30 interesting facts about Sunderland
30 interesting facts about Sunderland
As the City of Sunderland's 30th birthday celebrations continue, we have picked out 30 interesting facts that you may not know about the North East's city by the sea...
1. Sunderland's link to George Washington
Washington Old Hall was the ancestral home of the family of George Washington, the first President of the United States. Several generations lived at Washington Old Hall.
The Washington family crest, featuring red and white stripes and three red stars, is thought to have inspired The Stars and Stripes and Sunderland is the only non-capital city twinned with Washington, D.C.
2. Sunderland was one of UK's most-bombed cities during the Blitz
During World War II, Sunderland was a key target of the German Luftwaffe due to the city being one of the biggest and busiest shipbuilding ports in the UK.
The bombing raids claimed the lives of 267 people in the town, causing damage and destruction to 4,000 homes and many city landmarks.
3. Sunderland Empire is haunted...and some performers refused to appear there
Opened in 1907, Sunderland Empire is the largest theatre between Manchester and Edinburgh.
Oscar-winner Helen Mirren made her stage debut there and it played host to the final performance of comic actor Sid James, who died of a heart attack on stage in 1976. After his death, it was rumoured that his ghost haunted the dressing room he occupied the night he died. It's said comedian Les Dawson refused to play the venue again after a particularly spooky experience.
4. Sunderland: home to Britain's first female serial killer
Mary Ann Cotton is thought to be Britain's first female serial killer in the 1800s.The 'Black Widow' was thought to have murdered around 21 people, including three of her husbands and 11 children. She took out life insurance policies on family members, before poisoning them and collecting pay-outs.
Born in Hetton-le-Hole, she mainly used arsenic, causing gastric pain and a rapid decline of health. She was hanged at Durham Gaol in 1873.
5. Alice in Wonderland was inspired by Sunderland
Lewis Carroll spent much of his childhood in Sunderland, visiting his sisters who lived in Southwick and it's said he took inspiration from the city for a number of his works.
It is believed the coastline around the home of his cousin, Margaret Wilcox, in Whitburn inspired the Walrus and The Carpenter, and that he composed the opening lines of The Jabberwocky as part of a game with his family at their home.
6. Sunderland has the first municipally funded museum outside London
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens was the first municipally funded museum in the country outside London. It houses a comprehensive collection of the locally produced Lustreware pottery.
7. A Sunderland man survived the Titanic
Charles Whilems was a glassblower intent on starting a new life in the United States.
Charles was one of the few survivors after the Titanic sank, and it's said he returned to England following his ordeal and continued to work as a glassblower.
8. The Victoria Hall Disaster was the worst in British history
The Victoria Hall Disaster is one of the worst tragedies in British history. One hundred eighty-three children lost their lives on June 16, 1883, when over 1,000 children who hurried to the staircase for gifts at the Victoria Hall were trapped under it when the stage caved in. The children, all between the ages of three and 14, died of asphyxiation. Today, a monument to remember the Mowbray Park Victoria Hall disaster victims is located in the North-East stands in Mowbray Park.
9. Home of the Cassidy family
One of the wild west's most notorious villains, Butch Cassidy, has family roots on Wearside. In fact, the outlaw's mother, Ann Parker nee Gillies, lived at 50 Dundas Street, Monkwearmouth, which is now the home of Stagecoach's bus depot.
10. SAFC banned a player from going to space
Swedish star Stefan Schwarz, who signed for Sunderland in 1999, signed a contract that included a bizarre clause, dubbed the 'Space Clause', banning him from space travel.
Schwarz had a keen interest in space travel and it was reported one of his advisors had secured tickets for the first passenger space flight. However, Sunderland's contract clause prevented him from going into space, warning that a breach would result in the immediate termination of his contract.
11. Singers like to be beside the seaside
Mark Sheridan, a famed comedian and singer of lusty seaside songs, was brought up in Hendon by Scottish-Irish parents before going on to tour the world performing English music hall hits such as "I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside".
