How old sheds and shelters on Sunderland seafront were brought back to life in spectacular fashion
With the opening of Elephant Rock this week, it sees the completion of a recent wave of old seafront sheds and shelters to be given new life.
Over the past few years, a string of old structures have been reborn as hospitality venues after Sunderland City Council put them out to tender as part of the wider Seafront Regeneration Scheme.
Here’s a look at the history of the old sheds and shelters and how they came to add to the leisure offering along Roker and Seaburn.
North, Seaburn Promenade
North opened its doors back in December, 2022, after a £250,000 transformation of what was an old storage shelter at the far end of Seaburn promenade just before you cross into Whitburn.
It took two years of building works at a shell of a building, with no gas or plumbing, to turn it into what it is today.
Brought to the city by the team behind Mexico 70, Koji and Ship Isis, it specialises in seafood, small plates and brunches.
It’s gone on to have great success and is one of the first city restaurants to gain a listing in The Good Food Guide - hard to imagine it was once just a forgotten shelter.
Tin of Sardines, Pier View
Tin of Sardines was the first of the most recent wave of old shelters and sheds to be brought back to life when it opened in summer, 2022.
Brought to the city by the family behind Tin of Sardines in Durham, it shares its name with the bar, so called because it’s Durham’s smallest.
It too required major building works at the old Victorian building in Pier View, which had been empty for some time after previously being used as public toilets and a tram shed.
As well as removing the lowered ceiling to showcase the original beams, works included creating a terrace at the rear of the site to make the most of uninterrupted views of Roker Pier and along the coast.
It’s now a popular gin bar, coffee, breakfast and brunch spot.
Blacks Corner at The Tram Shelter
There were objections to the initial plans for this one, but Blacks Corner has gone on to be a popular addition to Seaburn.
Already an established name in East Boldon, the team undertook a sympathetic restoration of the landmark tram shelter to turn it into a bistro, wine bar and coffee spot.
Trams ceased at the Seaburn shelter in 1954 and although it was still used by many as seating, the structure was much in need of repair.
The restoration of the Grade II-Listed structure has won prestigious design awards for its team.
Working with Sunderland Antiquarian Society, they extensively researched the tram shelter, as well as how enclosed shelters created by the old Sunderland Corporation would have looked.
Elephant Rock
The last in this series of sheds and shelters to be reborn is Elephant Rock in Marine Walk, Roker.
It was purpose built as a shelter from the weather more than 100 years ago, but the new tenants have long felt it could be put to better use.
It’s been brought to the city by the directors at Vaux, working with TV architect George Clarke, and opened on February 6.
Currently, it’s serving coffees, wines, breakfasts and draft beer, with an evening menu and pizza oven being introduced moving forward.
It will also open a hatch for take out coffees and snacks in the old resorts office section of the development.