Sunderland

Sunderland
City
Top: Monkwearmouth Railway Bridge (left) and Wearmouth Bridge (right) Middle: Stadium of Light and University of Sunderland Bottom Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and the Roker Pier Lighthouse
Sunderland Location within Tyne and Wear
Population	168,277 (2021 Census)[1]
Demonym	Mackem
OS grid reference	NZ395575
• London	240 miles (390 km) SSE
Metropolitan borough	City of Sunderland
Metropolitan county	Tyne and Wear
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SUNDERLAND
Postcode district	SR1–SR6
Dialling code	0191
Police	Northumbria
Fire	Tyne and Wear
Ambulance	North East
UK Parliament	Houghton and Sunderland South Sunderland Central Washington and Sunderland West
Website	sunderland.gov.uk
List of places UK England Tyne and Wear 54°54′22″N 1°22′52″W / 54.906°N 1.381°W / 54.906; -1.381

Sunderland (/ˈsʌndərlənd/ ^ⓘ) is a port city^[a] in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. The built-up area had a population of 168,277 at the 2021 census, making it the second largest settlement in North East England after Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the metropolitan borough of the same name.

Sunderland was once known as 'the largest shipbuilding town in the world' and once made a quarter of all of the world's ships from its famous yards, which date back to 1346 on the River Wear.

The centre of the modern city is an amalgamation of three settlements founded in the Anglo-Saxon era: Monkwearmouth, on the north bank of the Wear, and Sunderland and Bishopwearmouth on the south bank. Monkwearmouth contains St Peter's Church, which was founded in 674 and formed part of Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey, a significant centre of learning in the seventh and eighth centuries. Sunderland was a fishing settlement and later a port, being granted a town charter in 1179. The city traded in coal and salt, also developing shipbuilding industry in the fourteenth century and glassmaking industry in the seventeenth century. Following the decline of its traditional industries in the late 20th century, the area became an automotive building centre. In 1992, the borough of Sunderland was granted city status. Sunderland is historically part of County Durham, being incorporated to the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in 1974.

Locals are sometimes known as Mackems, a term which came into common use in the 1970s. Its use and acceptance by residents, particularly among the older generations, is not universal.^[2][3] The term is also applied to the Sunderland dialect, which shares similarities with the other North East England dialects.

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