Sunderland Bridge (village)
| Sunderland Bridge | |
| County Durham | |
|---|---|
 The Honest Lawyer, Sunderland Bridge | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NZ269376 |
| Location: | 54°43’60"N, 1°34’60"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Durham |
Sunderland Bridge is a village in County Durham, found about three miles south of Durham city, and beside Croxdale.[1] In 1961 the parish had a population of 907.[2]
The village takes its name from a bridge across the River Wear here, named Sunderland Bridge. The bridge itself is a little way outside the village that borrows its name. 'Sunderland' means sundered or separated land; in this case parish lands separated from the parish of St Oswald's in Durham City, by the River Wear.[3]
Church
In the village stands St Bartholomew's Church, a Victorian church built between 1843 and 1846 (by George Pickering) and extended between 1876 and 1878 (by C.H. Fowler), with the addition of a new nave and chancel.
The church was built to serve the new settlement of Croxdale Colliery which had rapidly developed less than half a mile south of the village to house workers for the new mine workings in the area (now simply known as Croxdale). The land for the church was given by the Salvin family of nearby Croxdale Hall in exchange for the old chapel on the Croxdale estate. The churchyard is the resting place of James Finlay Weir Johnston the founding father of Durham Johnston School in near by Durham.
History
In the 14th century, the Wear was bridged here, between the land between the Wear and the River Browney on the north bank and the sundered lands of the Parish of St Oswald, 'Sunderland', on the south, and the estates of Croxdale Hall. The bridge, Sunderland Bridge, still stands, though superseded for modern traffic.
The hamlet that grew up by the bridge was formerly a township in the Parish of St Oswald, Durham.[4]
In 1845 the Salvin family of Croxdale Hall opened the Croxdale Pit nearby was opened, mining coal. However it had closed by 1870. In 1866, Sunderland Bridge was raised to being a civil parish in its own right.[5] A new mine opened in 1875, by the Weardale Iron and Coal Company; Croxdale Colliery was just to the south of Sunderland Bridge and at its peak employed over 900 workers.[6] These workings resulted in the birth of the neighbouring village, Croxdale.
References
- ↑ "Durham Memories: Bridge spans centuries of village life" (in en). https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/7010094.durham-memories-bridge-spans-centuries-village-life/.
- ↑ "Population statistics Sunderland Bridge CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10144851/cube/TOT_POP. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ↑ "North-East History Tour: Sunderland Bridge (NZ266376)". 6 November 2012. https://northeasthistorytour.blogspot.com/2012/11/sunderland-bridge-nz266376.html.
- ↑ "History of Sunderland Bridge, in Durham and County Durham". A Vision of Britain through Time. https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4287. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ↑ "Relationships and changes Sunderland Bridge CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10144851. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ↑ "Durham Mining Museum - Croxdale Colliery". http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/c016.htm.