1. Research For Bright Lights Project
History of the city of Sunderland
Sunderland is a city that is located within the Northern part of England. The people of the city
of Sunderland are referred to as ‘Mackem's’ which is a term that originated around the 1980’s.
Interestingly the history of Sunderland dates all the way back to the Roman and Anglo-Saxon
empires. There are recorded settlements of Anglo Saxons who lived within Sunderland dated
back to 674 when apparently a Saxon man was granted land by the king of Northumbria at the
time and this ended up becoming a monastery, and a small church remains of this monastery to
this day (Now known as St. Peters Church which is in Monkwearmouth.) This church is
something I am fond of as the monastery it was once part of was actually a major centre for
learning at one point as they had a library that contained around three hundred volumes which
at the time was an impressive amount. Unfortunately, the monastery was later abandoned in
the ninth century due to the fact that there had been Vikings raiding the coast. This piece of
history is one of the reasons I feel I should include the church in my series of images as it
represents a vast piece of history that took place within the city I have lived in my whole life.
Although Sunderland is commonly known as a ship town to the newer generations the history
of the city states that before any of this Sunderland was once a fishing village around the year
of 1100. And due to this as the years passed Sunderland was eventually upgraded into
becoming a port where fishing was the main commercial item. For the next century or so trade
was essentially just fish however in 1346 the creation of ships begun within Sunderland
however this wouldn’t become what we were known for until many centuries later. Over the
13th, 14th and 15th centuries the trades begun to evolve and due to the growth of the port the
exportation of salt and coal begun from as early as 13th century records claim. There is also
evidence that the boatbuilding begun to take off around the later years of the 17th century, the
first shipyard opening in 1672 by a family called the Goodchilds.
Interestingly in 1717 measures were taken by the River Wear commission to begin constructing
the ‘South Pier’ which they made with the aim of diverting the river channel away however it
took them from 1723 until 1759 to actually get this construction done.
Records claimthat by the eighteenth century this is when the banks of the wear were
apparently beginning to have many small shipyards being built there and the shipbuilding trade
2. begun to increase substantially from here on, even going as far as to begin building warships
and commercial sailing ships. We were the fourth largest port by the year 1788 as well as being
the leading coal exporter within Britain. At this time our growth just increased with the
introduction of the French revolutionary war which caused an insatiable demand for coal.
By the 19th century we were still one of the biggest exporters of coal, as well as the fact we
were still trading salt and glass. However, the exports of glass changed slightly with the
introduction of the glassmaking that was at its height during the nineteenth century. Pottery
also begun to flourish within this century as it was a way to use raw materials that were being
brought into Sunderland by ships. The cities pottery was exported across Europe as it was
popular within the home market. Other exports we were once known for was lime which was
used in fertiliser as well as alumand copperas.
Victoria Hall Disaster:
There is a well-known statue that sits in Mowbray Park which depicts a woman holding her
dead child in her arms which is a memorial for the victims of the Victoria Hall disaster that took
place on the sixteenth of June in the year 1883. This memorial was built from donations sent
from all over Britain and as well as these donations funding the memorial it also was used to
fund the funerals of the children who were lost within this disaster. (The queen at the time also
contributed to this disaster fund as well as giving her condolences to the families of the
children.) Although the statue was first build in Mowbray Park at one point it had been moved
to Bishopwearmouth century however it fell to disrepair at this time as well as being vandalised
so due to this it was moved back to the park and given a protective canopy as you can see in
the image provided.
The Victoria Hall disaster took place within Victoria Hall in Sunderland, England. Travelling
entertainers (Mr and Mrs Fay) were holding a magic show which consisted of tricks and
illusions, however at the end of the show the entertainers announced that certain children with
numbered tickets were going to be presented with a prize upon exit as well as the fact that the
entertainers were distributing gifts themselves to the children. However, seeing as the
entertainers were giving out treats, many children feared that they would miss out, so they
surged towards the staircase leading downstairs however at the bottom of these stairs there
was only one door that opened inwards, and the gap was only large enough for one child to
pass at once. Seeing as there were such a large number of children surging towards this one
door it meant that the children at the back were pushing those at the front in hopes of not
missing out on the toys however this meant that those at the front of this group were trapped
and begun to get crushed to death due to the weight of the crowd behind them. Due to the
3. stampede of children this resulted in the death of 183 children aged between the ages of three
and fourteen.
