Sunderland Then Vs Now Script

1. Created using Celtx
INTRODUCTION
NARRATOR
Located on the coast of the North-East
of England,
on the River Wear's mouth to the North
Sea,
10 miles from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, is
a city named Sunderland.
This city is located in the
metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear.
In 1992, the borough of Sunderland was
granted its city status and as of 2022
has a growing population of 344,000.
EMPIRE THEATRE
Firstly, lets start of with some of
Sunderland's entertainment, The Empire
Theatre.
Originally titled as The Empire
Palace, the theatre was independently
established by Richard Thornton (after
his partnership with theatre magnate
Edward Moss was dissolved).
I got the pleasure of visiting the
Empire during its closed hours thanks
to Steph Durkin, the Creative Learning
Producer at Sunderland Empire.
The Empire opened on the 1st of July,
1907 and is located in High Street
West, Sunderland.
Currently the theatre is owned by City
of Sunderland Council and operated by
Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd, on
behalf of Sunderland Empire Theatre
Trust.
With a capacity of 2,200 people
standing and 1,860 people seated, the
buildings architect was Frank Matcham.
The auditorium is also one of the few
remaining in the UK to have four

2. 2.
Created using Celtx
tiers, namely the Orchestra Stalls,
the Dress Circle, the Upper Circle and
the Gallery.
With the decline of touring theatre, a
projection box was added in 1930 and
for the first time, the theatre played
host to motion pictures.
Although audience figures were high
during the 1940s and early 1950s, the
theatre closed in May 1959 due to the
growing popularity of television and
cinema. However, it reopened in 1960
after Sunderland Council bought the
theatre.
On two separate occasions (the 9th of
February 1963 and the 30th of November
of the same year) The Beatles
travelled to Sunderland and performed
live at the theatre, later getting a
dressing room named in honour of the
band.
Others that got dressing rooms
dedicated to them included Laurel and
Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Vesta Tilley,
Rudolf Nureyev and Sid James.
The actor Sid James suffered a heart
attack during a performance of The
Mating Season on 26 April 1976 and
died on the way to hospital. Later it
was rumoured that on the night of his
death, in the dressing room that he
occupied was his ghost; after one
experience during a gig there, the
comedian Les Dawson refused to play
the venue again.
Nowadays, the theatre regularly plays
host to large-scale musicals, opera,
ballet, dance showcases, amateur
productions and one-night shows.
The theatre now is a receiving house
for large-scale touring productions
such as Wicked, Matilda the Musical,
and War Horse.

3. 3.
Created using Celtx
From being around since 1907, The
Empire has experienced a lot,
including two world wars and several
different management.
The statue on top of the theatre, that
depicts a rendering of the Greek
goddess of dance and music, is
actually a replica made out of
fibreglass, however the original can
be seen at the top of the main
staircase.
The original was moved from the top of
the building during the second World
War because of the bombing raids.
FOOTBALL BRIDGE
The citizens of Sunderland are often
referred to as Mackems. However the
word has a couple other meaning
relating to Sunderland, it could also
refer to Sunderland's local accent and
dialect or football fans of S.A.F.C.
The earliest record of this word being
used was found from this news article
in the Sunderland Echo that was
released in 1929.
Mackems are usually working class and
have been stereotyped to be a little
aggressive at times, but realistically
we're all quite friendly. We can just
sometimes have our moments, especially
when it comes to the football.
FOOTBALL
The ninth-biggest football ground in
England, with a capacity of 48,707, is
The Stadium of Light.
In 1999 The Stadium of Light hosted
its first full international when
England took on Belgium in a friendly,
and housed its first competitive
international in April 2003 as England
faced Turkey in a Euro 2004 qualifier.

4. 4.
Created using Celtx
Sunderland's home hosted a music
concert for the first time when Take
That visited in summer 2009, and it
has since become one of the most
respected venues on the European music
circuit (e.g. Ed Sheeran, Elton John).
COLLIERIES BRIDGE
The Stadium of Light was built on the
former site of the Monkwearmouth
Colliery.
Sunderland had several different
mining collieries including Wearmouth
(which shut down in 1994), Hylton
(which shut down in 1979), Herrington
(which closed in 1985), Silksworth (in
1971), Ryhope (in 1966).
In the 14th century coal mining grew
in economic importance, because of
this coal mines spread out from the
banks of the River Wear and into the
surrounding countryside.
Some of those who worked in the mines
were as young as 5 years old and these
children would work as trapper boys.
Infants made up one fifth of the
workplace in the Sunderland pits.
Trapper boys opened and closed
doorways along the pits' underground
roads, these doorways helped control
the airflow throughout the mines.
Trappers earned about 5 shillings per
week, which is the equivalent of 25p,
and a 16 hour day was normal for these
children.
Coal mines were dark, filthy and very
dangerous, the coal dust would damage
the workers' lungs, especially in the
developing children, and there were no
legislations in place to protect those
working in the pits.

