A Brief History
Bengal was absorbed into the Mughul Empire in the 16th century, and Dhaka, the seat of a nawab (the representative of the emperor), gained some importance as a provincial centre But it remained remote and thus a difficult to govern region--especially the section east of the Brahmaputra River--outside the mainstream of Mughul politics. Portuguese traders and missionaries were the first Europeans to reach Bengal in the latter part of the 15th century.

They were followed by representatives of the Dutch, the French, and the British East India Companies. By the end of the 17th century, the British presence on the Indian subcontinent was centered in Calcutta. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the British gradually extended their commercial contacts and administrative control beyond Calcutta to Bengal. In 1859, the British Crown replaced the East India Company, extending British dominion from Bengal, which became a region of India, in the east to the Indus River in the west.

City Council Heritage
The City Council site contains a lot of information on local history and heritage in the City.

Archives, Museums and Libraries, Heritage, Local History, City Heritage Gallery

History of North East England
A regional site on North east History with a section on Sunderland and one or two mentions of The East End and Hendon.

History of North East England

Hendon and The East End - Famous People
This site contains details of the lives of famous local people in history including:

Jack Crawford - War Hero (who the Mowbray Park monument and Jack Crawford House are named after)

Gibb McLaughlin - Actor, Raich Carter - Footballer, Eliza Lang - Fruit seller, Peggy Potts - Smuggler

Famous people

Sunderland Orphanage Asylum
This site (though now a little out of date) describes the history of the old Orphanage in the East End.

The Orphanage

Freemasonry in the East End
This site is about the Queens Street Masonic Lodge on the edge of the East End.

Masonic Lodge

Maritime Heritage
At one time Sunderland was regarded as the biggest shipbuilding town in the world. This interesting site describes the City's maritime and shipbuilding heritage and contains information about Hendon and the Port of Sunderland in the past.

Maritime

Copt Hill
Copt Hill is a Neolithic site on the outskirts of Sunderland recently surveyed and thought to contain extensive archaeological remains.

Copt Hill

Tyne and Wear Archive Service
The Archive Service holds many types of information useful to the historian.

Tyne and Wear Archive Service