An account from a survivor about his experience and the realisation that people were dying:
“Soonwe were mostuncomfortablypackedbutstill goingdown.SuddenlyIfeltthatI wastreadingupon
someone lyingonthe stairsandI criedinhorror to those behind"Keepback,keepback!There's
someone down."Itwasnouse,I passedslowlyoverandonwards withthe massandbefore longI
passedoverotherswithoutemotion.”
Penshaw Monument:
I thoughtseeingasI will be doingmyworkfocusingonthe historyof Sunderland, Iwouldneedtoknow
the historyof the placesIplanon includinginmywork,startingoff withPenshaw monumentasthisis
one of the more populardestinationsfortouristsandcitizens.Penshaw monumentisamonumentthat
was builtbetween1844 and 1845 inthe style of anancient Greek temple.Itwasbuiltasa memorial to
JohnLambtonwho wasthe firstearl of Durham betweenthe yearsof 1792 and 1840. It was saidto have
cost around£6000 at the time howeverthe moneyforthiswasraisedbysubscription. Basedinthe
temple of Hephaestus thatislocatedinAthens,itisatemple thatconsistsof eighteencolumnsaswell
as no roof or innerchamber.However,one of itscolumnsincludesahiddenspiral staircase thatleadsup
to a walkway where youcansee across the large plainsthatsurroundthe structure.The staircase was
closedat one pointaftera teenagerfell tohisdeathfrom the topof the monumentandeventuallythe
structure was fencedoff inthe 1930s whenthe structure fell intodisrepair. Howeverthe structure was
restore in1939.
Surprisingly,there wasnodamage done tothe monumentduringthe secondworldwar. Due to damage
that had beenreportedacrossthe monument(Suchasmultiplelarge stonesfallingfromthe structure,
the stairsnot beingas safe astheycouldbe etc) the structure eventually afence waserectedaroundthe
structure and constructionbeganonthe monumenttoensure itwasas safe as possible.Itwasdefinitely
neededasbythe late 1950’s the monument wascrackeditssouthern,northernandwesternsidesas
well asthe fact that some of the monument'swalkwayhadbecome detached.
4. The structure hadfloodlightsinstalledinthe late 1980’s and because of thisthe landmarkissometimes
illuminatedatnightduringspecial occasions.Thismonumentisalocal landmarkand isviewedaspretty
much the symbol of the northeastdue toits simplicity, grandeurandoverall significancehoweverothers
critiqueditdue tothe fact thatit the buildingsmaterialsmade itsoitseemspoorlyconstructedduring
more moderntimes.Aswell asthis,criticsduringthe 19th
centuryclaimedtheyfeltthatthe monument
isnot a worthydepictionof the manit wasbuiltfor.
Between1994 and 1996 several of the floodlightsthatwere usedtoilluminatethe monumentwere
stolenandthe police claimedtheythoughtthatthe lightswouldhave beenused forgrowingcannabis.
The monumentalsohadto be refurbishedfurtherin1994 as it was reportedthatthe monument’s
bottomof the columnsaroundthe structure were noteven.The national trust wassaidto have spent
over£100,000 on thisrestoration. InMarch of 2014 the council announcedtheywouldalsobe
replacingthe floodlights astheyfiguredusingenergyefficientLEDlightswouldsave more moneyinthe
longrun (Around£8000 a year.) However,ayearlaternine of these lightswere stolen(wortharound
£20,000 intotal)
Winter Gardens:
The WinterGardensis a well-knownspotwithinthe towncentre of Sunderland.Itisa museumthat
includesacafé as well asa giftshop,withvariousfloorsthatfocuson the historyof Sunderland.The
museumwasestablishedin1846 on FawcettStreetand wasthe firstmunicipallyfundedmuseuminall
of England outside of London. Itisthe onlymuseumthatcontainsa knownBritishexampleof agliding
reptile. Aroundthirtyyearsafterthe museumwasopeneditwasmovedtoa much largerbuildingnext
to Mowbray Parothat nowincludedalibrary. Aswell asthis,the wintergardenspartof itwas designed
basedof a model of the Crystal Palace fromLondon.
5. Duringthe secondworldwar,the WinterGardenwas actuallydamagedbya parachute mine andwas
thendemolishedthe followingyear.Althoughtherewasanextensionbuiltinthe 1960s, itwasn’tuntil
2001 that the buildingwasrefurbishedandmade intothe WinterGardensthe citizensof Sunderland
knownow.Thisrestorationwasfundedby lottery, anditmeantthat there wasan extension addedto
the WinterGardenas well asimprovingthe building’sfacilities. In2003 the museumwasthe recognised
as beingthe mostattendedmuseuminEnglandoutsideof London.
