See inside once at risk Sunderland building as it's reborn in Sunniside

Once left to languish on the at risk register, a 200-year-old building is being reborn.

Work is now well underway on the former Tyre Shop in Sunniside as part of a major regeneration project, which will put it back at the heart of the community.

Dating back to the early 1800s, the cluster of three buildings occupies the corner of High Street West and Villiers Street.

Pre-covid, it was most well known as a tyre shop, but its history can be traced back two centuries to a time when Sunniside was thriving under Sunderland’s industrial boom.

In 1829, it hosted Sir William Chaytor & Co private bank, later being bought by Union Joint Stock Bank, and is an important building in the fabric of the area’s heritage.

While its ground floor was in use recently, its upper floors were derelict and in major need of repair.

Led by the Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust, the regeneration of the building has been supported by funding from Historic England, who have committed £923,208 along with significant investment from the Quakers.

The Quakers have taken on the lease of the building, which will now be called The Friends Meeting Place.

As well as being a meeting place for The Quakers, the upstairs of the building will also be a community hub, a mixed use space for a host of groups.

Downstairs, shopfronts are being sympathetically restored and talks are at an advanced stage with two established Sunderland businesses who will open in the ground floor units.

It’s anticipated the building works will finish mid-August this year, with the building open to the public early September.

The Quakers have a long history in Sunderland, going back to the 1650s, and membership has included prominent figures such as members of the Binns and Backhouse families.

They were formerly based in Roker, but have taken on a long lease at the old tyre shop after wanting to be back in the city centre.

“The house in Roker was beautiful, but it was a house built for a family,” explained Matt Moore from Sunderland Quakers. “We wanted to be back in the city centre, and actually before Roker the Quakers once had a meeting place nearby in Nile Street.

“We had half a million pounds from the sale of the Roker house and we wanted to invest that in the city centre.

“When we first walked into this building, it was in major need of restoration, so we had to envision how it could look and get creative. True North have done a great job and it’s really starting to take shape.

“For me, what amazes and excites me about this project is that it’s the whole community coming together in the regeneration of Sunniside.

“Social cohesion is at the heart of The Quakers, so it feels right for us to be a part of that.”

Sunniside Up

Contractor True North are restoring the building to its former glory, with sympathetic works including the shop fronts, making the most of original features such as box sash windows and making the building accessible.

Steve Henderson, director at True North, said: “We’ve undertaken various projects, a lot of new builds, but nothing like this before.

“It’s a really interesting project to work on, and we’ve kept as much of the original features as possible. They just don’t make buildings like this anymore and, out of all the projects we’ve worked on, so many passersby have stopped when we’re working on this saying they’re glad it’s being restored.”

The Friends Meeting Place builds on the success of the Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) project - a scheme led and funded by Sunderland City Council and Historic England to restore some of the city’s most cherished buildings to their original grandeur.

Other buildings that formed part of the scheme include nearby Pop Recs, once home to the original Binns store, and neighbouring Sunshine Co-operative, as well as Elephant Tearooms and Mackie’s Corner.

TV architect George Clarke has also had the green light for his bookshop, directly opposite the former tyre shop.

Sunniside will also soon welcome a new population as 75 new homes take shape on the Nile + Villiers Street site.