Sunderland
The City of Sunderland (pronounced ˈsʌndərlənd - to break apart or in two) is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Sunderland, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Washington, Houghton-le-Spring, and other smaller settlements.
In June 2006, officials from Sunderland and Washington, D.C signed a Friendship Agreement, hoping to promote the cultural and economic ties between the two cities. The cities share historical links, as the ancestors of the first President of the United States of America, George Washington, lived in Washington Old Hall, which is within the municipal boundaries of Sunderland.
Washington Old Hall is a manor house located in the Washington area of Tyne and Wear. It lies in the center of Washington, being surrounded by other villages.
The Avenue, Washington Village, Washington, Tyne & Wear NE38 7LE
Telephone: 0191 416 6879
The Washington family name was inherited from the name of the property of which the family assumed ownership in 1183. The Ancestor of George Washington who assumed ownership of the lands of Washington was William de Hertburn. He was a knight whose ancestors fought alongside William the Conqueror. He was not English; he was of Norman descent.
Sir William fitz Patrick de Hertburn. The eldest son of Sir Patrick fitz Dolfin Raby he was born about 1150 in Hertburn, near Stockton-on-Tees, and died about 1194. Upon his first marriage he gained lands at Stockton-on-Tees. His second marriage was to his kinswoman Marjory (Margaret) de Huntingdon, Countess of Richmond. She was also born around 1150 and this was her third marriage. Countess Margaret was sister to William the Lion, King of Scotland, and Malcolm IV the Maiden King of Scotland. Her father was Henry, Earl of Northumberland and Huntingdon and her paternal grandfather was David I, the Saint King of Scotland. Her youngest brother, David Earl of Huntingdon, was the ancestor of the de Bruce and Balliol families. Sir William and Countess Margaret shared the same Great-great-great-great Grandparents; Beatrix, Queen of Scotland and Crinan the Thane. The Washington family name was acquired in 1183 when William fitz Patrick de Hertburn assumed tenancy of the Washington lands from the Bishop of Durham at a cost of four ponds per year. It was to his advantage to accept Washington in exchange for his Stockton lands since he was already heir to the lands at Offerton, which lie just across the River Wear from Washington. It was upon his acquisition of the Washington lands in 1183 that Sir William fitz Patrick de Hertburn became William de Wessynton I.
Sunderland has been at the centre of Freemasonry for centuries. The first lodge formed in Sunderland was the Phoenix Lodge, which dates back to 1755. Freemasons' Hall in Queen Street East, Sunderland, dates back to 1785 and is believed to be oldest purpose-built Masonic Temple in the world.
The most impressive public achievement of the Sunderland masons was the construction of the first Wearmouth bridge that was completed in 1796. It was designed by Thomas Paine following a model for a bridge over Schyulkill river in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Sunderland arch became the prototype for many subsequent voussoir arches made in iron and steel. A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, used in building an arch.
Thomas Paine was also one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Born in England, Paine emigrated to the British American colonies in 1774 in time to participate in the American Revolution.
In his work, "Origin of Freemasonry" Thomas Paine writes that Masonry's embodiment of the sun worship of ancient Druidism was a legitimate alternative to Christianity. He notes that Freemasonry's god, "Osiris and Isis", theologically represented the Supreme Being and universal Nature. Here is the first passage:
"It is always understood that Freemasons have a secret which they carefully conceal; but from everything that can be collected from their own accounts of Masonry, their real secret is no other than their origin, which but few of them understand; and those who do, envelop it in mystery...
Paine's later work, Age of Reason, is a treatise on the implausibility of the Bible and the irrationality of Christianity. Paine believed in one God, but rejected all religions, stating:
"My own mind is my own church."