St Peter's Church is the parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 of Monkwearmouth

Monkwearmouth

Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bishopwearmouth and Sunderland, the area now known as the East End. It includes the area around St. Peter's Church...

 in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is one of three churches that make up the Parish of Monkwearmouth

Parish of Monkwearmouth

The Parish of Monkwearmouth is a Church of England parish in Monkwearmouth, England, served by the churches of St Peter's, All Saints and St Andrew's.-History:...

; the others being All Saints Church and St Andrew's Church, Roker

St Andrew's Church, Roker

St Andrew's, Roker in Sunderland, England is recognised as one of the finest churches of the first half of the twentieth century and the masterpiece of Edward Schroeder Prior. The design of St Andrew's drew together many of the strings of Prior's philosophy and approach to design and building...

.

The first church on the site was built on instructions from Benedict Biscop

Benedict Biscop

Benedict Biscop , also known as Biscop Baducing, was an Anglo-Saxon abbot and founder of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory and was considered a saint after his death.-Early career:...

 in 674-75, of which only the west wall and porch survive. The tower was added before 1000 on top of the porch, and the rest of the church in the 14th century.

Along with the monastery in Jarrow

Jarrow

Jarrow is a town in Tyne and Wear, England, located on the River Tyne, with a population of 27,526. From the middle of the 19th century until 1935, Jarrow was a centre for shipbuilding, and was the starting point of the Jarrow March against unemployment in 1936.-Foundation:The Angles re-occupied...

, St Peter's is the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's nomination for a World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

in 2010.