-site and on-line. These could include PC, kiosks, hand held devices
etc. There is currently a Wearmouth-Jarrow website, which this project will
provide more interactive content for, or there could be an option to improve
the existing site, if that is seen to be the best option.
3.2.
The content must be designed to be ‘accessible for all’ and include audio as
well as visual aspects and be developed for a variety of audiences in order to
enable users to:



Interact with information to provide a learning experience
Provide data and knowledge for specific areas of interest
Encourage physical visits to the site
3.3.


The content must include:
3D models of St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church (past and present)
European/World Map to show travels of Bede
3.4.


Other content could include (a sample of ideas):
Fun pages and games for children – colour in a manuscript/dress the monk
Calligraphy/Illuminated manuscripts








3.5.




3.6.
The day in the life of a monk in the 7th century
Downloads such as pod casts/MP3
View and interact with historic materials such as stone carvings, manuscripts
and buildings
Ability to catalogue and view historic materials and collections
Multi media films/slideshows
Virtual tours
Timelines
Image gallery
A central story for this work is faith, from a historical point of view and how
that is embedded in the values we hold today, individually and as a
community. The key story relates to Bede’s story of the founding of the
monastic community of Wearmouth-Jarrow and the contemporary resonance
of:
Arts and creativity
Learning and scholarship
The community
Relations to the city, the region and the wider world
The current website is housed is externally hosted but is updated and
maintained by the communications team at Sunderland City Council. It is
envisaged that the new interactive content will either be housed on this site, or
on a new, improved site.
4. Delivery Times
4.1.
The Wearmouth-Jarrow project is funded by a Single Programme budget and
this task must be delivered and paid for by March 2010. This is a challenging
timetable and we are keen that suppliers appreciate this and can confirm in
their PQQ response what proportion if not all of the deliverables they will be
able to complete by this date.