In addition to the plate glass and pressed glass manufacturers there were 16 bottle works on the Wear in the 1850s, with the capacity to produce between 60 and 70,000 bottles a day.
In 1848 George Hudson's
York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway
The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR) was an English railway company formed in 1847 by the amalgamation of the York and Newcastle Railway and the Newcastle and Berwick Railway. Both companies were part of the group of business interest ...
built a passenger terminus,
Monkwearmouth Station, just north of Wearmouth Bridge; and south of the river another passenger terminus, in Fawcett Street, in 1853. Later,
Thomas Elliot Harrison
Thomas Elliot Harrison (4 April 1808 – 20 March 1888) was a British engineer. Born in Fulham, London, he was raised in the north east of England, where his father was a promoter of early railway companies; after an apprenticeship under William ...
(chief engineer to the
North Eastern Railway) made plans to carry the railway across the river; the
Wearmouth Railway Bridge (reputedly 'the largest Hog-Back iron girder bridge in the world') opened in 1879.
![An Aerial view of Sunderland (9105585273)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/An_Aerial_view_of_Sunderland_%289105585273%29.jpg)
In 1854 the Londonderry, Seaham & Sunderland Railway opened linking collieries to a separate set of staiths at Hudson Dock South, it also provided a passenger service from Sunderland to Seaham Harbour.
In 1886–90 a new Town Hall was built in Fawcett Street, just to the east of the railway station, designed by
Brightwen Binyon
Brightwen Binyon, FRIBA, (30 May 1846 – 21 September 1905) was a British architect.
Life
He was born at Headley Grange, Victoria Park, Manchester, the son of Edward Binyon (1791–1855), a sugar refiner and tea dealer, and his wife Jane née ...
.
By 1889 two million tons of coal per year was passing through Hudson Dock, while to the south of Hendon Dock, the Wear Fuel Works distilled
coal tar
Coal tar is a thick dark liquid which is a by-product of the production of coke and coal gas from coal. It is a type of creosote. It has both medical and industrial uses. Medicinally it is a topical medication applied to skin to treat psoriasi ...
to produce pitch, oil and other products.
![1937wembleylapofhonour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/1937wembleylapofhonour.jpg)
The 20th century saw
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...
established as the Wearside area's greatest claim to sporting fame. Founded in 1879 as Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C. by
schoolmaster
The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled after B ...
James Allan, Sunderland joined
The Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
for the
1890–91 season.
Mackem
![Deptford, Sunderland 14](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Deptford%2C_Sunderland_14.9.1917.jpg)
From 1900 – 1919 an
electric tram system was built and was gradually replaced by buses during the 1940s before being ended in 1954. In 1909 the
Queen Alexandra Bridge
The Queen Alexandra Bridge is a road traffic, pedestrian and former railway bridge spanning the River Wear in North East England, linking the Deptford and Southwick areas of Sunderland. The steel truss bridge was designed by Charles A. Har ...
was built, linking
Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...
and
Southwick.
![Women working in the shipyard (10817948524)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Women_working_in_the_shipyard_%2810817948524%29.jpg)
The First World War increased shipbuilding, leading to being a target in a 1916
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
raid and Monkwearmouth struck on 1 April 1916 and 22 people died. Over 25,000 men from a population of 151,000 served in the armed forces during the war.
Through the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of the 1930s, shipbuilding dramatically declined: shipyards on the Wear went from 15 in 1921 to six in 1937.
The small yards of J. Blumer & Son (at North Dock) and the Sunderland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (at Hudson Dock) both closed in the 1920s, and other yards were closed down by
National Shipbuilders Securities
National Shipbuilders Security was a UK Government body established in 1930, under the Chairmanship of Sir James Lithgow, of the eponymous Clyde shipbuilding giant Lithgows. The remit of National Shipbuilders Security was to remove over-capacity ...
in the 1930s.
By 1936 the Sunderland AFC had been league champions on five occasions. They won their first
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
in
1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
.
![Wearmouth Bridge to the Sea 2nd March 1967](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Wearmouth_Bridge_to_the_Sea_2nd_March_1967.jpg)
With the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1939, Sunderland was a key target of the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
bombing, 267 people died and local industries destroyed.
and damage or destruction to 4,000 homes.
Many old buildings remain despite the bombing that occurred during World War II. Religious buildings include Holy Trinity Church, built in 1719 for an independent Sunderland, St Michael's Church, built as Bishopwearmouth Parish Church and now known as Sunderland Minster and St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth, part of which dates from AD 674, and was the original monastery.
St Andrew's Church, Roker, known as the "Cathedral of the
Arts and Crafts Movement", contains work by
William Morris
William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...
,
Ernest Gimson
Ernest William Gimson (; 21 December 1864 – 12 August 1919) was an English furniture designer and architect. Gimson was described by the art critic Nikolaus Pevsner as "the greatest of the English architect-designers". Today his reputatio ...
and
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...
.
St Mary's Catholic Church is the earliest surviving Gothic revival church in the city. After the war, more housing was built and the town's boundaries expanded in 1967 when neighbouring
Ryhope
Ryhope ( ) is a coastal village along the southern boundary of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, North East England. With a population of approximately 14,000, measured at 10.484 in the 2011 census, Ryhope is 2.9 miles to the centre of S ...
,
Silksworth
Silksworth is a suburb of the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. The area can be distinguished into two parts, old Silksworth, the original village and township which has existed since the early middle ages, and New Silksworth, the industrial ...
,
Herrington
Herrington is an area in the south of Sunderland, lying within historic County Durham in North East England.
''The Herringtons'' are split into ''East & Middle'' and ''West'' and ''New'' villages. East and Middle Herrington is now a largely re ...
,
South Hylton
South Hylton () is a suburb of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Lying west of Sunderland city centre on the south bank of the River Wear, South Hylton has a population of 10,317 ( 2001 Census). Once a small industrial village, South Hylton ( ...
and
Castletown were incorporated. Sunderland AFC one their only post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
major honour in 1973 when they won a
second FA Cup.
Shipbuilding ended in 1988 and coal-mining in 1993 after a mid-1980s unemployment crisis with 20 per cent of the local workforce unemployed in the town.
![NMUK](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/NMUK.JPG)
Electronic, chemical, paper and motor manufacturing as well as the service sector expanded during the 1980s and 1990s to fill unemployment from heavy industry. In 1986 Japanese car manufacturer
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
opened its
Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK
Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd (NMUK) is a British subsidiary car manufacturing plant in Sunderland. It is owned and operated by the European division of Japanese car manufacturer Nissan.
Geography
Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK is loc ...
factory in Washington, which has since become the UK's largest car factory.
