The River Wear – Mouth to Source
This is the first part of a series covering the big rivers of North East England, namely the Rivers Wear, Tees and Tyne.
I start with the River Wear.
The River Wear is 60 miles long, rising in the East Pennines near Wearhead, and reaches the North Sea at Sunderland. The mouth of the river is quite distinctive, with the piers protecting the entrance to the North Sea. To the North of the river mouth is an area known as Monkwearmouth. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bishopwearmouth and Sunderland, the area now known as the East End. 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 and the National Glass Centre. It is served by the three Church of England churches of the Parish of Monkwearmouth.
The locals of the area were called “Barbary Coasters”. The borough stretches from Wearmouth Bridge (centre of photograph) to the harbour mouth on the north side of the river and is one of the oldest parts of Sunderland.
To the left of the photograph is the Stadium of Light, which was opened on the site of the abandoned Wearmouth Colliery in July 1997, and is the home of the football club Sunderland A.F.C., who had previously played at Roker Park. Wearmouth Colliery was closed in December 1993, and had been in operation for over 100 years.
