Herrington is an area in the south of
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
, lying within
historic
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
in
North East England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
.
''The Herringtons'' are split into ''East & Middle'' and ''West'' and ''New'' villages. East and Middle Herrington is now a largely residential area just off the
A690
The A690 is a road in County Durham running from Sunderland in the east through Durham to Crook.
Route Sunderland section
Throughout the Sunderland section it is known as either ''Durham Road'' or ''New Durham Road'', and is one of the major r ...
. West and New Herrington are across the
A19 road
The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road. Although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in Doncaster, but the old ...
from East and Middle Herrington near
Doxford International Business Park
Doxford International is a business park located at the A19 / A690 interchange on the outskirts of Sunderland, in the North East of England. Previously it was a greenfield site, it was designated as an Enterprise Zone in 1990 in response to ...
.
History
The land was claimed by the Monks of St Cuthbert and belonged to the possessions of the Bishoprics of Lindisfarne and later
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
. For centuries, dating back as far as 1200, the villages were small farming communities. All the farms in the Herrington area were originally owned by the Lambton Estates, with the Lambton's mark (glazed earthenware ram's head) being displayed prominently on one of the buildings in each farm.
Herrington was expanded in the 1960s to include houses and the local school. This is when Herrington became a suburb of Sunderland. The houses were built by several private building firms working under one contract; one firm that was involved was Taylor's and Thompson's of Sunderland.
Herrington Hall
From at least Tudor times there was a Hall in Middle Herrington, occupied by a local family called Robinson. A long line of Robinsons lived here with property at
Cleadon
Cleadon is a suburban village in South Tyneside in the North East of England. Prior to the creation of Tyne and Wear in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, the village was part of the historic County Durham. In the 2011 UK Census the popul ...
,
Hetton-le-Hole
Hetton-le-Hole is a town situated in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It is in the historic county of Durham. A182 runs through the town, between Houghton-le-Spring and Easington Lane (the latter borders the County Durham Distri ...
,
Whitburn and
Houghton-le-Spring
Houghton-le-Spring ( ) is a town in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, North East England which has its recorded origins in Norman times. Historically in County Durham, it is now administered as part of the Tyne and Wear county. It is s ...
but their principal business interests became centred on the quayside at
Southwick where they were maltsters. In the late 18th Century one Robinson married
Robert Surtees, the great historian of the country; another married a son of the poet
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...
. The last to live there was Ralph Robinson but in 1795 it was sold to William Beckwith from Thurcroft,
The west park which was once part of the Herrington Hall estate is under review for development by
Sunderland council
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
for a modern housing complex. The local residents set up a group called save west park to combat the action of housing being built on old historic land once being part of
Lord lambtons estate. They have a facebook page and website.
Herrington Country Park
In the 19th century, the
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
Coalfield began to take shape, and a number of
collieries
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
were established in the area, including one in New Herrington. Today, the former colliery site is the Herrington Country Park which plays host to the Durham County Show and the North East Motor Show. On 7 and 8 May 2005,
Radio 1's Big Weekend
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...
was staged on the Herrington Country Park site. Notable artists who performed that year include
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
,
Kasabian
Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karlof ...
and
The Black Eyed Peas
Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...
. On 16 June 2012, the
Olympic Torch
The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...
came through the park and
Blue Peter
''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...
came live from the event.
Sport
The now-defunct
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club Herrington Swifts were in existence in the early 20th century.
Jack Middlemas
John Robert Middlemas (17 January 1896 – 24 April 1984) was an English footballer.
Career
Easington-born Middlemas played for Herrington Swifts and Blyth Spartans before joining Hull City in March 1922. After making 10 league appearances for ...
, who played over 200 league games for
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
, began his career with Swifts, as did
James Bewick
James Bewick (21 December 1906 – 1979) was an English footballer who played in defence for Newcastle United, Port Vale, Walsall, Yeovil & Petters United, and South Shields.
Career
Bewick played for Herrington Swifts and Newcastle United, ...
and
Stanley Cowie
Stanley Cowie (1890 – August 1927) was an English professional footballer. An inside right, he played in the Football League for Blackpool and was also on the books of Exeter City. His body was "found in the River Tyne
The River Tyne is ...
.
Jordan Henderson born in East Herrington, now playing for Liverpool in the English premier league.
External links
The Herrington Heritage Group{{T&W places
City of Sunderland suburbs
Sunderland