Few local court records survive for Sunderland in the medieval and early modern periods.
River fisheries formed part of the bishop’s rights, or were attached to the former monastic lands, and, as with other properties of the bishop, wer
There is evidence of some small scale salt production in Sunderland during the later middle ages.
Whilst there is some evidence of small scale coal exporting in medieval Sunderland it was not until the closing decades of the 16th century that th
Hendon, located on the coast, immediately to the south of the borough, was already in use as a port by the later 14th century, although other refer
The most prominent secular tenants within the Sunderland area were the Hiltons, who held the castle and lordship of Hylton (See the Hilton Family
Until the 18th century the only communal means of contact between the main Wearmouth settlements was the ferry crossing situated at the most easter
The medieval parish of Bishopwearmouth comprised the townships of Bishopwearmouth, Ford, Bishopwearmouth Panns, Ryhope, Silksworth, Tunstall and Bu
The parish church of St Michael and All Angels in Bishopwearmouth belonged to the bishop of Durham, who appointed its rectors.
After its destruction by the Vikings the once proud Anglo-Saxon monastery of Wearmouth remained ruinous and uninhabited until the later 11th centur
