Sunderland Minster — formally the Minster Church of St Michael and All Angels and St Benedict Biscop — stands in the historic core of Bishopwearmouth, the original village that predates Sunderland. The present building is largely Victorian (rebuilt in the 1930s after fire damage) but stands on a site of continuous Christian worship since Anglo-Saxon times. The dedication to St Benedict Biscop, founder of the twin monasteries at Wearmouth and Jarrow, connects the minster to the same seventh-century Christian heritage as St Peter's Church.
The interior is large and airy with good stained glass and a fine organ. The surrounding area — the old Bishopwearmouth village green, now Mowbray Park — has the atmosphere of an older town centre than the commercial streets to the east. Mowbray Park itself contains the bronze walrus statue that commemorates the Lewis Carroll connection to the city.