Sunderland

Sunderland is an industrial city and a port in the urban area of Tyne and Wear, and historically part of County Durham in North east England. Its population is around 195,000. Before Sunderland became a city in 1992, it was one of the largest non-cities in Europe. In 2002 Sunderland was connected to the Tyne and Wear Metro system.

The city of Sunderland forms the largest part of a metropolitan borough, which includes the towns of Washington, Houghton-le-Spring and Hetton-le-Hole. The metropolitan borough has a combined population of 280,807 (2001).

Located at the mouth of the River Wear, the name 'Sunderland' is reputed to come from Sunder-land: the land divided by the river, and probably dates back to Anglo-Saxon times when there was a monastery (associated with the Venerable Bede) at Wearmouth.

Next to the North Sea, Sunderland was traditionally a major centre of the shipbuilding and coal mining industries, although the last shipyard closed in 1988 and the last coalmine in 1994.

As the traditional industries have declined, they have been replaced by electronics, car manufacture at the Nissan plant on the road to Washington, chemicals, and paper manufacture.

Like many cities, it is comprised of several areas with their own distinct histories, eg: Fulwell, Monkwearmouth, Roker and Southwick on the northern side of the Wear, and Bishopwearmouth and Hendon to the south.

Sunderland is home to a football team Sunderland A.F.C.

The Short Sunderland was a type of flying boat used by the RAF during World War II. It was named after the city.