Born in 1864, Sheridan would go on to become one of the most popular music hall comedians of the era, performing across the British Isles and Europe as well as securing gigs as far afield as Australia and South Africa.
12. A glass act
The first stained glass window in England was made in Sunderland in 674 AD at St. Peter's Monastery.
13. Forging history
The tongue of Big Ben was forged on the outskirts of the town, at Hoppers Foundry in Houghton.
14. Home to the Venerable Bede
Britain's first-ever historian and the most famous author of the Anglo Saxon age, Venerable Bede, moved to Sunderland at the age of seven to study at St. Peter's Church in Monkwearmouth
15. A Sunderland sailor inspired the saying 'nail your colours to the mast'
Jack Crawford, a sailor from Sunderland was on Admiral Duncan's ship at the Battle of Campdeown. During the battle, part of the mast was damaged and the Admiral's flag was lowered (considered a sign of surrender).
Crawford climbed the mast and nailed the colours back to the mast. He was presented to the king and given a state pension of £30 a year. He died in poverty, of cholera and was buried in a pauper's grave. A memorial to Jack Crawford is located in Mowbray Park and his actions led to the coining of the phrase 'Nailing your colours to the mast'.
16. A city home to explosive ideas
Southwick-born inventor Sir William Mills received a Knighthood for inventing the hand grenade during the first World War.
17. Cottages built to work
Sunderland is home to the Sunderland cottage. Nowhere else in the country will you find terraces of one story cottages. These cottages were relatively cheap, and together with the fact that the shipyard workers were relatively well paid, meant that in the late 1800s, 27% of households in Sunderland owned the house that they lived in, compared to less than 5% in Birmingham.
18. Lawrence of Sunderland
British military legend Lawrence of Arabia's mother was a hatmaker from Monkwearmouth.
19. A favourite stop-off point of LS Lowry
LS Lowery holidayed annually at Seaburn and paid for many stays at the former Seaburn Hotel, which hung paintings of his on its walls for many years.
20. Home to smash hits
The first 'Mackem' to appear on a UK and US #1 record was George Bellamy, a musician, singer and former rhythm guitarist for The Tornados. Bellamy was also father of Muse lead singer Matt Bellamy.
21. First Japanese car company to operate in Europe
Japanese car-makers Nissan became the first Japanese car company to operate in Europe in 1986 when the company chose Sunderland as the location. Today, the company employs around 6,700 people in the Sunderland suburbs and it is the largest car producer in the UK.
22. Sunderland plane
The town has a plane named after it, the Sunderland flying boat, which is able to take off and land on water.
23. Horrible Histories author
Terry Deary who wrote the history book series, "The Horrible Histories" was born January 3, 1946 in Sunderland.
24. First police box in England
The first police box in England, as seen in Dr. Who was in Sunderland in 1923. The box was an idea brought from America and developed in Sunderland by the Chief Constable, Frederick Crawley.
25. Penshaw monument is actually a mini Hephaestus
One of Sunderland's most famous landmarks, Penshaw Monument, is actually a mini version of the famous temple of Hephaestus in Athens.
26. Hetton steams ahead
The Hetton Railway was the first in the UK to be operated by steam trains as opposed to horse pulled carriages when it was opened in 1822.
27. Shipbuilding capital of the world
Sunderland's shipbuilding industry lasted over six centuries, during which it had over 400 registered shipyards and became the largest shipbuilding town in the world.
28. The Patron Saint of Sunderland
Benedict Biscop (also referred to in ancient texts as Benet Biscop or Biscop Baducing) is the Patron Saint of Sunderland.
29. Sunderland around the world
There are many other Sunderlands around the world, including in the USA and Canada.
30. Sunderland hosts an annual short film festival
Sunderland Shorts Film Festival was established in 2014 and was inspired by the city's partnership with Washington DC. The event has attracted film-makers from around the world and was developed in collaboration with DC Shorts, which is a respected film festival is the US.
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