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'Monkwearmouth' is an area of Sunderland located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bishopwearmouth and Sunderland, the area now known as the East End. It includes the area around St. Peter's Church and was once the main centre of Wearside shipbuilding and coalmining in the town. It is now host to a campus of the University of Sunderland and the National Glass Centre.
The locals of the area were called "Barbary Coasters". The borough stretches from Wearmouth Bridge to the harbour mouth on the north side of the river and is one of the oldest parts of Sunderland.
The former railway station, closed in 1968, is now the Monkwearmouth Station Museum and features a restored booking office dating from the Edwardian period. Since 2002 Monkwearmouth has once again been served by rail transport, this time via St. Peter's Tyne and Wear Metro station a few hundred yards south of the old station.
The area is also the home of the Stadium of Light, which was opened on the site of the abandoned Wearmouth Colliery in 1997, and is the home of the football club Sunderland A.F.C.
Monkwearmouth Secondary School and Specialist Arts College is located in the suburb of Seaburn Dene. Alumni include the actress Melanie Hill, Paralympic yatchsman John Robertson, footballer Martin Smith, and local author Keith Wilkinson.