Local History

Our first location is South Hylton, the last calling point on the Sunderland stretch of the Metro line.

South Hylton nestles at the end of the Metro line next to the A19 on the banks of the River Wear.

The Metro line now links South Hylton with the City of Sunderland, Gateshead and as far north as Newcastle Airport, but let's take a look into the area's past...

Until the tracks reopened in 2002, there had not been a train through South Hylton since 1964.

Hylton Castle

The area has a long history dating back to the 1400's and its Castle, in North Hylton, was built by Sir William Hilton.

The area was only given its present name in the mid 50s, previously the area was known as Hylton Ferry and Low Ford.

Until the industrial revolution, the population was small, but by 1900 the population was 3,000.

During the 18th and 19th Centuries, the area hosted a wide variety of industries including the paper mill, forge, foundry, pottery, bottle works and shipyard. The paper mill was the main source of employment until it closed in 1971.

Hylton Bank taken in the early 1900s

During the 1970s and 80s the industries on which South Hylton had become dependent, slowly faded away.

Fast forwarding to the present day...

In 2005, children from South Hylton Primary School worked in conjunction with the South Hylton Local History Society on an important photographic project.

With help from their teachers, the children took images to explore how the various locations in South Hylton have changed over the years.

Have a look at BBC Wear's gallery of South Hylton, then and now.