Probably the noblest classical portico on any railway station, built in 1848 to the design of Thomas Moore.
Monkwearmouth Station Museum, North Bridge Street, Sunderland, SR5 1AP.
This rather grand classical building, completed in 1850, is an outstanding grade 2* listed 1840s station.
It is said that the local architect, Thomas Moore,who designed it, was encouraged by George Hudson the so-called 'Railway King'. He was MP for Sunderland at the time and was also Chairman of the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway which commissioned it. The station lost its earlier importance when in 1879 the railway was extended southward across the river Wear to the centre of Sunderland. It closed altogether in 1967 and although the Tyne and Wear Metro passes between the former station platforms, a new station was built a short distance away.
The old station is now a railway museum. The magnificent portico leads into a grand entrance hall and well preserved booking office, both of which display many original features such as the ticket booths, fireplaces and shuttered windows. The Platform Gallery gives a good view of the railway bridge and the trains passing by on the tracks.
New interactive galleries have been created as part of a recent £1million redevelopment of the museum, featuring personal stories, evoking fond memories of an age when Monkwearmouth was the main station for the city and an important landmark for the region's railway heritage.
By rail: to St Peters Metro Station or by foot from Sunderland Central station.
By road: off A 1018, north of river Wear in central Sunderland. There is limited, free car and mini bus parking outside the Museum.
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24 Hour Museum- Monkwearmouth Station
English Heritage - Railway Stations Collection
Heritage Lottery Fund - Monkwearmouth Station Award
Sunderland City Council- Report on re-launch of the Museum
Sunderland Museum Factsheet- Monkwearmouth Station
