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Start Point: Russell Street
 

We start this tour at the junction of High Street West and High Street East on the original western boundary for Sunderland Parish, at the junction of Russell Street and Sans Street, marked originally by a distinctive boundary stone known as the blue stone.

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In 1820, Sunderland was composed of five distinct and separate parishes; Sunderland, Bishopwearmouth, Bishopwearmouth - Panns, Monkwearmouth, and Monkwearmouth-Shore. Each Parish had its own Overseers, and dealt with community issues like rates, poverty, the workhouse, sanitation, and water supplies individually. During this period it was said to be a very compact town and contained approximately 30,887 inhabitants.

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However by the 1800s, Sunderland High Street, or the King’s High Way was thriving with a sea of ever changing local businesses. The bottom of the High Street East was lined with open markets selling fish, meat, clothes and hardware while running parallel was Low Street, joined by narrow alleyways with its many quays & taverns. There was reputed to be more than 100 pubs and 5 breweries in the original 100 acres of the parish; all of which were noisy with daily trade & packed with people of all classes going about their business during the day.

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