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Sunderland
Sunderland maps
Historic maps of Sunderland and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Sunderland maps
Sunderland area books
Displaying 1 of 1 books about Sunderland and the local area. View all books for this area
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Memories of Sunderland
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Sunderland.
There are 14 shared memories to read.
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The Fairy Dell in Roker Park
The fairy dell in Roker Park was magical. We really believed the fairies lived there.
Illuminations
The illuminations were a yearly event in Roker Park and it was magic as a young child to visit each year - particularly scarey was Marley's Ghost in a cave in the ravine.
The other memory was of fishing for tiddlers in the pond or having rides on the little train.
Going to School
My family and I lived in Seaburn, a suburb of Sunderland north of the River Wear, and from 1942 to 1944 I attended the nursery department of the Sunderland High School, south of the Wear. Every morning and evening my father, who taught in Sunderland Technical College, would take and fetch me travelling in a tram like the one on this photo.
Happy Days
My parents used to take my brother and me to Roker Park so that we could play there. Our favourite game was rushing up and down the path running through the ravine, which can be seen on this picture.
Getting Lost in Binns
One day, when I was about 5 years old, Mother took me to Binns, which used to be a big store in Fawcett Street. While I was standing by one of the counters, lost in a daydream, Mother went to another counter a few feet away. Abruptly I woke from my dream when the shop assistant leaned over and asked me what I wanted, and because I didn't see Mother, I thought she had gone away and left me there. I rushed out into the street crying, and a small crowd collected around me. A lady asked me where I lived, I was able to tell her, she gave me money for my tram fare, and I travelled home on the top deck, happily singing to myself, for I'd got over my fright. By the time I reached Seaburn, where I lived, I was happy again, and couldn't imagine why Mother was in tears!
Home to my McCue And Routledge Ancestors
This would have been an everyday sight for my ancestors who worked in the paper mill at Hendon and for the NE Railway.
Abingdon st
I have fond memories of visiting our grandparents on our mother's side, who lived at number 8. We recited the "ABC" streets and I can remember Smythes the cake shop at the top of the street, where we bought Snowball cakes from. We also walked to Barnes Park with my dad, obviously to get us out of the way for a bit of fresh air! I clearly remember the bandstand and on a recent revisit to Sunderland to retrace some memories, it revoked the cannon we used to sit on. I remember several of the roads were red tarmac and the buses were orange and we caught the bus which said Seaburn. I remember Binns and on the way into the centre there was a scrap yard with a yellow robot in it that we all looked for. Coming from the country, oddly Sunderland was never about the sea but about seeing nana and granddad and mum used to call her mum "mam". I clearly remember the metal arched bridges... Read more
Memories of Amberley Street
I lived there for 20 odd years and had the best time of my life there. Now I am 40 and I still remember it like it was yesterday but it was a sad day when it got pulled down. But I still have fond memories of Amberley Street, thank you.
