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River Wear
Bridge over the River Wear at Durham, England.
River Wear
river, England, United Kingdom
News •
Exhibition hopes as cauldron lifted from River Wear near Sunderland
• Oct. 16, 2026, 1:20 AM ET (BBC)
River Wear, river that rises near Wearhead in the county of Durham, England, and enters the North Sea at Sunderland. With headwaters in the Pennines, it flows through Weardale and once entered the sea in the vicinity of Hartlepool, but it was subsequently diverted northward. Durham city is built along the Wear, and its castle and cathedral stand 100 feet (30 metres) above the river on an incised meander (loop). From Bishop Auckland the river flows across coalfields, but coal mining had ceased by the end of the 20th century.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
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