10: Holy Trinity Church
Continue up the slight incline towards the church. Holy Trinity Church is just ahead of you.
In the early 1700s the two parishes in the area were overflowing with church goers. So much so that the town's merchant class complained that St Michael's in Bishopwearmouth was too far to walk to, only not to find a place to sit once they arrived. Therefore, in 1712 the merchants of Old Sunderland launched an appeal to raise funds for a parish of their own. They raised £1,000 to build Holy Trinity Church. It was completed and consecrated by the Bishop of London in 1719.
The creation of a separate parish was a great achievement for the 6,000 residents who lived in Old Sunderland. The church was used as both a place of worship and a seat of local government.
Until the Quayside Exchange was completed in 1814, Holy Trinity served as the Town Hall, Magistrates' Court, the town's first library and even housed the town's fire engine.
Designed in the English baroque style, Holy Trinity Church is one of the oldest buildings in the city. The exterior of the church and interior plan remains largely unaltered.
Installed in 1857, the Venetian stained-glass window depicts The Ascension, the Christian belief that 40 days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead, he 'ascended' into heaven. The window was made by James Hartley's glassworks in Sunderland; glass-making was another key industry in Sunderland.
