Ashbrooke is a residential area 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 ...

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 author ...

directly south and south-west of the city centre. Ashbrooke developed through the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

as Sunderland's first

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

. Originally occupied by large middle-class families, including much of Wearside's

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

population, a fair number of the larger residences have been reorganised into dwellings of multiple occupancy, home to the local

University of Sunderland , mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge , established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status) , staff = , chancellor = Emel ...

's students and young professionals. The large, well-built houses, the wide, tree-lined avenues, and the often colourful street names ('The Esplanade', 'The Oaks', 'The Elms', 'West Lawn', 'Holmlands Park') signify the area's affluence. The area lies within walking distance of

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from ...

and

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

stations on the Tyne and Wear Metro system. Local punk band The Toy Dolls wrote a song about Ashbrooke Launderette on their 1987 album Bare Faced Cheek. Various members of the band still either live or work in Ashbrooke. Ashbrooke is part of St. Michael's ward and is represented by three Conservative councillors; Lyall Reed, Peter Wood and Michael Dixon.

Sport

Ashbrooke Sports Ground, opened on 30 May 1887 for cricket and rugby, is home to many amateur sports associations such as bowls, cricket, tennis, hockey, squash and rugby union. A Tennis tournament before Wimbledon was used as a warm up for players such as Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova. While a minor county,

Durham County Cricket Club Durham County Cricket Club (rebranded as Durham Cricket in February 2019) is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Durham. Founded in 1882, D ...

played games at Ashbrooke, including fixtures against touring international sides. The 1926 Australians attracted a crowd reputed to be over 20,000 for their two-day game in 1926, and the ground also hosted a match between Durham and the West Indians in 1950, notable for

Kenneth Trestrail Kenneth Basil Trestrail (26 November 1927 – 24 December 1992) was a West Indian and Canadian cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a leg-break bowler. He played 18 first-class matches for his native Trinidad in the 1940s, earning sele ...

scoring a century in each innings. In 1990, Indian cricketer

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...

made his first appearance in England at Ashbrooke Sports Ground against a League Conference Cricket Conference XI. Sunderland Rugby Football Club currently play in the Durham/Northumberland Division 2.

References

City of Sunderland suburbs Sunderland {{TyneandWear-geo-stub