Sambo's Grave & Sunderland Point near Heysham, Lancashire
Mr H and the girls visit the grave of an 18th century negro slave named 'Sambo' who was denied a Christian burial and instead buried in unconsecrated ground overlooking the sea at the former tidal port of Sunderland Point near Heysham in Lancashire.
Special thanks to YouTube user 'Mick Byrne' who made me aware of this location.
A Visit to Sunderland Point - Lancashire
Heading south-west from Lancaster, you reach Sunderland Point along a winding causeway across the salt marshes in the mouth of the river Lune. Be sure to check the tide timetables before setting out because this sandy track is submerged for up to four hours at high water. Set out on a falling tide, and you will have ample time to walk round the point without fear of being stranded.
For those who enjoy wild and remote places, Sunderland has an immediate attraction. In fact, it almost feels like you've reached an island as the road peters out at the stony beach on the leeward side of the point. All that disturbs the peaceful sounds of the wind, the lapping water and the toots and whistles of birds is the crunching of your feet along the foreshore. The views are equally serene, layered with a muted palette of natural hues as shore turns to sea and then to sky, broken only by clusters of dwellings sheltered behind wind-blown trees.
Walking past the row of quiet cottages, with their well-tended gardens and sleeping cats in the windows, it is hard to picture a bustling port now. Yet through the 18th century the point became the port for Lancaster, growing rich on the lucrative trade with the West Indies. Fortunes were made and lost importing mahogany, rum, sugar and molasses in Lancaster's Golden Age.
But there was also a more sinister side to this trade. Some ships that left the point sailed via Africa picking up slaves to work in the Caribbean plantations. Although not brought directly to this country as slaves, some Africans arrived in Sunderland as ship's servants and for a time it became popular to have Negro servants in the big houses around the Lune Valley.
It was as a captain's servant that Sambo arrived in Sunderland in 1736. Little is known of his life, except that he died shortly after his arrival, probably of pneumonia, although some say of a broken heart because he believed his master had left him alone in this strange, cold country. Either way, his story is a sad and poignant one. Considered a pagan, his body was for- bidden burial on consecrated ground. And so, like the faithful family pet, he was laid to rest in the corner of a field on the windswept western side of the peninsular. Today you can reach his grave by turning down The Lane at the end of First Terrace and cutting across the point. But most visitors choose to take the long route and walk round the shore.
Follow the path out past the huddle of cottages along Second Terrace until you reach the last house, Sunderland Hall. From here, round to Sambo's grave, it's just you and the birds as you join the narrow strip of stony shore that leads you round the point. When you are on the seaward side look out for the flight of stone steps leading through the sea wall to Sambo's grave.
The small wooden cross and large lichen-covered stone slab is surprisingly well-tended, with fresh flowers and personal messages written on pebbles clustered around the cross. Etched on the grave are three verses of an elegy written by the Reverend James Watson some 60 years after Sambo's death.
Alone in the corner of a field, with just the sound of the elements and the chirping sand birds to keep you company, this could well be Britain's loneliest grave. But Sambo, in death, has a growing number of friends - unlike the wealthy shipping merchants that brought the slaves here. Their graves lie forgotten in the grounds of Lancaster Castle.
The easiest way to reach Sunderland Point is by car. There is an hourly bus service between Lancaster and the village of Overton from where you can walk across the causeway (but be careful of the tide). Further information and tide times are available from the Tourist Office in Lancaster (01524 3582816).
Sambos Grave.wmv
Sambos Grave Sunderland Point
Sunderland Point & Sambo's Grave
Saturday 12th February 2011
Rowland Crowland - Sambos Grave -Poetry to music
Rowland Crowland and Dan Cassidy at The Three Mariners, Lancaster
Rowland Crowland at The Three Mariners, Lancaster
???? HISTORY BY DRONE... Sambos grave. Sunderland point. A poem to a slave now free.#IAmACreator
Please watch in FULL HD with sound.
I've been here a few times but never made a video about it so this is my attempt at a short tribute to a man that is loved by many people.
All info in the video came from online websites and the music is stunning.
#IAmACreator
More information Here
Please enjoy and if you've never visited it's worth a look.
Don't forget to paint a pebble to leave on his well covered grave.
Tour of Sunderland Point
A short video tour of Sunderland Point, near Heysham, Lancs. Recorded for presentation to the Morecambe Bay Expert Group, September 2008. A project of the Regional Parks Xchange. For more information, please visit Thanks to John and Peter Gilchrist, Alan Smith and Susannah Bleakley.