5. 5.
Created using Celtx
COLLIERIES
December of 1985 marks the closure of
Herrington Colliery.
After its opening in 1874, coal mines
in Sunderland provided many jobs to
the Sunderland citizens.
After opening, Herrington Colliery
alone employed 925 people. It peaked
at employment in 1960, employing a
total of 1,766 people.
When closing in 1985, there were 180
people employed, amongst these were
men and children.
Fatalities were common with working in
the mines, the most common fatalities
were caused by falling stones.
The youngest fatality on record from
the Herrington Colliery mine was John
William Jones who was a driver at the
mine at age 12.
However many of those working were a
lot younger.
SHIPYARDS BRIDGE
Another sector that brought vast
employment to the citizens of
Sunderland was the shipyards.
SHIPYARDS
Sunderland shipbuilding begin in 1346,
when Thomas Menville was recorded as
building a ship in Hendon.
Little is known about shipbuilding on
Wearside until the 18th century, when
improvements to the port helped
transform Sunderland into one of
Britain's shipbuilding hubs.
Sunderland was once dubbed as "the
largest shipbuilding town in the
world", with over 400 registered

6. 6.
Created using Celtx
shipyards.
From 1846 till 1854, a third of the
ships that were built in the UK were
from Wearside.
It was harsh working on the shipyards,
the gates would be locked by 6am,
meaning if you were late you'd lose a
quarter of a days pay. Death and
injury were common and compensation
payments weren't regulated until the
late 19th century. Even in the 20th
century, when medical officers were
present at yards and safety equipment
was used, injuries were still a daily
occurrence.
Because of these awful conditions,
strikes were common. The Sunderland
Engineers strike of 1883 to 1885 was
one of the longest on the Wear.
The shipyards began to decline after
three great depressions, 1884 to 1887
(mass unemployment and wage
reductions), 1908 - 1910 (national
fall in ship production), 1930s (fall
in demand after WW1).
Finally, due to WW2, production
increased worldwide meaning more
competition.
Throughout the years following WW2
more shipyards closed or merged and
finally on the 7th of December 1988,
the last remaining shipyard on the
Wear closed, bringing shipbuilding in
Sunderland to a sad closure.
VAUX BREWERY
A beloved name in Sunderland for
almost 200 years, that was a major
employer in the city, was Vaux
Brewery.
Founded in 1806 by Cuthbert Vaux, the

7. 7.
Created using Celtx
company was originally known as "C.
Vaux & Sons" up until 1837.
The brewery was an important part of
city life in Sunderland up until its
closure in 1999.
The brand was relaunched in 2019 and
Monk Street brewery & taproom opened
in 2021.
GLASS CENTRE
Sunderland has a rich heritage of
glass making dating back since 674 AD,
when Benedict Biscop, the founder of
Wearmouth-Jarrow Priory brought
skilled craftsmen from Gual to create
the first stained glass window to ever
be made in the UK. This stained glass
window was made for St Peters church
where it still stands today.
The Frenchmen taught the local people
how to make glass, making Wearside one
of the earliest glass making centres
in the country.
By the 19th century glass making
became a hugely successful business
within Sunderland.
Glass was made in Sunderland and
shipped to different countries all
across Europe and by 1860 more than
1,000 glass makers were employed in
Sunderland from over 20 different
companies.
In October of 1998, The National Glass
Centre was officially opened by Prince
Charles.
UNIVERSITY BRIDGE
Not far from The National Glass
Centre, is one of Sunderland
University's campuses.

8. 8.
Created using Celtx
UNIVERSITY
Formally known as Sunderland Technical
College, it was established in 1901
and gained its university status in
1992, after Sunderland was officially
announced as a city.
The university has two campuses in
Sunderland, Sir Tom Cowie Campus and
City Campus, as well as campuses in
London and Hong Kong.
Sunderland University was ranked in
the top 50 universities in the UK,
according to the Guardian.
ST PETERS CHURCH BRIDGE
One of the Sunderland based campuses,
Sir Tom Cowie Campus, is located
opposite St Peter's Church, where the
first British made stained glass
window is located.
ST PETERS CHURCH
Dating back as far as the 7th century,
the church still has its original
Anglo-Saxon features.
The church is one of the UK's first
stone churches and is located on the
north side of the River Wear, it also
has links to Saint Bede.
Originally, the church was led by
Benedict Biscop, who later became the
regents Saint.
HYLTON CASTLE
Another historic building located in
Sunderland is Hylton Castle.
The remains of this 14th century
medieval gatehouse was built by Sir
William Hylton as a fortified manor in
around the year 1400.
Archaeological investigations and

9. 9.
Created using Celtx
surviving documents suggest that the
castle originally had several other
buildings to the east of the
gatehouse, including a hall, chambers,
barns and a kitchen.
In the 1800s the castle was used as a
boarding school, in which Joseph Swan,
a famous physicist who invented the
lightbulb, attended and in Work War 1
the castle was used as a training camp
for the soldiers.
With periods of abandonment in the
1800s, the castle began to decay with
no one to care for it.
Hylton Castle is now a Grade I Listed
Building is now owned by the English
Heritage.
PENSHAW MONUMENT
Our final historical building, is
Penshaw Monument.
At the top of Penshaw Hill is
Wearside's most beloved Monument.
Built in 1844 to commemorate the Earl
of East Durham, John George Lambton.
This 70 foot high monument is known as
Penshaw Monument or the Earl of East
Durham's Monument.
It is a replica of a temple in Athens
and is shown on Sunderland Football
Club's badge.
OUTRO
Sunderland is a city with history, and
because of these historical events and
monuments, it had became the city that
it is known as today.