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- 1. Research For BrightLights 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 increasesubstantially 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 childrenthis 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 hadfloodlightsinstalledinthelate 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 WinterGardenwasactuallydamagedbya 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.
- 7. Sunderland Theatre: The SunderlandTheatre,onceknownasthe ‘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 isastructure 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.
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