City status
Sunderland received city status in 1992. Like many cities, Sunderland comprises a number of areas with their own distinct histories,
Fulwell, Monkwearmouth,
Roker
Roker () is a tourist resort and affluent area of Sunderland, North East England, bounded on the south by the River Wear and Monkwearmouth, on the east by the North Sea, to the west by Fulwell and on the north by Seaburn. It is administere ...
, and
Southwick on the northern side of the Wear, and Bishopwearmouth and Hendon to the south. From 1990, the Wear’s riverbanks were regenerated with new housing, retail parks and business centres on former shipbuilding sites; the
National Glass Centre
The National Glass Centre is a cultural venue and visitor attraction located in Sunderland, North East England. It is part of the University of Sunderland.
Background
The National Glass Centre is located in Sunderland, on the north banks of the ...
, a new
University of Sunderland
, mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge
, established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status)
, staff =
, chancellor = Emeli ...
campus on the
St Peter's site were also built. The
Vaux Breweries
Vaux Brewery was a major brewer and hotel owner based in Sunderland, England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange. It was taken over by Whitbread in 2000.
History
The company was founded in 1806 by Cuthbert Vaux (1779–1850), p ...
site was clear on the north west fringe of the city centre for further development opportunities in the city centre.
After 99 years at the historic
Roker Park
Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; ...
stadium, the club moved to the 42,000-seat
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
on the banks of the River Wear in 1997. At the time, it was the largest stadium built by an English football club since the 1920s, and has since been expanded to hold nearly 50,000 seated spectators.
On 24 March 2004, the city adopted Benedict Biscop as its
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
. In 2018 the city was ranked as the best to live and work in the UK by the finance firm OneFamily. In the same year, the city was ranked as one of the top 10 safest in the UK.
The 1970
Sunderland Civic Centre closed in November 2021, following the opening of a new
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
on the former Vaux Brewery redevelopment site.
Governance
![Durham - John Speed Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Durham_-_John_Speed_Map.jpg)
Sunderland was created a
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
of
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 About North East E ...
in 1835. Under the
Local Government Act 1888
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
, it was given the status of a County Borough, independent from
county council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Ireland
The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
control. Sunderland has the motto of ''Nil Desperandum Auspice Deo'' or ''Under God's guidance we may never despair''.
In 1974, under the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, the county borough was abolished and its area combined with that of other districts to form the Metropolitan Borough of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear
metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...
. The
Northumbria Police
Northumbria Police is a territorial police force in England. It is responsible for policing the metropolitan boroughs of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and the City of Sunderland, as well as the ceremonial county ...
(covering Tyne and Wear and
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
) and
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, formerly known as the Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Fire Brigade, is the fire and rescue service (FRS) for the metropolitan boroughs of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sund ...
(covering the county only) were also formed.
In 1986,
Tyne and Wear County Council was abolished, and Sunderland became a
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
in all but name, once again independent from county council control but still in the county with joint bodies such as a
passenger transport executive
In the United Kingdom, passenger transport executives (PTEs) are local government bodies which are responsible for public transport within large urban areas. They are accountable to combined authorities, which were created between 2011 and 2016 ...
covering the area. The metropolitan borough was granted
city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, city status ...
after winning a competition in 1992 to celebrate the
Queen's 40th year on the throne.
The council area's population (taken at the 2011 Census) was 275,506. Since 2014, the
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland () is a metropolitan borough with city status in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is named after its largest settlement, Sunderland, spanning a far larger area, including nearby towns i ...
has been a member of the
North East Combined Authority
The North East Combined Authority, abbreviated to NECA, is one of three combined authorities in North East England. It was created in 2014, and currently consists of the City of Sunderland; Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, South Tyneside; and ...
; initially
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...
,
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
and the
County Durham District
County Durham is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Durham, North East England. It covers the former non-metropolitan county and its seven districts: Durham (city), Easington, Sedgefield (borough), Teesdale, Wear Valley, Derwentsi ...
. The
Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive
Tyne and Wear PTE, branded as Nexus, is an executive body of the North East Joint Transport Committee and is best known for owning and operating the Tyne and Wear Metro. It replaced the Tyneside PTE on 1 April 1974.
Operations
TWPTE is responsi ...
, branded as Nexus, became an executive body of the
North East Combined Authority
The North East Combined Authority, abbreviated to NECA, is one of three combined authorities in North East England. It was created in 2014, and currently consists of the City of Sunderland; Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, South Tyneside; and ...
. The
combined authority
A combined authority is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. Combined authorities are created voluntarily and allow a grou ...
split along the Tyne in 2018 with the borough remaining with
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
,
South Tyneside
South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England.
It is bordered by all four other boroughs in Tyne and Wear – Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, North Tyneside to the nor ...
and the
County Durham District
County Durham is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Durham, North East England. It covers the former non-metropolitan county and its seven districts: Durham (city), Easington, Sedgefield (borough), Teesdale, Wear Valley, Derwentsi ...
. The split may be resolved with talks to recombine the two combined authorities, including the County Durham district or (covering same area as the local police force) without the district.
Voting
Sunderland voted for
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
in the
2016 referendum on European Union membership by 61% of the vote; an unexpectedly high margin. The ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' and ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' have described Sunderland as the
poster city for Brexit.
For decades, Sunderland has been an electoral stronghold of the
Labour Party. Sunderland is represented in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
in the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
by three Labour Members of Parliament;
Bridget Phillipson
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (born 19 December 1983) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Education since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South since ...
since 2020,
Julie Elliott
Julie Elliott (born 29 July 1963) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, who was first elected Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunderland Central (UK Parliament constituency), Sunderland C ...
since 2017 and
Sharon Hodgson
Sharon Hodgson (born 1 April 1966) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Washington and Sunderland West, previously Gateshead East and Washington West, since 2005.
Hodgson was appointed as the Par ...
.
Geography
![Wearmouth Bridge, Sunderland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Wearmouth_Bridge%2C_Sunderland.jpg)
Much of the city is located on a low range of hills running parallel to the coast. On average, it is around 80 metres
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
. Sunderland is divided by the River Wear which passes through the middle of the city in a deeply incised valley, part of which is known as the Hylton gorge. Several smaller bodies of water, such as
Hendon Burn and the Barnes Burn, run through the suburbs. The three road bridges connecting the north and south portions of the city are the
Queen Alexandra Bridge
The Queen Alexandra Bridge is a road traffic, pedestrian and former railway bridge spanning the River Wear in North East England, linking the Deptford and Southwick areas of Sunderland. The steel truss bridge was designed by Charles A. Har ...
at Pallion, the
Wearmouth Bridge just to the north of the city centre and most recently the
Northern Spire Bridge
The Northern Spire Bridge is a bridge over the River Wear in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. The crossing opened to pedestrians on 28 August 2018, before opening to traffic the next day. A two span cable-stayed structure, construction began in ...
between Castletown and Pallion. To the west of the city, the
Hylton Viaduct
Hylton Viaduct is a road traffic and pedestrian bridge spanning the River Wear in North East England, linking North Hylton and South Hylton in Sunderland as the A19 road. The steel box girder bridge was opened in 1974 by short hand typist and s ...
carries the
A19 dual-carriageway over the Wear (see map below).
