Monkwearmouth Station Museum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monkwearmouth Station Museum
Monkwearmouth Station Museum
Monkwearmouth Station Museum is located in Tyne and Wear
Monkwearmouth Station Museum
 Monkwearmouth Station Museum shown within Tyne and Wear
grid reference NZ395577
LocationSunderland, County Durham, England
Coordinates54°54′47″N 1°23′06″W / 54.913°N 1.385°W / 54.913; -1.385
Websiteseeitdoitsunderland.co.uk/monkwearmouth-station-museum

Monkwearmouth Railway Station served Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, England. It was built in 1848 to a design by Thomas Moore.[1] and was once the main railway station in the city.[2] The railway station closed in March 1967 and featured a restored booking office dating from the Edwardian period. The station was opened as a museum in 1973.[3]

The Tyne and Wear Metro and mainline trains still pass through the station without stopping, but the Metro calls at St. Peter's station a few hundred yards south of the old station, due to the platforms at Monkwearmouth being too narrow to serve as a Metro station.

The museum is a Grade II* listed building.[4] As well as the ticket office visitors can explore the Wagon Shed, Journeys Gallery and Children's Gallery.[5]

The museum was temporarily closed from August 2005 until 2007 to allow repairs and refurbishment to take place.[6]

The museum was closed on May 23, 2017, due to the roof, footbridge and platforms in a very poor condition. The local council has agreed to get the station back open by 2019, if funding is secured for a £3.4 million refurbishment by 12 June 2018. However, this is unlikely to happen, as Network Rail and Sunderland City Council are wanting to demolish the building to make way for a new petrol station on the eastern side, and new facilities for St. Peter's station including a new ground level waiting room, a glass room containing the history of the area (including about the old station) and a restaurant, which, if the plans do go ahead, will belong to the Moore family.

References

  1. ^ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/historic-english-railways-200-years-of-history/monkwearmouth-station/
  2. ^ http://seeitdoitsunderland.co.uk/monkwearmouth-station-museum
  3. ^ https://www.railwaymagazine.co.uk/monkwearmouth-station-museum-closes-its-doors/
  4. ^ Historic England. "Monkwearmouth museum of land transport with walls, footbridge, waiting room (1209029)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  5. ^ http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=8231
  6. ^ http://blog.twmuseums.org.uk/monkwearmouth-station-museum-railway-wagon-restoration-project-%E2%80%93-the-story-of-the-sidings/

External links

The museum viewed from the front window of a Tyne and Wear Metro train passing through the station