to other owners throughout this period, including George Blakiston, and the Pepper family of North Yorkshire. During the English Civil War the Scottish Army crossed the River Wear at South Hylton and set up their headquarters at Farringdon Hall. In the mid 19th century, the Hetton Colliery Railway, one of the first operational railways in history and the first of its kind to transport coal, passed through Farringdon and Gilley Law en route to the River Wear. A rail trail has been established along the former route. The modern housing estate The manor and farm existed on the land until the 20th century. In 1950, Sunderland authorities purchased and set out plans for the creation of a new estate consisting of over 1,400 houses, creating today's Farringdon. The last private owners of the estate were Robert Moorhead and George Lee, who were publicly critical of the pace at which the land was acquired and developed. Herrington Parish Council also resisted the estate, lodging protests with Durham County Planners. By the end of the century, many of the homes on the estate had been privately purchased through the Right to Buy scheme. In 1998, Sunderland City Council proposed the creation of Farringdon Country Park, a designated recreational and conservation space neighbouring the suburb. Education Farringdon is home to two schools. A large secondary school (Farringdon Community Academy) which serves a catchment area also consisting of Doxford Park, East Herrington and New Silksworth as well as a primary school (Farringdon Primary School). Amenities Farringdon is home to a single pub known as The Dolphin, which has been voted Sunderland's "pub of the year" for five years running. The former Farringdon Social Club closed in 2017 and has since been redeveloped into a supermarket The estate also possesses three shopping arcades, two which are based on Allendale Road and the other on Ashdown Road, as well as a McDonalds and a Simply local supermarket. The former Farringdon Hall police station, which was closed in 2015, is set to be redeveloped into a new business park consisting of a Greggs, B&M and a Costa Coffee Politics Farringdon is a component of the St. Chad's Ward in the city alongside parts of Herrington. Presently, the area is represented by three councillors from the Conservative Party (UK). Labour MP Bridget Phillipson has represented Farringdon as part of the Houghton and Sunderland South constituency since it was