Historic Sunderland Society will be relaunched after 150 years

31 January 2025

The New Sunderland Lit & Phil Society will be relaunched at its inaugural event this February, the first in over 150 years.

Since closing its doors in 1873, this resurrected Literary & Philosophical Society will offer a space for residents of Sunderland to engage in vibrant and open discussions about the city's past, present, and future.

For its launch event, Auburn Langley, founder of the New Sunderland Lit & Phil Society, will be joined by Chris Barnard, CEO of Ouesburn Trust, and Kate Percival, Development Manager at TOWN, to discuss what lessons Sunniside can learn from the success of Ouesburn’s regeneration in Newcastle.

This event will take place at The Athenaeum on Fawcett Street, the society’s historic home, on Thursday 6 February between 6:30pm - 9pm.

Auburn Langley, local radio presenter and writer, said: “The enthusiasm for rebuilding this society has been incredible. We are really proud of our city and this feels like a big step in reclaiming our heritage, while empowering residents to take control of where our city is going.”

Roberta Redecke, Marketing and Events Manager at Sunderland BID said,

“In Sunniside, entrepreneurs and urban pioneers have been building businesses, sharing ideas and shaping this city neighbourhood as a creative and vibrant area for many years. We are delighted to be supporting Auburn Langley to reimagine Sunderland’s Lit & Phil in its original home at the Athenaeum to encourage conversation, new ideas and healthy debate. Our aim is to enable local businesses, organisations and individuals to bring more visitors to the area by increasing their capacity to deliver events that are distinctly Sunniside in this local community, and we are excited to see people being brought together through this exciting new venture.”

You can find us on Facebook and Instagram @Sunderland Lit and Phil Society

Tickets are available on Eventbrite- find out more about the event and book your place here:

The second event will be on March 6th at 6:30 pm in The Athenaeum. The topic will be Independent Publishing Presses of the North-East.

This project is part funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, people and skills. For more information, visit UK Shared Prosperity Fund: prospectus – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)