Sunderland is situated at the mouth of the River Wear and dates back to 1179, when a small fishing village was granted a charter. Over the centuries, Sunderland grew as a port, trading coal and salt and was once famously hailed as the “Largest Shipbuilding Town in the World”. Ships were built on the Wear from at least 1346 onwards and by the mid-eighteenth century Sunderland was one of the chief shipbuilding towns in the country. Now it relies on the car making industry and other business to support the town’s economy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunderland