Panel 6 - Early Days - Prior to 1770
 This corner of North Northumberland has always been dominated by the great rock of Bamburgh upon which in the 6th Century the fortress-capital of the Northumbrian kingdom of Bernicia was erected.
With the coming of the Normans in the 11th Century a royal castle was built on the rock and remained in royal ownership until the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
The surrounding land formed part of the royal estates. One of its townships became known as Sunderland, its name derived from the Old English for 'Southern Lands' - the southern part of the Bamburgh Castle holdings. The prefix 'North' was a 19th Century addition to avoid confusion with the then expanding shipbuilding and engineering centre of the same name in Country Durham.
 Midway between here and Bamburgh a solitary group of buildings nestles amidst the sand dunes. This is known as Monkshouse, having originally been built as a storehouse for the monks on Inner Farne following the gift of the land in a charter of King Henry III in 1257.
During the Anglo-Scottish Wars Sunderland and other townships around Bamburgh suffered frequent attacks from marauding Scots, the inhabitants fleeing for refuge into Bamburgh Castle or into a tower which was erected in Sunderland. This was demolished in 1790 when the present church was built on its site.
In more peaceful times Sunderland prospered as a farming community. Many of the inhabitants also kept boats for inshore fishing in the sheltered cove which later became Seahouses Harbour.
One of the earliest buildings to be erected in what is now Seahouses was a farmhouse built overlooking the harbour in 1745. This later became the Old Ship Hotel. On the gable end of the present building alongside this panel the original size of the farmhouse can clearly be seen in the stonework.
Continue your walk by browsing the map below:
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