Sunderland Point
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Sunderland Point is a small village among the marshes at the mouth of the River Lune, Lancashire. It was developed as an the out port for Lancaster by Robert Lawson, a Quaker, at the beginning of the 18th century. It still maintains some of its former grandeur with the warehouses and buildings along the quay, which are now being converted into homes and flats. They once stored rum, tobacco and cotton and several are listed as Grade II. Reportedly, stonework from the ruined Cockersand Abbey just across the river was utilised in the costruction of the quay and buildings. Lawson finally went bankrupt in 1728, which began a steady decline until it was totally surpassed by Glasson Dock, which opened in 1787.
Ships could unload here, or wait for the tide before moving up to the main docks at St. Georges Quay in Lancaster and registering at the Customs House. Sailors were known to press gang new recruits at The Three Mariners, just off the quay in Lancaster, and at The Golden Ball on the way back along the river at Snatchems . Both public houses can still be visited. Fit, young candidates were often plied with copious amounts of alcohol, before being wisked away for an extended service at sea. Another local place called Catchems must also have been involved in the press-ganging which was rife in the locality. Many a young man disappeared from the farms and villages around the marshes.
The Port of Lancaster, once the third largest in the country, was part of the slavery triangle. The furniture makers of Lancaster, and Gillows in particular, are of some renown. Black Africans were almost unheard of in Lancaster, thus the master of Sambo thought it advisable to leave his slave at Sunderland Point whilst he traveled on to Lancaster to undertake his business in the rest of Britain. Sambo won the hearts of the local people but died in 1736 from a disease contracted from contact with Europeans, to which he had no natural immunity. Sambo's Grave on the unconsecrated (as he was not a Christian) and windswept shoreline of Morecambe Bay is still a local tourist attraction today. The grave almost always bears flowers or stones painted by the local children.
Along the quay at Sunderland Point are a number of fine Georgian dwellings well protected against the weather, one of which is a former hostelry. There is also a fine early 18th century gatepier on the quay that Pevsner thought worthy of note. There are stunning views over the River Lune and the hamlet was featured in the TV drama "The Ruby In The Smoke" with Billie Piper and Julie Walters in December 2006.
The village is linked to the neighbouring Overton some 1½ miles away by a single-track road crossing a tidal marsh, which is flooded at high tide.
