Silksworth is a suburb of the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. The area can be distinguished into two parts, old Silksworth, the original village and township which has existed since the early middle ages, and New Silksworth, the industrial age colliery village which expanded north west of the original settlement. The former colliery being situated to the north west of the village near to the Gilley Law. The population of the ward was 10,931 at the 2011 census. History Old Silksworth The area of Silksworth has been subject to human activity since the Bronze Age, with archaeological sites of ancient barrows having been discovered on the surrounding hills. The name of the place itself is thought to be of Anglo-Saxon origin and means 'the worþ (enclosure) of Sigelac (a man's name)'. The first reference to the location appeared in the Middle Ages and is first referenced in a list of appendages of South Bishopwearmouth in King Athelstan’s gift to the See of Durham in 930 AD. The area became a township of Bishopwearmouth, of which neighbouring Farringdon was a hamlet of. New Silksworth New Silksworth emerged as a coal mining village in the 19th century. In 1871, according to the Census there were approx 800 people living in the Silksworth and Tunstall areas, the local area was mainly farmland and where most people worked on the land. However about 350 were men and their families who were constructing the new colliery. To exploit the rich coal reserves in the area the Silksworth Colliery shaft was sunk in 1869 funded by the Londonderry Coal company. Ten years later in 1879 the local population had risen to 4707 for the Silksworth and Tunstall areas. The increase in population was mainly due to the migration of people to the area seeking work at the new Silksworth colliery. According to the census returns the miners came from Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall and even from the United States and Germany. The miners and their families had moved to the colliery areas seeking employment and also colliery housing was provided for the miners by the mine owner Lord Londonderry. The miner's life was not an easy one, working conditions underground were very dangerous and the work very arduous. When Silksworth Colliery eventually closed in 1971 it was a massive blow to the local community as many of the local people and businesses relied on the colliery