Farringdon is a suburb of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally a Monastic grange and manor estate for hundreds of years, Farringdon was rebuilt as a post-war council housing estate in the 1950s. It is approximately south of the city centre along the A690, close to Thorney Close, Silksworth, East Herrington, Gilley Law and Doxford Park. Electorally, the area comes under the St. Chad's ward of the City. Geology The area of Sunderland Farringdon is built on was formed during the Permian period, and as per the wider region is theorized to have been a shallow carbonate sea. The bedrocks of the area consist of carbonate material including coral and shell fragments forming beds and local reefs. Above this near the surface lies significant clay deposits of a glacigenic origin which are over 2 million years old. The British Geological Survey memoir for this specific locality refers to the superficial deposits of the area as 'Complex drift of East Herrington and Silksworth', a thin sequence of bedded sand, gravels and clays. History Pre-history Recorded human activity on Farringdon has been dated to the Neolithic era, due to a stone axe uncovered during construction work in the 1950s. The Middle Ages The parish of Bishopwearmouth in the Middle Ages was divided into a number of copyholdings held by custom of the Bishop of Durham, of which was delegated to various tenants. Farringdon emerged as a part of this system and operated as a block Demesne, whilst being also a hamlet and estate under the township of Silksworth. The name derives from: "Farm or hill of Faer or his sons"; it had a variety of spellings throughout this period including Farnton Hall, Farrington Hall, Ffaernton and Ferenton Hall. By the 15th century, it served as a Monastic Grange of the priory of Hexham. In the 1420s, the land was represented by Robert Jackson who served as bailiff of Sunderland and collected taxes on behalf of the Bishop of Durham. By 1479 the Black Book of Hexham detailed the area as possessing cottage lands, a windmill, an oven and brewery A new manor was built on the land in 1597; it disappeared by the mid 20th century. Renaissance and early modern period Following the Dissolution of the monasteries the Farringdon Monastic Grange was returned to the crown and later granted to Sir John Forster by Queen Elizabeth I. The estate would pass on