The city possesses a number of public parks. Several of these are historic, including
Mowbray Park
Mowbray Park is a municipal park in the centre of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, located a few hundred yards from the busy thoroughfares of Holmeside and Fawcett Street and bordered by Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens to the north, ...
,
Roker Park
Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; ...
and
Barnes Park. In the early 2000s,
Herrington Country Park
Herrington Country Park is a country park and open public space in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Located adjacent to Penshaw Monument, the park was built on the site of a former colliery. The park has developed into a significant home for wildlife ...
was opened opposite
Penshaw Monument
The Penshaw Monument (officially the Earl of Durham's Monument) is a memorial in the style of an ancient Greek temple on Penshaw Hill in the metropolitan borough of the City of Sunderland, North East England. It is located near the village of ...
. The city's parks have secured several awards for its commitment to preserving natural facilities, receiving the
Britain in Bloom
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
collective in 1993, 1997 and 2000.
Most of the suburbs of Sunderland are situated towards the west of the city centre with 70% of its population living on the south side of the river and 30% on the north side. The city extends to the seafront at Hendon and Ryhope in the south and
Seaburn
Seaburn is a seaside resort and northeastern suburb of Sunderland, North East England. The village of Whitburn borders the area to the north. To the west and south-west is Fulwell and to the south the coastal resort of Roker.
Virtually all of ...
in the north.
Size
In the 2011 census, there were three definitions of Sunderland. The built-up area subdivision follows the boundaries of what is considered Sunderland itself; the built-up area, is also known as
Wearside
Wearside () is a built-up area in both Tyne and Wear and County Durham, Northern England. It is named after the River Wear which flows through it and traditionally all in the County of Durham. In the 2011 census, its official name was the Sunder ...
, including
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea at Sun ...
and third is the council area which is similar in size to Wearside, without Chester-le-Street. The latter two include other surrounding towns and villages, the most notable being the town of Washington, Tyne and Wear, Washington.
Green belt
The city is bounded by the Tyne & Wear Green Belt,
with its portion in much of its surrounding rural area of the borough. It is a part of the local development plan, of which its stated aims
are as follows:
In the Sunderland borough boundary, as well as the aforementioned areas, landscape features and facilities such as much of the River Don and Wear basins, the George Washington Hotel Golf and Spa complex, Sharpley Golf Course, Herrington Country Park, Houghton Quarry and Penshaw Hill are within the green belt area.
Climate
Sunderland has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification, Köppen: ''Cfb''). Its location in the rain shadow of the Pennines, as well as other mountain ranges to the west, such as those of the Lake District and southwestern Scotland, make Sunderland one of the least rainy cities of Northern England. The climate is heavily moderated by the adjacent
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
, giving it cool summers, and winters that are mild considering its latitude. The closest weather station is in Tynemouth, about north of Sunderland. As a result, Sunderland's coastline is likely slightly milder given the more southerly position. Another relatively nearby weather station in Durham, England#Climate, Durham has warmer summer days and colder winter nights courtesy of its inland position.
Demography
At 3,874 hectares, Sunderland is the 45th largest urban area in England by measure of area, with a population density of 45.88 people per hectare.
According to statistics based on the 2001 census, 60% of homes in the Sunderland metropolitan area are Owner Occupied, owner occupied, with an average household size of 2.4 people. Three percent of the homes have no permanent residents.
The most ethnically diverse ward of the city was the (now defunct) Thornholme area which had a population of 10,214 in 2001. This ward, which included Eden Vale, Thornhill, as well as parts of Hendon, Ashbrooke and the city centre, has long been the focus of Wearside's Bangladeshi community. In Thornholme, 89.4% are white (86.3% White British), 7.8% are Asian and 1.3% are mixed-race. Today, the Barnes, Sunderland, Barnes ward, which contains part of former Thornholme ward, has the highest percentage (5.4%) of Bangladeshi residents in the city, with people of this ethnicity being the ward's only significant ethnic minority. The 2001 census also recorded a substantial concentration of Greek nationals, living mainly in Central and Thornholme wards. The least ethnically diverse wards are in the north of the city. The area of Castletown, Sunderland, Castletown is made up of 99.3% white, 0.4% Asian and 0.2% mixed-race.
The Sunderland USD had a population of 174,286 in 2011 compared with 275,506 for the wider city. Both of these figures are a decrease compared with 2001 figures that showed the Sunderland USD had a population of 182,758 compared with 280,807 for the wider city.
In 2011, the Millfield, Tyne and Wear, Millfield ward, which contains the western half of the city centre, was the most ethnically diverse ward in Sunderland. Millfield is a multiracial area with large Indian and Bangladeshi communities, being the centre of Wearside's Bangladeshi community along with neighbouring Barnes. The ward's ethnicity was, in 2011, 76.4% White (73.5% White British), 17.6% Asian and 2.5% Black. Other wards with high ethnic minority populations include Hendon, Sunderland, Hendon, Barnes, St Michael's and St Peter's. In 2011, the least ethnically diverse ward was the Northside suburb Redhill which was 99.0% White (98.3% White British), 0.3% Asian and 0.1% Black.
Here is a table comparing Sunderland and the wider City of Sunderland Metropolitan Borough as well as North East England.
The Sunderland Urban Subdivision is made up of all the wards listed on the table on the right hand side. In the Sunderland Urban Subdivision, 6.6% of the population were from an ethnic minority group (non white British) compared with 5.2% in the surrounding borough. Sunderland is less ethnically diverse than Gateshead and South Shields, mainly because of many outlying suburbs to the south, north and west of the city such as St Chad's,
Southwick and
Fulwell which have very high White British populations. The Sunderland Central Parliament constituency largely omits these areas. However, in 2001, the Sunderland USD was 96.6% White British, so the ethnic minority population is increasing.
Religion
The area is part of the Church of England, Anglican Diocese of Durham. It has been in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
since the Catholic Church hierarchy, Catholic hierarchy was restored in 1850. The 2011 census recorded that 70.2% of the population identified as Christian, 1.32% as Muslim, 0.29% as Sikh, 0.22% as Hindu, 0.19% as Buddhist, 0.02% as Jewish, and 21.90% as having no religion.
The Stake Center for the Sunderland Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is in Sunderland.
Jewish heritage in the city, once part of a thriving community, can be dated back to around 1750, when a number of Jewish merchants from across the UK and Europe settled in Sunderland, eventually forming a congregation in 1768. A rabbi from Holland was established in the city in 1790. After a rapid growth in numbers during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Jewish community in Sunderland reached its height in the mid 1930s, when around 2,000 Jews were recorded to be living in the town. The community has been in slow decline since the mid-20th century. Many Sunderland Jews left for stronger Jewish communities in Britain, including Gateshead, or to Israel. The Jewish primary school, the Menorah School, closed in July 1983. The synagogue on Ryhope Road, opened in 1928, closed at the end of March 2006.
(See also Jews and Judaism in North East England) The Jewish population of the Sunderland Metropolitan Borough is continually diminishing, as the Jewish population fell from 114 people in 2001, to 76 people in 2011.
In 1998, following the grant of City status to Sunderland, the erstwhile parish church of Bishopwearmouth (St Michael's) was redesignated as Sunderland Minster with a city-wide role. It was believed to have been the first creation of a Minster (church), minster church in England since the Reformation in England, Reformation.
Pentecostalism
The Reverend Alexander Boddy (1854–1930) was appointed vicar of All Saints' Church, Monkwearmouth in 1884. During his ministry at Monkwearmouth, Boddy was influenced by the 1904–1905 Welsh revival and also by the British-born Norwegian preacher Thomas Ball Barratt. In the early years of the 20th century All Saints, Monkwearmouth became an important centre for the development of the Pentecostal Movement in Britain.
Economy
Regeneration
Since the mid-1980s Sunderland has undergone massive regeneration, particularly around the Sunderland City Centre, City Centre and the river corridor, following the industrial decline of the 1970s and early 1980s.
In the mid-1980s, Sunderland's economic situation began to improve following the collapse of the local shipbuilding industry. Japanese car manufacturer
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
opened the
Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK
Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd (NMUK) is a British subsidiary car manufacturing plant in Sunderland. It is owned and operated by the European division of Japanese car manufacturer Nissan.
Geography
Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK is loc ...
factory in 1986, and the first Nissan Bluebird car was produced later that year.
The factory and its supplier companies remain the largest employers in the region, with current cars produced there including the Nissan Qashqai, the Nissan Juke and the electric Nissan Leaf, Nissan LEAF. As of 2012 over 500,000 cars are produced annually, and it is the UK's largest car factory.
Also in the late 1980s, new Service industry, service industries moved into sites such as the Doxford International Business Park in the south west of the city, attracting national and international companies. Sunderland was named in the shortlist of the top seven "intelligent cities" in the world for the use of information technology, in 2004 and 2005.
The former shipyards along the Wear were transformed with a mixture of residential, commercial and leisure facilities including St Peter's Campus of the University of Sunderland, University accommodation along the Fish Quay on the South side of the river, the North Haven housing and marina development, the
National Glass Centre
The National Glass Centre is a cultural venue and visitor attraction located in Sunderland, North East England. It is part of the University of Sunderland.
Background
The National Glass Centre is located in Sunderland, on the north banks of the ...
, the
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
and Hylton Riverside Retail Park. Also in 2007, the Echo 24 luxury apartments opened on Pann's Bank overlooking the river. In 2008 the Sunderland Aquatic Centre opened adjacent to the Stadium of Light, containing the only Olympic-size swimming pool between Leeds and Edinburgh. In 2000, the Bridges shopping mall, shopping centre was extended towards Crowtree Road and the former Central Bus station, Bus Station, attracting national chain stores. This was followed by adjacent redevelopments on Park Lane.
Sunderland Corporation's massive post-war housing estate developments at Farringdon, Sunderland, Farringdon, Pennywell and Grindon, Sunderland, Grindon have all passed into the ownership of Gentoo Group (previously 'Sunderland Housing Group'), a private company and a Registered Social Landlord.
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...
has been a major symbol of the area and a contributor to the local economy since the late 19th century. The club was one of the most successful and best supported clubs in the English game during this era, with its home at
Roker Park
Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; ...
holding more than 70,000 spectators at its peak. However, the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
triumph of 1973 would prove to be the club's only postwar major trophy to date, and after its relegation in 1958 the club frequently bounced between the top two divisions of English football, and in 1987 and again in 2018 suffered relegation to the third tier of English football. The club played at Roker Park for 99 years until the completion of the new
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
at
Monkwearmouth
Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in North East England. Monkwearmouth is located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bisho ...
on the banks of the
River Wear
The River Wear (, ) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers, wends in a steep valley through th ...
in 1997. The new stadium seated more than 42,000 on its completion, and has since been expanded to hold some 49,000 spectators. Sunderland's relatively high attendances have been a major boost to the local economy – averaging at more than 30,000 even during the club's current spell in the third tier of English football.
In 2004, redevelopment work began in the Sunniside area in the east-end of the city centre, including a multiplex cinema, a multi-storey car park, restaurants, a casino and tenpin bowling. Originally the River Quarter, the site was renamed Limelight in 2005, and renamed in 2008, when it became Sunniside Leisure. Sunniside Gardens were landscaped, and a number of new cafes, bars and restaurants were opened. Up-market residential apartments were developed, including the Echo 24 building.
Sunderland City Council's Unitary Development Plan (UDP) outlines ambitious regeneration plans for a number of sites around the city. The plans are supported by Sunderland Arc, an urban regeneration company funded by the City council, One NorthEast and the Homes and Communities Agency.
;Vaux and Farringdon Row
Following the closure of the Vaux Breweries, Vaux brewery in 1999, a brownfield land, brownfield site lay dormant in the centre of Sunderland. The land was subject to dispute between supermarket chain Tesco, who bought the site in 2001, and Sunderland arc, who submitted plans for its redevelopment in 2002.
During formal negotiations, Tesco stated they would be willing to sell the land to arc, if an alternative city centre site could be found. Possibilities include Holmeside Triangle, and the Sunderland Retail Park in Roker. Arc originally hoped to begin development in 2010.
Arc's plans for the site were approved by the Secretary of State in 2007, and included extensive office space, hotels, leisure and retail units, residential apartments and a new £50 m Crown Court, Crown and Magistrates' court, along with a central public arcade located under an expansive glass canopy. It was hoped an "evening economy" could be encouraged, to complement the city's nightlife. In 2013 in the area opposite the Vaux site, Sunderland City Council announced the Keel Square project, a new public space designed to commemorate Sunderand's maritime heritage, which was completed in May 2015. Construction commenced in 2014.
