Seaham, formerly Seaham Harbour, is a small town in County Durham that grew up around a harbour on the North Sea coast of north-east England. It is situated six miles to the south of Sunderland and 13 miles east of Durham City, and is twinned with the German town of Gerlingen. It has a grade I listed small church, St Mary the Virgin, with a late 7th century nave which resembles the church at Escomb in many respects. St Mary the Virgin is regarded as one of the 20 oldest surviving churches in the UK. The people of Seaham have strong historic ties to Sunderland.