[6] The earliest inhabitants of the Sunderland area were Stone Age hunter-gatherers and artifacts from this era have been discovered, including microliths found during excavations at St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth.

[7] During the final phase of the Stone Age, the Neolithic period (c. 4000 – c. 2000 BC), Hastings Hill, on the western outskirts of Sunderland, was a focal point of activity and a place of burial and ritual significance.

[10] Recorded settlements at the mouth of the Wear date to c. 674, when an Anglo-Saxon nobleman, Benedict Biscop, was granted land by King Ecgfrith, founded the Wearmouth–Jarrow (St Peter's) monastery on the north bank of the river—an area that became known as Monkwearmouth.

Lands on the south side of the river were granted to the Bishop of Durham by Athelstan of England in 930; these became known as Bishopwearmouth and included settlements such as Ryhope which fall within the modern boundary of Sunderland.

)[41] By 1720 the port area was completely built up, with large houses and gardens facing the Town Moor and the sea, and labourers' dwellings vying with manufactories alongside the river.

[44] Its flourishing was aided by trading ships bringing good-quality sand (as ballast) from the Baltic and elsewhere which, together with locally available limestone (and coal to fire the furnaces) was a key ingredient in the glassmaking process.

[46] It was built at the instigation of Rowland Burdon, the Member of Parliament (MP) for County Durham, and described by Nikolaus Pevsner as being 'a triumph of the new metallurgy and engineering ingenuity [...] of superb elegance'.

At the time of building, it was the biggest single-span bridge in the world;[47] and because Sunderland had developed on a plateau above the river, it never suffered from the problem of interrupting the passage of high-masted vessels.

[72] Like many cities, Sunderland comprises a number of areas with their own distinct histories, Fulwell, Monkwearmouth, Roker, and Southwick on the northern side of the Wear, and Bishopwearmouth and Hendon to the south.

[21] The original borough covered a relatively small area in the north-east corner of the old Bishopwearmouth parish, lying on the south side of the mouth of the River Wear.

Its location in the rain shadow of the Pennines, as well as other mountain ranges to the west, such as those of the Lake District and southwestern Scotland, make Sunderland one of the least rainy cities of Northern England.

After a rapid growth in numbers during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Jewish community in Sunderland reached its height in the mid 1930s, when around 2,000 Jews were recorded to be living in the town.

In 2004, redevelopment work began in the Sunniside area in the east-end of the city centre, including a multiplex cinema, a multi-storey car park, restaurants, a casino and tenpin bowling.

[122] Arc's plans for the site were approved by the Secretary of State in 2007, and included extensive office space, hotels, leisure and retail units, residential apartments and a new £50 m Crown and Magistrates' court, along with a central public arcade located under an expansive glass canopy.

[123] In 2013 in the area opposite the Vaux site, Sunderland City Council announced the Keel Square project, a new public space designed to commemorate Sunderand's maritime heritage, which was completed in May 2015.

Sunderland's relatively high attendances have been a major boost to the local economy – averaging at more than 30,000 even during the club's most recent spell in the third tier of English football.

The Port of Sunderland was significantly expanded in the 1850s with the construction of Hudson Dock to designs by River Wear Commissioner's Engineer John Murray, with consultancy by Robert Stephenson.

[157][158] In March 2014, Metro owner Nexus proposed an extension of the network by an 'on-street' tram link which would connect north to South Shields and Doxford Park to the west.

The scheme improves transport links around the city, ensuring continuous dual carriageway between the A19 road and the port of Sunderland, as well as the Northern Spire bridge built over the Wear between Pallion (south) and Castletown (north).

The Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art on Fawcett Street and Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens showcase exhibitions and installations from up-and-coming and established artists alike, with the latter holding an extensive collection of Lowry.

Sunderland musicians that have gone on to reach international fame include Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and all four members of Kenickie, whose vocalist Lauren Laverne later became known as a TV presenter.

In May 2005, Sunderland played host to BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend concert at Herrington Country Park, attended by 30,000 visitors and which featured Foo Fighters, Kasabian, KT Tunstall, Chemical Brothers and the Black Eyed Peas.

Headlining acts have included Oasis, Take That, Pink, Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Bon Jovi, Rihanna, One Direction, Foo Fighters and Beyoncé.

The Manor Quay' the students' union nightclub on St Peter's Riverside at the University of Sunderland, has also hosted the Arctic Monkeys, Maxïmo Park, 911, the Levellers and Girls Aloud.

Operated by international entertainment group Live Nation, the Empire is the only theatre between Glasgow and Leeds with sufficient capacity to accommodate large West End productions.

Born as a youth project in 1980, finally settling in its current home in 1983,[181] new music talent can practice and perform in the same building that has hosted gigs by The Clash, Bjork, Chumbawamba and Billy Bragg.

Independent is popular grass roots music venue in Sunderland, nurturing young talent, supporting bands and giving people a stage to play their first ever show.

Open since the early 2000s it has played host to not only a range of up-and coming talent, but acts such as The Zutons, Jamie T, Klaxons or local heroes such as The Futureheads and Field Music.

[193] Notable Mixed Martial Artists who have competed out of Sunderland are Andy Ogle, Ian Freeman, Phil De Fries, Mick Parkin, Alex Enlund and Ross Pearson.

In September 2005, BBC TV cameras captured international boxing bouts featuring local boxers David Dolan, Stuart Kennedy and Tony Jeffries.