;Stadium Village
Redevelopment of the Monkwearmouth Colliery site, which sits on the north bank of the river Wear opposite the Vaux site, began in the mid-1990s with the creation of the
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
. In 2008, it was joined by the Sunderland Aquatic Centre. The Sheepfolds industrial estate occupies a large area of land between the Stadium and the
Wearmouth Bridge. Sunderland Arc were in the process of purchasing land in the Sheepfolds, with a view to relocate the businesses and redevelop the site. The emphasis of development plans included further sporting facilities, in order to create a ''Sports Village''. Other plans included a hotel, residential accommodation, and a footbridge linking the site with the Vaux development.
;Grove and Transport Corridor
The Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC) is a proposed transport link from the A19, through the city centre, to the port. A major phase of the plan was the creation of a new bridge, the
Northern Spire Bridge
The Northern Spire Bridge is a bridge over the River Wear in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. The crossing opened to pedestrians on 28 August 2018, before opening to traffic the next day. A two span cable-stayed structure, construction began in ...
, which links the A1231 road, A1231 Wessington Way on the north of the river with the Grove site in Pallion, on the south of the river.
In 2008, Sunderland City Council offered the residents of Sunderland the opportunity to vote on the design of the bridge. The choices were a iconic cable-stayed bridge, which would result in a temporary increase in council tax, or a simple road bridge, box structure which would be within the council's budget.
The results of the consultation were inconclusive, with residents keen to have an iconic bridge, but reluctant to have a subsequent increase in tax to fund it.
Regardless of the ultimate design of the new bridge, the landing point will be the former Grove Cranes site in Pallion. Plans for this site focus around the creation of a new residential area, with homes, community buildings, commercial and retail space.
;The Port
The Port of Sunderland, owned by the city council, has been earmarked for medium-term redevelopment with a focus on mixed-use industry.
Ship building and coal mining
![Radiant II is launched into the River Wear (14508024713)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Radiant_II_is_launched_into_the_River_Wear_%2814508024713%29.jpg)
Once hailed as the "Largest Shipbuilding Town in the World", ships were built on the Wear from at least 1346 onwards and by the mid-18th century Sunderland was one of the chief shipbuilding towns in the country. Sunderland Docks was the home of operations for the shipbuilding industry on
Wearside
Wearside () is a built-up area in both Tyne and Wear and County Durham, Northern England. It is named after the River Wear which flows through it and traditionally all in the County of Durham. In the 2011 census, its official name was the Sunder ...
. The Port of Sunderland was significantly expanded in the 1850s with the construction of Hudson Dock to designs by River Wear Commissioner's Engineer John Murray, with consultancy by Robert Stephenson. One famous vessel was the
''Torrens'', the clipper in which Joseph Conrad sailed, and on which he began his first novel. She was one of the most famous ships of her time and can claim to be the finest ship ever launched from a Sunderland yard.
![An Aerial view of Sunderland (9105585273)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/An_Aerial_view_of_Sunderland_%289105585273%29.jpg)
Between 1939 and 1945 the Wear yards launched 245 merchant ships totalling 1.5 million tons, a quarter of the merchant tonnage produced in the UK at this period. Competition from overseas caused a downturn in demand for Sunderland built ships toward the end of the 20th century. The last shipyard in Sunderland closed on 7 December 1988.
Sunderland, part of the Durham coalfield, has a coal-mining heritage that dates back centuries. At its peak in 1923, 170,000 miners were employed in County Durham alone, as labourers from all over Britain, including many from Scotland and Ireland, entered the region. As demand for coal slipped following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, mines began to close across the region, causing mass unemployment. The last coal mine closed in 1994. The site of the last coal mine, Wearmouth Colliery, is now occupied by the
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
, and a miner's Davy lamp monument stands outside of the ground to honour the site's mining heritage. Documentation relating to the region's coalmining heritage are stored at the North East England Mining Archive and Resource Centre (NEEMARC).
Other industry
As with the coal-mining and shipbuilding, overseas competition has forced the closure of all of Sunderland's glass-making factories. Corning Glass Works, in Sunderland for 120 years, closed on 31 March 2007 and in January 2007, the Pyrex manufacturing site also closed, bringing to an end commercial glass-making in the city. However, there has been a modest rejuvenation with the opening of the
National Glass Centre
The National Glass Centre is a cultural venue and visitor attraction located in Sunderland, North East England. It is part of the University of Sunderland.
Background
The National Glass Centre is located in Sunderland, on the north banks of the ...
which, amongst other things, provides international glass makers with working facilities and a shop to showcase their work, predominantly in the artistic rather than functional field.
Vaux Breweries
Vaux Brewery was a major brewer and hotel owner based in Sunderland, England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange. It was taken over by Whitbread in 2000.
History
The company was founded in 1806 by Cuthbert Vaux (1779–1850), p ...
was established in the town centre in the 1880s and for 110 years was a major employer. Following a series of consolidations in the British Brewing industry, however, the brewery was finally closed in July 1999. Vaux in Sunderland and Wards Brewing Company, Wards in Sheffield had been part of the Vaux Group, but with the closure of both breweries it was re-branded The Swallow Group, concentrating on the hotel side of the business. This was subject to a successful take-over by Whitbread, Whitbread PLC in the autumn of 2000. It is now a brownfield site and this is a derelict site in an urban area.
In 1855, John Candlish opened a bottleworks, producing glass bottles, with 6 sites at nearby Seaham and at Diamond Hall, Sunderland.
Education
Sunderland Polytechnic was founded in 1969, becoming the
University of Sunderland
, mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge
, established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status)
, staff =
, chancellor = Emeli ...
in 1992. The institution currently has over 17,000 students. The university is split into two campuses; the City Campus (site of the original Polytechnic) is just to the west of the city centre, as is the main university library and the main administrative buildings. The 'Award-Winning' St Peter's Riverside Campus is located on the north banks of the river Wear, next to the National Glass Centre and houses the School of Business, Law and Psychology, as well as Computing and Technology and The Media Centre. The University of Sunderland was named the top university in England for providing the best student experience by ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (THES) in 2006. Since 2001 Sunderland has been named the best new university in England by ''The Guardian'' and Government performance indicators showed Sunderland as the best new university in England for the quality, range and quantity of its research.
Sunderland College is a further education establishment with campuses located at the Bede centre on A690, Durham Road, Hylton, Doxford International Business Park and 'Phoenix House' in the city centre. It has over 14,000 students, and based on exam results is one of the most successful colleges. St Peter's Sixth Form College, next to St Peter's Church and the University, opened in September 2008. The college is a partnership between the three Sunderland North schools and City of Sunderland College.
There are eighteen secondary schools in the Sunderland area, predominantly comprehensives. According to exam results, the most successful was St Robert of Newminster Catholic School, a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Washington. However, comprehensive schools also thrive, notably the Roman Catholic single-sex schools St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy, St Anthony's (for girls) and St Aidan's Catholic School, St Aidan's (for boys). Both continue to attain high exam results.
