Monkwearmouth
Monkwearmouth is an area of
Sunderland located at the north side of the mouth of the
River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with
Bishopwearmouth and
Hendon (also known as 'Old Sunderland' in this context). It includes the area around
St. Peter's Church and was once the main centre of wearside shipbuilding and coalmining in the town. It is now host to a campus of the
University of Sunderland.
The locals of the area were called "barbary coasters" for reasons unknown. The borough stretches from
Wearmouth bridge to the harbour mouth on the north side of the river and is one of the oldest parts of Sunderland.
The former railway station, closed in 1968, is now the
Monkwearmouth Station Museum and features a restored booking office dating from the
Edwardian period. Since 2002 Monkwearmouth has once again been served by rail transport, this time via
St. Peter's Tyne and Wear Metro station a few hundred yards south of the old station.
The area is also the home of the
Stadium of Light, which was built on the site of the abandonned Monkwearmouth Colliery in 1997, and is the home of the football club
Sunderland A.F.C.