Church of Holy Trinity

HER Number

4421

District

Sunderland

Site Name

Church of Holy Trinity

Place

Sunderland

Map Sheet

NZ45NW

Class

Religious Ritual and Funerary

Site Type: Broad

Place of Worship

Site Type: Specific

Church

General Period

POST MEDIEVAL

Specific Period

Hanoverian 1714 to 1837

Form of Evidence

Extant Building

Description

Since the old parish church of Bishopwearmouth was no longer large enough, in 1719 an Act of Parliament was obtained to establish the new parish of Sunderland. So it was that the Church of Holy Trinity came to be built, and its cemetery to be laid out, in about 1719 on a piece of ground enclosed from the town moor or common pasture. The church was enlarged in 1735 by the addition of an east apse, and in 1803 the interior was remodelled by Thomas Wilson, who had directed the construction of Burdon's Iron Bridge across the Wear. In 1988, because of a dwindling congregation and the need for expensive repairs, the church was closed. It is now in the care of the Redundant Churches Fund. LISTED GRADE 1

Easting

440570

Northing

557180

Grid Reference

NZ440570557180

Sources

<< HER 4421 >> J. Rain, 1785, An Eye Plan of Sunderland and Bishopwearmouth; Clay, Miller & Milburn, 1984, An Eye Plan of Sunderland and Bishopwearmouth, p 33; N. Pevsner (second edition revised by Elizabeth Williamson), 1985, The Buildings of England: County Durham, p 45;0; Dept. of National Heritage, A List of Buildings of Special ... Interest, 920-1/12/45; I. Ayris, River Wear Heritage Trail; R. Hutchins, 1982, Sunderland Parish Church - A Short History; Nigel Green, 2009, Tough Times & Grisly Crimes, page 17; McCarrison and Veitch, 2019. A photographic survey of Church of Holy Trinity: Church Conservation Trust 2020, Heritage Statement;Pre-construct Archaeology, 2020, An archaeological watching brief at Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear: watching brief and osteological analysis report; Pre-construct Archaeology, 2021, Negative watching brief report, Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear; https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1208056