The area is part of the Anglican Diocese of Durham. It has been in the Roman Catholic diocese of Hexham and Newcastle since the Catholic hierarchy was restored in 1850 Located at the mouth of the River Wear, the name "Sunderland" is reputed to come from Soender-land: the land divided by the river. In 674, King Ecgfrith of Northumbria granted a large tract of land to Benedict Biscop to set up a monastery. As a result, the north side of the river became "Monkwearmouth", and the south, still under the authority of the Bishop of Durham was called "Bishopwearmouth", both names which are used to this day, and so Wearmouth was cut asunder by the river, and politics. Biscop imported glassmakers from France who established a workshop at the Monkwearmouth site, re-establishing glassmaking in Britain. This event is commemorated by the National Glass Centre which stands on a nearby site on the river Wear. The monastery quickly became associated with the Venerable Bede, Britain's first historian and first known prose writer.

Prior to the English Civil War in 1642, the bestowing of the rights to the East of England coal trade upon neighbouring Newcastle by King Charles I created resentment between Newcastle and Sunderland. Sunderland thus sided with Parliament during the civil war and was a barrack town for Scottish mercenaries leading the siege of the Royalist Newcastle which fell in 1644. During the Commonwealth Sunderland was given preferred status over the ports on the Tyne and the then town prospered. After the Restoration a number of Royal Charters restricted Sunderland's growth as a trade centre. This history has contributed to a lasting civic enmity between Newcastle and Sunderland, most evident in the intense football rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle United - one of the longest lasting rivalries in English football.

In 1712 the separate parish of Sunderland was carved from the densely populated east end of Bishopwearmouth, to serve the port. Local government was in the hands of the three churches, and when cholera broke out in 1830 the "select vestrymen" as the church councilmen were called showed themselves completely unable to understand and cope with the epidemic. Demands for democracy and organised town government saw the Borough of Sunderland created in 1836, although impatient citizens elected Andrew White to be Mayor in December 1835.

Sunderland developed on plateaux high above the river, and so never suffered from the problem of allowing people to cross the river without interrupting the passage of high masted vessels. The Wearmouth Bridge was built in 1796, at the instigation of Rowland Burdon, the MP, and is described by Nikolaus Pevsner, the recognised authority, as being of superb elegance. It was the second iron bridge built after the famous span at Ironbridge itself, but over twice as long and only three-quarters the weight.

This page was last updated: 25 August 2005

Town history extracts are taken from Wikipedia and are licensed under GFDL