Nailing my colours to the mast: A walking tour of Sunderland's East End

Today I went on a walking tour of Sunderland's East End. It's where Sunderland first started, down by the docks, the muck and the water, the river and the ships.  There are still a lot of old buildings down there and it's definitely worth a look around. 

The walk was organised as part of Local History Month in Sunderland.  It started at Holy Trinity Church, an amazing old church full of curiosities:

This plaque commemorates the birthplace of Sunderland hero Jack Crawford.  It's from his heroic actions at the Battle of Camperdown that the term 'nail your colours to the mast' originates.  Read all about it here.

 Some wonderfully camp and kitsch artwork on the walls of the church.

 And more...

This thrills me enormously. Not just the antiquity and symmetry of the switches in the church, but the fact that they all have their original labels on them.

Faces watch you at every turn in the church...

...making sure that you don't nick whatever's in the box.

The walk left the church and down to Trafalgar Square Almshouses, passing one of many blue plaques on the Old Sunderland Heritage Trail.  This is the site of the old workhouse, an unforgiving place I'd imagine.

 Trafalgar Square Almshouses, now a peaceful little gem tucked away.

 Ooh! What's that sign say?

The walk then meandered behind the church where there was a good contrast between the old and the new styles of buildings.  

This building was built as the Boys Orphanage.

 Another blue plaque, one of very many on the walk. So much history in such a small area.

The circular walk brought us back to Holy Trinity church.  I decided to walk back into town along Church Street East where these old buildings still stand in splendour...

...even if some of them are boarded up...

 The beauty and the beast.

 The Quayside Exchange. One of the few renovated and purposeful buildings in the East End.

At the top of one of the buildings next to the Quayside Exchange was this golden galleon weathervane.

And at the top of another, the Eagle Building, this fine stone eagle (with a seagull on its head).

The Eagle Building.

The old Bridge Hotel Vaults with a lovely bit of tiling.

 Front view of the old Bridge Hotel vaults, now called Lambton House.

And that's that. If you'd like to know more about Sunderland's historic East End, and why would you not? - it's all here.
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