Sunderland Guide: West Herrington
Location: Herrington Road, Sunderland. Turn off the A690 at Herrington Roundabout
West Herrington is a village located to the west side of the City of Sunderland. Based outside of the A19 just outside of the urban core, the village is one of the four Herringtons (Middle, East, New and West), the remnants of the community and parish which has existed since the early middle ages, as depicted in the 1183 Norman era “Boldon Book”.
Out of all the Herringtons, West Herrington is the oldest and the quietest, being surrounded by farmland which gives it a sleepy countryside feel. This also makes it a very pleasant to visit. To enter, it can be entered from Herrington Road off the A690, but a much more scenic and enjoyable route is to take the footpath from Middle Herrington, passing the Horse fields and crossing the A19 footbridge.
West Herrington was the site of the former Herrington Parish Church, which emerged as a private chantry in the year 1273 after a land donation by “Sir Thomas de Herrington”. The chapel did not survive the dissolution of the chantries in 1545, initiated by King Henry VIII, who claimed they were misappropriating funds and forcibly usurped the land. A second chapel (in the location of the cemetery) was built with the growth of the area’s population in 1840, but was demolished in 1975, leaving the graveyard behind.
The former chapel cemetery still exists today, but is in a state of decay and abandonment, with only its commonwealth war graves being looked after. This makes West Herrington a thoughtful, spooky and sentimental place to visit. There are two pubs in the village, known as The Stackyard and the Stables Pub and Eatery.
