Tunstall is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

, England which is mostly a privately purchased estate. It is located to the west of

Ryhope Ryhope ( ) is a coastal village along the southern boundary of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, 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 Sunderland ...

, and east of Silksworth. The area was built around a large hill, known as ''Tunstall Hill''. Since 1966 pilgrims have erected crucifixes on the hill every Good Friday. It is the location of

Venerable Bede Church of England Academy thumb The Venerable Bede Church of England Academy (formerly Venerable Bede Church of England (Aided) Secondary School) is a coeducational secondary school located in the Tunstall area of Ryhope, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. The school is ...

, which is on the former site of Ryhope Colliery and later Ryhope golf course.

History

Tunstall is a village that has been present since the early middle ages, first mentioned in the 1183 Norman era

Boldon Book The Boldon Book (also known as the Boldon Buke) contains the results of a survey of the bishopric of Durham that was completed on the orders of Hugh du Puiset, Bishop of Durham, in 1183, designed to assist the administration of the vast diocesan e ...

the contemporary village green continues to mirror its medieval shape. By the 14th century, Hatfield's survey of Durham recorded 12 tenants in the village who held 110 acres of block

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

lands, with 14 dwellings, a mill and two cottages on the land. Tunstall was formerly a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the parish of Bishop-Wearmouth, in 1866 Tunstall became a separate

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, on 1 April 1967 the parish was abolished and merged with Sunderland. In 1961 the parish had a population of 6566. In 1974 it became part of the metropolitan district of

References

City of Sunderland suburbs Former civil parishes in Tyne and Wear Sunderland {{TyneandWear-geo-stub