Washington, Sunderland
Washington, Sunderland is a picturesque town located to the west of Sunderland in the North East of England. It is divided into small villages and districts, with the original settlement being named Washington Village.
Washington is a picturesque town divided into small villages or districts, with the original settlement being named Washington Village. Washington became a new town in 1964 and a part of Sunderland in 1974, dating back as a settlement to at least Anglo Saxon times.
Today Washington is diverse in its offering. Where once coal was loaded by the ton, you will now find breathtaking views of the countryside, fascinating history, heritage and leisure attractions.
History and Heritage
Washington Family History
Over eight hundred years ago, the Washington family took its name from Wessyngton, England. In 1789, General George Washington, a descendant of that family became the first President of the United States of America.
Over eight hundred years ago, the Washington family took its name from Wessyngton, England. Wessyngton is thought to be taken from the Anglo Saxon words “Hwaessa”, “Ing” and “Tun”, together meaning “Hwaessa’s family estate”; over time the name changed to Washington. In 1789, General George Washington, a descendant of that family, became the first President of the United States of America and the capital of the new nation was named in his honour.
The first ancestor of George Washington to live in Washington was William de Hertburn who moved to the village in 1183 after exchanging land at Hertburn (now Hartburn near Stockton) with the Bishop of Durham. Before surnames were in general use, nobles and landowners assumed the name of the property they owned. So William de Hertburn became William de Wessyngton.
Five generations of George Washington’s direct ancestors lived in the Old Hall at Washington before descendants of William de Wessyngton’s great-great grandson, who had settled in Lancashire for eight generations, moved to Northamptonshire in the mid -1500s. Here Lawrence Washington became a wealthy wool merchant and built a new family home called Sulgrave Manor. In 1656, his grandson John Washington emmigrated to Virginia to seek his fortune and three generations later George Washington was born there. Click here to download a fact sheet on the history of George Washington.
Washington Coat of Arms
Sir William Hylton built Hylton Castle sometime between 1390 and 1410. His ancestors had lived in the locality back to 1157, slightly earlier than their neighbours, the Washington’s, who lived three and a half miles away. Above the main door on the west front of the castle are carved stone coats of arms of various local families put in place at the time of the building of the castle. The Washington coat of arms is amongst these and could be the earliest example to be found on a building.
It is often assumed that George Washington used his family’s coat of arms as a basis for the American ‘Stars and Stripes’ flag, but there is no direct proof of this. The state flag of Washington D.C. was adopted in 1938 and is based on the shield from the Washington coat of arms.
While the Church is relatively young (built 1831-1833) it replaced a medieval building, which may have been situated on an earlier religious site. The present church was designed by Newcastle architects John and Benjamin Green, who also were responsible for the design of Penshaw Monument.
There are two features remaining from the medieval church, the font, found to be in use as a cattle-drinking trough in 1865, and the western door arch.
Victoria Viaduct
This graceful bridge was designed by T.E. Harrison, who was influenced by the Roman bridge at Alcantara in Spain. It was officially opened on Queen Victoria’s Coronation day in 1838 when its widest arch of almost 49 metres was said to be the largest in Europe. It carried the main railway line from London to Newcastle until it was routed through Durham in 1872. The line closed in 1992 but there are plans for it to be reopened.
Lambton Worm
The Lambton Worm is a famous legend and song from the area (‘wyrm’ is old English for dragon). The outline of the story begins with John Lambton catching a worm while fishing and then throwing it down a well. While he was away fighting in the Crusades the worm grew to be enormous and terrorised the area. While asleep it wrapped itself three times around a nearby hill. On his return John took a witch’s advice and coated his armour with spikes; his part of the bargain was to agree to kill the first person he saw after killing the worm. The armour proved effective, cutting the worm into pieces unable to reunite as they flowed away in the river, but, unfortunately, the first person he saw was his father. Unwilling to kill him, the Lambton family was cursed so that nine generations would not die peacefully in bed.
It has been suggested that the origin of the legend stems from Viking raids in long boats up the River Wear; these boats were often decorated with dragon figureheads on the prow. Beside Fatfield Bridge is the dome-shaped Worm Hill that has a well at its base.
Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) was born at Washington Hall (later known as Dame Margaret’s Hall) in Washington Village. The Hall was built for her grandfather, Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, a wealthy industrialist. Gertrude was a brilliant scholar and, at the age of twenty, she achieved a first class degree in History after only two years study. She travelled the world, developed her knowledge of archaeology and became the greatest female mountaineer of her age.
From the turn of the century her life was governed by a concern for Arab peoples. She was fluent in Arabic, investigated archaeological sites and travelled into the desert. Her understanding of the area led to being recruited by British intelligence during the First World War. Various diplomatic posts culminated in participating in the creation of the new state of Iraq. During her final years she established the Baghdad Archaeological Museum and is buried in that city.
On 20 June 2006 the then-Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Bob Symonds, signed an Agreement of Friendship with Washington D.C. The Friendship Agreement formalises Sunderland’s unique historical link with the American Capital and was signed with Anthony Williams, Mayor of Washington DC.
The Friendship Agreement means that, the two cities will collaborate on a host of activities to create closer friendship and cooperation between both cities and develop programmes of mutual benefit.
The two cities will share information and cooperate on activities linked to the historic ties, which go back to 1183. In addition, work will focus on boosting economic development, generating new cultural and educational programmes, promoting tourism and sharing experience on social inclusion and e-government initiatives to promote citizen participation.
Related Attractions
Walks and Cycleways
Washington is on the route of one of the busiest long-distance cycle routes in the country, the C2C (National Cycle Network Route 7), which runs for 140 miles from Whitehaven or Workington on the Cumbrian coast to Sunderland.
Useful Fact Sheets
Tel: 0191 5532000
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