There are seventy-six primary schools in Sunderland. According to the 'Value Added' measure, the most successful is Mill Hill Primary School, in Doxford Park.
Transport
Metro and rail
![Pallion station 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Pallion_station_02.jpg)
In May 2002, the Tyne and Wear Metro was extended to Sunderland in an official ceremony attended by The Queen, 22 years after it originally opened in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Green line now stretches deeper into
South Tyneside
South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England.
It is bordered by all four other boroughs in Tyne and Wear – Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, North Tyneside to the nor ...
and into Sunderland; it incorporates
Seaburn
Seaburn is a seaside resort and northeastern suburb of Sunderland, North East England. The village of Whitburn borders the area to the north. To the west and south-west is Fulwell and to the south the coastal resort of Roker.
Virtually all of ...
, Millfield, Pallion, as well as Sunderland railway station, Sunderland's mainline railway station and stations at the Park Lane Interchange, Park Lane Transport Interchange and both campuses of the
University of Sunderland
, mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge
, established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status)
, staff =
, chancellor = Emeli ...
, before terminating at
South Hylton
South Hylton () is a suburb of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Lying west of Sunderland city centre on the south bank of the River Wear, South Hylton has a population of 10,317 ( 2001 Census). Once a small industrial village, South Hylton ( ...
. The trains run every 12–15 minutes, depending on the time of day, and call at all stations. All-zones Metro tickets cost £5.20 for a daily and £22.40 for a weekly, as of October 2019.
In March 2014, Metro owner Nexus proposed an extension of the network by the creation of an 'on-street' tram link which would connect the city centre to South Shields to the north and Doxford Park to the west.
Sunderland railway station, Sunderland station has 5 direct trains to London King's Cross railway station, London King's Cross on weekdays (5 on Saturday / 4 on Sunday), taking about 3 hours 30 minutes. is a 30-minute Tyne & Wear Metro ride (see above) from Sunderland city centre, and has connecting services to London every half hour that take approximately 2 hours 45 minutes and also regular services to , , , Manchester Piccadilly, , and beyond.
![GRAND CENTRAL 2 Launch Day](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/GRAND_CENTRAL_2_Launch_Day.JPG)
Sunderland station opened in 1879
but was completely redesigned to facilitate football teams and officials from countries who were drawn to play at
Roker Park
Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; ...
during England's hosting of the 1966 World Cup. It is situated on an underground level.
It was renovated in 2005, backed by the artistic team which designed the stations along the Wearside extension of the Tyne & Wear Metro in 2002. It is situated on the Durham Coast Line served by direct Northern (train operating company), Northern services to Newcastle, , and , as well as further afield to , and . These services run hourly in each direction, cut from half-hourly on 12 December 2005 (but towards Newcastle there is also the option of taking the Metro – see the Metro subsection above).
From 1998 to 2004, Northern Spirit and subsequently Arriva Trains Northern ran two-hourly direct trains from Sunderland to Liverpool Lime Street via , , , Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly. The services were withdrawn due to a change of franchise which saw the First TransPennine Express route gain a franchise in its own right, distinct from the Regional Railways network which Arriva had inherited. Services now terminate at Newcastle and a separate service also travels to Middlesbrough, but both only stretch as far as .
In 2006, Grand Central (train operating company), Grand Central announced plans to operate a direct service between Sunderland and London King's Cross via York, a service which had been stripped from Wearside twenty years earlier. A scaled-down service of one train each day began in December 2007, twelve months after the initial launch date, due to delays caused by restoring rolling stock and a protracted court case against Great North Eastern Railway, GNER (which Grand Central won). The service increased to three departures daily each way on 1 March 2008, connecting a line which can run from Edinburgh to London. The service has proved so popular that daily fourth and fifth direct trains are now in operation.
When Virgin Trains East Coast were announced as the winners of the InterCity East Coast franchise in November 2014, their plans included a daily service from Sunderland to London Kings Cross that commenced in December 2015.
Roads and buses
The fastest, largest and busiest road is the
A19, which is a dual carriageway running north-to-south along the western edge of the urban area, crossing the River Wear at Hylton, and providing access north to the Tyne Tunnel, joining up with the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 to Edinburgh, and south through Teesside, joining up with the A1 road (Great Britain), A1M via the A168 road, A168 at Thirsk, providing an entirely grade separated connection between Sunderland and the M1 motorway. The A19 originally ran through Sunderland city centre until the bypass was built in the 1970s; this route is now the A1018.
There are four main roads which support the city centre:
The A690 road, A690 ''Durham Road'' terminates in the city centre and runs to Crook, County Durham via the city of Durham.
The A1231 road, A1231 (Sunderland Highway) begins in the city centre, crosses the
Queen Alexandra Bridge
The Queen Alexandra Bridge is a road traffic, pedestrian and former railway bridge spanning the River Wear in North East England, linking the Deptford and Southwick areas of Sunderland. The steel truss bridge was designed by Charles A. Har ...
and runs west through Washington, Tyne and Wear, Washington to the A1 road (Great Britain), A1. Most of this road is national speed limit dual carriageway.
The A1018 road, A1018 and A183 road (England), A183 roads both start in the centre of South Shields and enter Sunderland from the north, before merging to cross the Wearmouth Bridge. The A1018 follows a direct route from Shields to Sunderland, the A183 follows the coast. After crossing the bridge, the A1018 follows a relatively straight path to the south of Sunderland where it merges with the A19. The A183 becomes ''Chester Road'' and heads west out of the city to the A1 at
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea at Sun ...
.
In Autumn 2007, the ''Southern Radial Route'' was opened. This is a bypass of the A1018 through Grangetown and Ryhope – a stretch that commonly suffered from traffic congestion, congestion, especially during rush hour. The bypass starts just south of Ryhope, and runs parallel to the cliff tops into Hendon, largely avoiding residential areas.
The Sunderland strategic transport corridor project is an ongoing investment to the city's road infrastructure. The scheme will improve transport links around the city ensuring continuous dual carriageway between the A19 road and the port of Sunderland. The scheme also includes the building of a new wear bridge between Pallion on the south embankment and Castletown to the north.
![Buses in Park Lane Interchange - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Buses_in_Park_Lane_Interchange_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1748466.jpg)
A multimillion-pound transport interchange at Park Lane Interchange, Park Lane was opened on 2 May 1999 by the then ''Brookside (television programme), Brookside'' actor Michael Starke (actor), Michael Starke. With 750,000 passengers per year, it is the busiest bus and coach station in Britain after Victoria Coach Station in Central London and has won several awards for innovative design.