The WinterGarden issaidto containover2000 plantsand flowersaswell asthe fact that ithas a koi
pondinside it.Itispopularwiththe youngergenerationinthe city.The buildingalsoincludesaspiral
staircase that leadsyoutoa metal platformthatyoucan walkaround onto lookat the plantsfroma
higherperspective. There isalsoalarge collectionof Lustreware Potterythatwasmade locallyasitwas
one of ourbiggestexportsatone pointinhistory. There are alsoglass casesaroundthe museumthat
include some of the glassware thatwasmade locallyatdifferentpointsinthe citieshistory.Different
highlightsof the museuminclude astuffedlionthatwas acquired in1879 as well asa stuffedwalrus and
the firstNissancar that was made inthe city.
For a periodof time the librarywasmovedto FawcettStreethoweverinrecentthe libraryhasbeen
returnedtobottomfloorof the museumwithalimitedamountof bookshoweverthere isaccesstoa
wide varietyof booksonthe library'sapp.
6.
7. Sunderland Theatre:
The SunderlandTheatre,once knownasthe ‘Empire Palace’wasestablishedbyaman namedRichard
Thorntonin1907. AlthoughitwasestablishedbyThornton,Itwasopenedbya womancalledMatilda
Alice Powleswhowentbythe stage name ‘VestaTilley.’(Anditwasshe wholaidthe foundationstone
for the buildinginSeptemberof 1906)
The dome on top of the towerfeatureda revolvingsphere that included astatue of Terpsichore who
was saidto be the Greekmuse of dance and choral song howeveritwasremovedduringthe second
worldwar forsafetyreasonsas a bombthat had fallenclose tothe building hadrockedthe building.The
statue still remainsonthe premisesthoughanditnow sitsat the top of the main staircase that a replica
of the dome thatonce wason top of the building. The original dome wasrefittedtothe buildingwitha
floodlightsystemthatilluminatedthe entrance of the buildingona night.
Until the mid1920’s, the empire seemedtohave muchsuccessfromthe varietyof performancesitput
on howeverdue tothe decline of touringtheatre,adecisionwasmade tohave a projectionbox added
in1930 and from there itmeantthe theatre couldhostmotionpictures. Italsosaidthat apparently
TommySteele made hisstage debutheadingavarietyshow thattook place in1956, appearingatthe
Empire manytimesduringhiscareer.Due to the growthof the televisionandcinemaindustry,the
Theatre closedin1959 howeveritthenopenedupagaina yearlaterafterSunderlandCouncil boughtthe
building. Thiswas goodforthe city as the Beatlesendedupperformingthere duringtheirfirstnational
tour.
There wasa wantfor the abilityforSunderlandtohostWestEnd showssoin2004 the theatre closedfor
nine months, anda £4.5 million redevelopmentprojectbeguntoensure thiswaspossible.The theatre is
nowa house forlarge scale touringproductionssuchasMatilda, War Horse, Wickedaswell asothers.
8. Hylton Castle:
HyltonCastle isa structure that isin the NorthHyltonarea withinthe Cityof Sunderland thatwasbuilt
by the Hiltonfamily.Itwasoriginallymade fromwoodhoweveritwaslaterrebuiltusingstone inthe
late 14th
centuryto the early15th
century.The castle had changesmade to itsinteriorinthe 18th
century
and itremainedthe home of the Hiltonfamilyuntil the deathof itslastBaroninthe mid1740s. It was
thenchangedto lookmore gothicand once thiswas done the building wasleftneglecteduntil1812. It
was revitalisedbyitsnewownerhoweveritwasthenleftemptyagainuntil the 1840’s where itwas
brieflyusedasa school until beingboughtagainin1862. Itwas thenpassedontoa local coal companyin
aroundthe 20th
centurybefore beingtakenoverbythe state in1950.
The castlesmain featureswouldhave tobe itsheraldicdevicesfoundmainlyfoundonthe western
exteriorof the buildingwhichhave remainedonthe buildingsince its original construction.Theydepict
a coat of arms that belongedtolocal gentryand peers, anditprovides anapproximate date of
constructionfromwhenthe castle was reconstructed instone.
Today the castle isownedbya charity that managesthe historical environmentof England.The castle
and chapel are protectedastheyare a Grade I listedbuilding(justlike Penshaw Monument).InFebruary
of 2016 planswere announcedtoturnthe castle intoa touristattractionas well asa communityfacility.