Lancaster Castle Wedding | Adam & Mike
On Saturday 2nd May 2015 Adam & Mike said I do at their wedding at Lancaster Castle, the first EVER to be held there. This was followed by a reception at The Storey Institute and one hell of a party at A Wing in Lancaster Castle. Watch the video and see their love story.
Music by : Jessie J | Flashlight - Copyright Universal Records
Buy the single by clicking here -
76 Jubilee Tower
100 Greatest Cycling Climbs
snatchams bridge jump
the look of fear on rays face as he walks up the bridge
Sunderland Point's Mystery Tram Body
Following on from my Tour of Sunderland Point, Lancashire, video; this video shows another hidden gem at this tiny hamlet.
Located in a farmers field on the west side of the hamlet near to Sambo's Grave and also Middleton Sands, is this derelict single deck tram car body. Looks to be 100 years old, the body is Edwardian style. Purchased many years ago by the farm to be used as a chicken coupe.
Was this tram used in Morecambe on the horse drawn tramway along the promenade or was it used on the tramway between Morecambe and Lancaster, closed in the 1930's? Was the tram used on another tramway in this country?
If you know any history or details about this tram it will be interesting to read.
Sunderland Point 360 - Overton/Lancaster, Lancashire - April 2018
360 degree view of Sunderland Point at low tide.
snatchems 10/10/10
jetski,ing at lancaster, high tide 9.8m washed right over the road
A Day Out at Heysham Head and Sunderland Point
Mike, Doreen , Jan and Dad explore St. Peter's church and the old Saxon chapel/stone graves, then go on to search out Sambo's grave at Sunderland Point.
Sunderland Point Panasonic TZ10 (HD)
Sunderland Point, is a small village at the mouth of the River Lune, and Morecambe Bay, in the City of Lancaster, England.
It was used as a port for slave ships and cotton ships but its importance declined as other ports such as Lancaster were opened up.
The village is linked to neighbouring Overton 1.5 miles away by a single-track road crossing a tidal marsh, which is flooded at high tide.
Strictly speaking, Sunderland Point is the name of the tip of the peninsula on which the village of Sunderland stands, but the name is frequently applied to the village It was developed as an out port for Lancaster by Robert Lawson, a Quaker, at the beginning of the 18th century. Reportedly, stonework from the ruined Cockersand Abbey just across the river was utilised in the construction of the quay and buildings. Lawson finally went bankrupt in 1728, which began a steady decline until it was totally surpassed by Glasson Dock, which opened in 1787.
Ships could unload here, or wait for the tide before moving up to the main docks at St. Georges Quay in Lancaster and registering at the Customs House. Sailors were known to press gang new recruits at the Three Mariners, just off the quay in Lancaster, and at the Golden Ball on the way back along the river at Snatchems. Both public houses can still be visited. Fit, young candidates were often plied with copious amounts of alcohol, before being whisked away for an extended service at sea. Another local place called Catchems must also have been involved in the press-ganging which was rife in the locality. Many a young man disappeared from the farms and villages around the marshes.
[edit] Sambo's GraveMain article: Sambo's Grave
The Port of Lancaster, once the third largest in the country, was part of the slavery triangle. The furniture makers of Gillow's of Lancaster,[1] and in particular, are of some renown. Black Africans were almost unheard of in Lancaster, thus the master of a slave called Sambo thought it advisable to leave him at Sunderland Point whilst he travelled on to Lancaster to undertake his business in the rest of Britain. Sambo died in 1736 in the old brewery, which still stands on the corner of the pathway that leads to his grave. Sambo's Grave on the unconsecrated (as he was not a Christian) and windswept shoreline of Morecambe Bay is still a local tourist attraction today. The grave almost always bears flowers or stones painted by the local children.
TodaySunderland Point still maintains some of its former grandeur with the warehouses and buildings along the quay, which are now being converted into homes and flats. They once stored rum, tobacco and cotton and several are listed as Grade II. Along the quay at Sunderland Point are a number of fine Georgian dwellings well protected against the weather, one of which is a former hostelry. There is also a fine early 18th century gatepier on the quay that Pevsner thought worthy of note.
Fall - Descending from Jubilee Tower - Lancaster
This time there is no cadence or power supplied, it is all about descending safely over a steep wet road.
Heysham Head Geography Parkour
This is a school project about discovering the geography of heysham head.