Sunderland, South Wearmouth village

HER Number:
1988

District:
Sunderland

Site Name:
Sunderland, South Wearmouth village

Place:
Sunderland

Map Sheet:
NZ45NW

Class:
Domestic

Site Type: Broad:
Settlement

Site Type: Specific:
Village

General Period:
Early Medieval

Specific Period:
C7

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
Bede wrote that Bishop Benedict brought back from a journey to Rome, two silk cloaks which he gave to King Alfrid of Northumbria in exchange for the vill of South Wearmouth "which lay on the south bank of the Wear and so opposite the monastery". It is not clear whether the 7th century vill referred to by Bede is early evidence of the settlement which became Sunderland (HER ref. 170) or whether it was the settlement which became known as Bishopwearmouth (HER ref. 163). The description, opposite the monastery, would most accurately fit Sunderland.

Easting:
403

Northing:
574

Grid Reference:
NZ403574

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 1988 >> Northern Archaeological Associates, 2003, Low Street, Sunderland Archaeological Assessment, p 6. P. Wilcock (trans), 1818, Bede, The Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth, p 23; Archaeological Services Durham University, 2011, Noble's Quay, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear - Archaeological Watching Brief