Platform for venerable mix of old and the new

The Venerable Bede lived a contemplative life at the Anglo-Saxon monasteries of St Peter's in Wearmouth and St Paul's in Jarrow. Today, he is best known as the author of The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which was completed in 731.

The book shines a light on the Dark Ages and is regarded as the definitive account of early English history. A prolific author, Bede also wrote commentaries on the Bible and observations about the natural world around the monastery.

A Yorkshire-based company is helping to make Bede's life and times accessible to a new generation.

Leeds-based digital agency Numiko hopes it can also play a key role in helping the ancient monastic site to gain the same cultural status as the Pyramids.

Numiko has won a contract to redevelop the website for the twin monasteries of St Peter's and St Paul's.

Including 3D "virtual experiences", the new site will give users an insight into the lives of the monks who lived at the monasteries. It also includes interactive maps about the travels of Benedict Biscop, who founded the monastery of St Peter in 674.

There's also an image gallery featuring relics and learning resources for schools. The website plays an important role in Wearmouth-Jarrow's nomination for World Heritage Site status in 2011.

World Heritage Sites are places judged to be of outstanding cultural and historical interest by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. The list of sites includes Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, and the Victorian model village of Saltaire, near Bradford.

Darren Navier, Numiko creative director, said: "It's an exciting opportunity for us to get involved in the larger project and support the drive for the site to gain World Heritage status.

"Numiko has a great deal of experience in developing interactive platforms and content for the wider cultural, entertainment and arts arenas, so we're really excited by what we can do with this great subject matter. We want to bring it to life and really engage with a wide ranging audience."

Mark Bryant, the Bishop of Jarrow and chairman of the Wearmouth-Jarrow Partnership, said: "We're delighted that Numiko has been appointed to improve the online visitor experience. New features will allow us to reach new audiences and help us share the amazing story of Wearmouth-Jarrow with more people."

Numiko, which has 18 staff and an annual turnover of about 1.26m, was founded in 2000 by a small team of university graduates led by David Eccles and Jaron Ghani.

The agency has received two nominations in this year's national Revolution Innovation Awards. The awards, which will be handed out on April 8 at Grosvenor House in London, recognise excellence in digital marketing. Numiko's recent projects have brought it into contact with a world far removed from Bede's monastic cell. Last month, ITV.com commissioned Numiko to create a website for the show Dancing On Ice, in which 14 celebrities see if they can emulate Torvill and Dean.

Mr Navier commented: "We are extremely happy with the platform we've delivered for this year's Dancing On Ice and feel that its interactivity and creative style perfectly supports both the fun and the glitz that run through the TV shows."

Kate Bradshaw, deputy managing director and head of online commissioning for ITV.com, said: "Dancing on Ice demands a website that fully engages users and reflects the buzz created around these event shows. "

Numiko is no stranger to work on reality television shows. Last year it delivered a new online commission for ITV1's hit show, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. We can only imagine what the Venerable Bede would have made of the Bushtucker Trial.

Inspirational life of scholar Bede

The twin monasteries of Wearmouth-Jarrow were founded in the 7th century, by Benedict Biscop. Venerable Bede described them as "one monastery in two places" and it was one of the world's greatest international cultural centres.

The monastery had one of the best libraries in the world at the time – which gave Bede, Wearmouth-Jarrow's greatest scholar, access to ideas from all over the world.

Monasteries provided education and hospitality for travellers ranging from royalty to pilgrims.

The Venerable Bede was the first person to write a history of the English people, two centuries before there was a united England.

He developed the calculation for Easter that we still use today and also popularised the BC/AD dating system.

He explained how the tides were "dragged" around the surface of the Earth by the moon.

For more information, visit www.wearmouth-jarrow.org.uk.