Fulwell, Sunderland

Fulwell is an affluent suburb of northern Sunderland. It borders Seaburn, Southwick, Monkwearmouth, and Roker. Fulwell is located near the district border between Sunderland and South Tyneside. Statistically, it is the least deprived of the City of Sunderland's 25 wards.

Housing in the area is varied. A large network of streets in the southern area of Fulwell contains many nineteenth-century houses and cottages, with a large amount of Victorian architecture. In the northern part of Fulwell, housing consists mostly of 1930's semi-detached housing. Due to Fulwell's role as an overwhelmingly residential area, economic activity in the ward is mostly restricted to retail and leisure services. Local services include many shops and pubs, several good schools, a golf range, a fire station, a public library, and is well-served by local bus services, and by the Tyne and Wear Metro network, at Seaburn station.

Fulwell was primarily a farming village until it became part of the urban sprawl of industrial Sunderland in the nineteenth century. Relics of this agricultural past still survive in the form of three windmills, including the 19th century Fulwell Mill, the only windmill in the United Kingdom featuring a stone reefing stage. The mill, built in 1808, was restored to working order between 1996 and 2001 after over half-a-century out of use, and celebrated its bicentenary in 2008.

Politically, Fulwell has long been regarded as a blue Conservative Party stronghold amidst a sea of Labour red. Since the ward's creation it has always had at least one Conservative party councillor, and is currently represented on Sunderland City Council by three Conservative councillors.

References