Coordinates: 54°54′22″N 1°22′52″W / 54.9061°N 1.38113°W / 54.9061; -1.38113

Sunderland
Coat of arms of Sunderland City Council
Sunderland shown within Tyne and Wear
Population	277,962 (2016 Office for National Statistics)
OS grid reference	NZ395575
- London	240 mi (387 km) SSE
Metropolitan borough	Sunderland
Metropolitan county	Tyne and Wear
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SUNDERLAND
Postcode district	SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, SR5, SR6, SR9
Dialling code	0191
Police	Northumbria
Fire	Tyne and Wear
Ambulance	North East
EU Parliament	North East England
UK Parliament	Sunderland South
	Sunderland North
List of places UK England Tyne and Wear

Sunderland is in North East England. It was a county borough, and is now part of the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear. It sits at the mouth of the River Wear.

Sunderland started as three small villages:

• Monkwearmouth was created in 674 when Saint Benedict Biscop started a monastery. Monkwearmouth is on the north side of the river.
• Bishopwearmouth was founded in 930. It is on the south side of the river.
• Sunderland, at the mouth of the river was a small fishing village. It was given a charter in 1179. The charter gave the people of the small town some rights which people outside the town did not have.

Sunderland grew as a port, mostly selling coal and salt. In the 1300s people began to build ships along the river bank. By 1835, the port of Sunderland was so important that its name was used when the three old villages became the a borough. Sunderland became a city in 1992.