The first museum in Sunderland was in the Athenaeum in Fawcett Street in 1846 and was the first place outside of London to have a publicly funded museum, it was joined in 1858 by the new public library. By the 1870's more space was needed to house the museum and library and so it was decided by the corporation to build in Mowbray Park. The design was by Sunderland architects John and Thomas Tillman and it was built by Allison builders, it cost £11,700 for the museum and £2,000 for the Winter Gardens, it was the largest civic building in Sunderland.

Many people believe that the foundation stone for the new museum was laid by General Ulysses Grant former president of the United States of America, but he was only in attendance. The stone was actually laid by Mayor Alderman Storey on 24th September 1877 and officially opened by Mayor Councillor Robson on 6th November 1879. The Winter Gardens at the rear of the museum and library became one of Sunderland's most popular buildings, the tropical climate created within it's glass frames held a host of exotic trees and plants.

A parachute mine in 1941 however severely damaged the Winter Garden and it had to be demolished. In 1960 an extension was built on the site of the demolished Winter Garden and in 1964 it was opened by the Queen Mother. The central museum and library became increasingly overcrowded and to give the museum more room for it's exhibits, in 1995 the library moved to a new building in Fawcett Street.

Mowbray Park and the Sunderland museum at the turn of the 21st Century are to become known as Mowbray Gardens. It was on the 7th May 2002 that Queen Elizabeth II visited Sunderland, the first time since 1993 when Sunderland became a city. This visit was to officially open the new museum and Winter Gardens, with it's 1500 exotic plants. The Winter Garden is the centre piece of the £30 million development of Mowbray Gardens.

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