Discover Sunderland, Tyne and Wear

Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holy_Trinity_Church_Sunderland,_Tyne_and_Wear.jpg
Author: Merlinseyes


Sunderland is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. The metropolitan borough includes surrounding towns such as Hetton-le-Hole, Houghton-le-Spring and Washington. It is located at the mouth of the River Wear as it empties into the North Sea.

The metropolitan borough of Sunderland covers 137.46 sq km (53.1 sq mi) and has a population of 281,000 people (2012 estimate). It was formed in 1974 by merging the County Borough of Sunderland with the Washington Urban District, Houghton-le-Spring Urban District and Hetton Urban District. It was granted city status in 1992 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ascension.

Sunderland is not a cathedral city; it does not have its own cathedral, and belongs to the Diocese of Durham. The main Anglican church in the city is the Sunderland Minster Church of St Michaels and All Angels, also known as St Michael's Church or Sunderland Minster.

The original part of Sunderland was on the south bank of the River Wear. Over time, it merged with other settlements in the area, including Monkwearmouth on the north bank and Bishopwearmouth on the south bank. Due to its location by the coast, it grew as a port where the main trades were in coal and salt.

Sunderland Magistrates Court: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sunderland_Magistrates%27_Court.jpg
Author: Craigy144


From the 14th century to the 19th, Sunderland became one of the biggest shipbuilding towns in England, if not the world. In the early part of the 20th century, it manufactured the lion's share of ships made in England, accounting for a quarter of the merchant tonnage produced between 1939 and 1945.

The post World War 11 decades were a long period of decline for Sunderland. Stiff competition for other countries eventually forced the closure of its shipyards, causing massive unemployment and high crime rates. Its economy only began to improve from the mid 1980s, as the city shifted its focus to information technology. This is reflected in the redevelopment of some parts of the city, such as Sunniside, which now has upscale residential and retail properties.

Visiting Sunderland

Take the A1(M) motorway until Exit 64. Continue on the A195 until it joins the A1231 (Sunderland Highway) at the roundabout. Head east on the A1231 until you arrive in Sunderland.

You can also take a train to Sunderland. The Grand Central trains offer services from London Kings Cross Station to Sunderland Central. Alternatively, you can take a train to Newcastle upon Tyne Central Station, then change to the Tyne & Wear Metro to Sunderland.

Places of Interest in Sunderland

Sunderland is on the Map of cities in England

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Map of Ceremonial Counties of England

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.