The renaissance of Monkwearmouth Shore

The industrial settlement of Monkwearmouth Shore, hemmed in by ballast heaps, was largely demolished late in the 19th century. 

The ‘Gateshead of Sunderland’, Monkwearmouth Shore’s waterside, was sold by Sir Hedworth Williamson for shipyards. The Williamson estate office on the front street of the Shore was itself a victim, moving to Bridge Street, near the railway station. Many ancient properties, shops and inns as well as houses, were swept away, collateral damage in the Shore’s renaissance. ‘Alas! In Monkwearmouth as elsewhere “Monuments themselves memorials need”.’

Shipbuilding itself disappeared in the 1970s and 1980s, and the riverside site where Thompson's yard once stood is now occupied by the university's St Peter's campus.