The majority of bus services in Sunderland are provided by Stagecoach North East, Stagecoach in Sunderland and Go North East, with a handful of services provided by Arriva North East. Besides these, there are also cross-country and inter-city route buses mainly operated by National Express Coaches, National Express and Megabus (Europe), Megabus. A new Metro station was built underneath the bus concourse to provide a direct interchange as part of the extension to South Hylton in 2002.
Cycling
There are a number of cycle routes that run through and around Sunderland. The National Cycle Network National Route 1 runs from Ryhope in the south, through the centre of the city and then along the coast towards South Shields. Britain's most popular long-distance Segregated cycle facilities, cycle route – The 'C2C' Sea to Sea Cycle Route – traditionally starts or ends when the cyclist dips their wheel in the sea on Roker beach. The 'W2W' 'Wear-to-Walney' route and the 'Two-Rivers' (Tyne and Wear) route also terminate in Sunderland.
Airports and the port
Newcastle International Airport, Newcastle Airport is a 55-minute Metro ride from Sunderland city centre; there is a Metro train connecting with the airport every 12–15minutes in both directions until about 11pm, Monday-Sunday. Teesside International Airport can be reached in less than one hour by car. Each year on the last weekend in July, the city hosted the Sunderland International Airshow. It took place primarily along the sea front at Roker and Seaburn.
![Sunderland harbour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Sunderland_harbour.jpg)
The Port of Sunderland is the second largest municipally-owned port in the United Kingdom.
The port offers a total of 17 quays,
which handle cargoes including forest products, non-ferrous metals, steel, aggregates and refined oil products, limestone, chemicals and maritime cranes.
It also handles offshore supply vessels and has ship repair and drydocking facilities.
The river berths are deepwater and tide, tidal, while the South Docks are entered via a lock with an beam restriction.
Culture
Dialect and accent
The dialect of Sunderland is known as Mackem, and contains a large amount of vocabulary and distinctive words and pronunciations not used in other parts of the United Kingdom. The Mackem dialect has much of its origins in the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon population. Although the accent has much in common with Geordie, the dialect spoken in Newcastle, there are some distinctive differences.
A few Sunderland dialect words:
*Nee – No
*Bosh – Problem
*Marra – Mate
*Ha'way – Come on (Not to be confused with Geordie's Howay)
*Knack – Hurt
*Git – Very (Used to emphasize something so 'very good' becomes 'git good')
*Claes – Clothes
Attractions and events
Notable attractions for visitors to Sunderland include the 14th century Hylton Castle and the beaches of Roker and Seaburn.
The
National Glass Centre
The National Glass Centre is a cultural venue and visitor attraction located in Sunderland, North East England. It is part of the University of Sunderland.
Background
The National Glass Centre is located in Sunderland, on the north banks of the ...
opened in 1998, reflecting Sunderland's distinguished history of glass-making. Despite sustained support from the Arts Council the centre has struggled to meet visitor targets since it opened.
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, on Borough Road, was the first municipally funded museum in the country outside London.
It houses a comprehensive collection of the locally produced Sunderland Lustreware pottery. The City Library Arts Centre, on Fawcett Street, housed the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art until the library was closed in January 2017. The library service was relocated to the Museum and Winter Gardens and the Gallery for Contemporary Art transferred to Sunderland University.
Every year the city hosts a large Remembrance Day memorial service, the largest in the UK outside London in 2006.
Sunderland celebrates an annual Restaurant week, where city centre restaurants provide some of the best plates at low costs.
Literature and art
![Sunderlandstreets2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Sunderlandstreets2.jpg)
Lewis Carroll was a frequent visitor to the area. He wrote most of ''Jabberwocky'' at Whitburn, South Tyneside, Whitburn as well as "The Walrus and the Carpenter". Some parts of the area are also widely believed to be the inspiration for his Alice in Wonderland stories, such as Hylton Castle and Backhouse Park. There is a statue to Carroll in Whitburn library. Lewis Carroll was also a visitor to the Rectory of Holy Trinity Church, Southwick; then a township independent of Sunderland. Carroll's connection with Sunderland, and the area's history, is documented in Bryan Talbot's 2007 graphic novel ''Alice in Sunderland''. More recently, Sunderland-born Terry Deary, writer of the series of ''Horrible Histories'' books, has achieved fame and success, and many others such as thriller writer Sheila Quigley, are following his lead.
The Salford-born painter L. S. Lowry was a frequent visitor, staying in the Seaburn Hotel in Sunderland. Many of his paintings of seascapes and shipbuilding are based on Wearside scenes. The Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art on Fawcett Street and Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens showcase exhibitions and installations from up-and-coming and established artists alike, with the latter holding an extensive collection of Lowry. The National Glass Centre on Liberty Way also exhibits a number of glass sculptures.
Media, film and television
Sunderland has two local newspapers: the daily evening tabloid ''The Sunderland Echo'', founded in 1873, and the ''Sunderland Star'' – a Free daily newspaper, free newspaper.
It also has its own commercial station, Sun FM, formerly an independent station but now owned by Nation Broadcasting who acquired the station from the UKRD Group, a student-led community radio station, Spark Sunderland, Spark, and a hospital radio station – Radio Sunderland for Hospitals, and can receive other north-eastern independent radio stations Metro Radio, Greatest Hits Radio North East, Capital North East, Smooth North East and Heart North East. The regional BBC radio station is BBC Radio Newcastle. The city is covered by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV (TV network), ITV's Tyne Tees Television, Tyne Tees franchise, which has a regional office in the university's media centre.
Sunderland's inaugural film festival took place in December 2003 at the Bonded Warehouse building on Sunderland riverside, in spite of the lack of any cinema facilities in the city at that time, featuring the films of local and aspiring directors as well as re-showings of acclaimed works, such as Alan Bleasdale's ''The Monocled Mutineer'', accompanied by analysis. By the time of the second festival commencing on 21 January 2005, a new cinema multiplex had opened in Sunderland to provide a venue which allowed the festival to showcase over twenty films.
Music, dance and kites
Sunderland musicians that have gone on to reach international fame include David A. Stewart, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and all four members of Kenickie, whose vocalist Lauren Laverne later became known as a TV presenter. In recent years, the underground music scene in Sunderland has helped promote the likes of Frankie & the Heartstrings, The Futureheads, The Golden Virgins and Field Music.
Other Mackem musicians include punk rockers The Toy Dolls ("Nellie the Elephant", December 1984), oi! punk band Red Alert (band), Red Alert, punk band Leatherface, the lead singer of dance outfit Olive (band), Olive, Ruth Ann Boyle ("You're Not Alone", May 1997) and A Tribe of Toffs ("John Kettley is a Weatherman", December 1988).
In May 2005, Sunderland played host to BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend concert at Herrington, Herrington Country Park, attended by 30,000 visitors and which featured Foo Fighters, Kasabian, KT Tunstall, Chemical Brothers and The Black Eyed Peas.
The Sunderland
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
, home to Sunderland AFC, is recognised internationally as a major stadium concert venue. Headlining acts have included Oasis (band), Oasis, Take That, Pink (singer), Pink, Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Bon Jovi, Rihanna, One Direction, Foo Fighters and Beyoncé, Beyonce. The Empire Theatre sometimes plays host to music acts. Independent, a city-centre nightclub/music venue, satisfies underground music lovers.
The Manor Quay' the students' union nightclub on St Peter's Riverside at the
University of Sunderland
, mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge
, established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status)
, staff =
, chancellor = Emeli ...
, has also hosted the Arctic Monkeys, Maxïmo Park, 911 (UK band), 911, the Levellers (band), the Levellers and Girls Aloud. In 2009, the club was taken into private ownership under the name Campus and hosted N-Dubz, Ocean Colour Scene, Little Boots, Gary Numan and Showaddywaddy but has since been returned to the university. The former students' union Wearmouth Hall hosted Voice of the Beehive, Manic Street Preachers, The Primitives and Radiohead before closing in 1992.
Since 2009, Sunderland: Live in the City has played host to a series of free and ticketed live music events throughout venues in the city centre. Sunderland also hosts the yearly Split Music Festival at Ashbrooke Cricket Club which was first celebrated in October 2009 and will return in 2010 with Maxïmo Park and The Futureheads headlining.
In 2013 local band Frankie and The Heartstrings opened a temporary pop up record store in the city, Pop Recs Ltd. Initially only intended to remain open for a fortnight, the store remains open and has hosted live performances from acts including The Cribs, The Vaccines and The Charlatans (English band), The Charlatans.
Sunderland also hosts the free International Festival of Kites, Music and Dance, which attracts kite-makers from around the world to Northumbria Playing Fields, Washington.
Theatre
![Sunderland Empire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Sunderland_Empire.jpg)
The Sunderland Empire Theatre opened in 1907 on High Street West in the city centre. It is the largest theatre in between Edinburgh and London, and completed a comprehensive refurbishment in 2004. Operated by international entertainment group Live Nation, the Empire is the only theatre between Glasgow and Leeds with sufficient capacity to accommodate large West End theatre, West End productions. It is where British comic actor Sid James who died of a heart attack whilst on stage in 1976.
The Royalty Theatre on A183 road (England), Chester Road is the home to the amateur Royalty Theatre Group who also put on a number of low-budget productions throughout the year. Film producer David Parfitt belonged to this company and is now a patron of the theatre.
The Sunniside, Sunderland, Sunniside area plays host to a number of smaller theatrical workshops and production houses, as well as the Theatre Restaurant, which combines a dining experience with a rolling programme of musical theatre.
Twin towns and sister cities
Sunderland is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with:
*Harbin, China
*Saint-Nazaire, France
*Washington, D.C., United States
*Essen, Germany
Sunderland is the only city that is not a capital of country twinned with Washington, D.C., as it includes the town of Washington, Tyne and Wear, Washington, the ancestral home of George Washington's family.
[
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Sport
The only professional sporting team in Sunderland is the Association football, football team, Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...
, and was elected to the Football League in 1890. Sunderland A.F.C. supporters, Sunderland supporters are one of the oldest fan bases in England, and in 2019 it was reported that despite being in League One, Sunderland's average gates were higher than those of such teams as Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon, S.S.C. Napoli, Napoli, A.S. Roma, Roma, Valencia CF, Valencia, Juventus F.C., Juventus, and FC Porto, Porto. After relegations from the FA Premier League and the EFL Championship, the club has played four consecutive seasons in EFL League One, but will again play in the EFL Championship in the 2022-23 season following their promotion in 2021-22. It is based at the 49,000-seat Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
, which was opened in 1997. Sunderland A.F.C also has the north-east's top women's football team, Sunderland A.F.C. Women, They currently play in the 3rd tier of English women's football – FA Women's National League North. Despite their financial struggles, Sunderland were league champions six times within the The Football League, Football League's first half century, but have not achieved this accolade since 1936. Their other notable successes include FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
glory in 1937 and 1973 and winning the Football League First Division, Division One title with a (then) Football in England, English league record of 105 points in 1999.
Sunderland AFC's longest stadium occupancy so far was of Roker Park
Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; ...
for 99 years beginning in 1898, with relocation taking place due to the stadium's confined location and the need to build an all-seater stadium. The initial relocation plan, announced in the early 1990s, had been for a stadium to be situated alongside the Nissan factory, but these were abandoned in favour of the Stadium of Light at Monkwearmouth
Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in North East England. Monkwearmouth is located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bisho ...
on the site of a colliery on the banks of the River Wear that had closed at the end of 1993. The city also has three non-league sides, Sunderland Ryhope Community Association F.C., and Ryhope Colliery Welfare F.C., both of the Northern League Division One as well as Sunderland West End FC of the Wearside League, who play at the Ford Quarry Complex.
Sunderland's amateur Rugby football, Rugby and Cricket clubs are both based in Ashbrooke. The Ashbrooke ground was opened on 30 May 1887.
The Crowtree Leisure Centre has also played host to a number of important boxing matches and snooker championships including the 2003 Snooker World Trickshot and Premier League Final. In September 2005, BBC TV cameras captured international boxing bouts featuring local boxers David Dolan, Stuart Kennedy and Tony Jeffries. The latter became Sunderland's first Olympic medallist when he won a bronze medal in the light heavyweight boxing category for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
On 18 April 2008, the Sunderland Aquatic Centre was opened. Constructed at a cost of £20 million, it is the only Olympic sized 50 m pool between Leeds and Edinburgh and has six diving boards, which stand at 1 m, 3 m and 5 m.
Athletics is also a popular sport in the city, with Sunderland Harriers Athletics Club based at Silksworth Sports Complex. 800 m runner Gavin Massingham represented the club at the AAA Championships in 2005. On 25 June 2006, the first Great Women's Run took place along Sunderland's coastline. Among the field which lined up to start the race were Olympic silver medallists Sonia O'Sullivan of the Republic of Ireland and Gete Wami of Ethiopia, who eventually won the race. The race quickly became an annual fixture in the city's sporting schedule, with races in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, the race will be relaunched as the Great North 10K Run, allowing male competitors to take part for the first time, on 12 July.
Notable residents
See also
* Boxing Day Dip, Sunderland's Boxing Day dip
* The North Dock Tufa
* List of important dates in the history of Sunderland
* The New Monkey
References
External links
*
*
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