thumb|Aerial view of Tynemouth Priory and Castle
Tynemouth Priory and Castle is an historic site located on a promontory at the mouth of the Tyne at Tynemouth. The medieval Benedictine priory was protected by walls, towers, and a gatehouse. The heraldry of the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside includes three crowns commemorating the three kings who have been buried in the priory.
Tynemouth Priory
Early history
The earliest evidence for human habitation on the promontory are the trace remains of two circular wooden houses, the larger being typical of the Votadini tribe of the late Iron Age two centuries before the Roman invasion of AD 43 and the smaller being of the Roman period in the 2nd century.
From the 13th century onwards it was common for St Albans to send recalcitrant monks to Tynemouth as punishment. One such monk wrote a letter in the mid 14th century giving the first known written description of the priory:
<blockquote>Our house is confined to the top of a high rock and is surrounded by sea on every side but one. Here is the approach to the monastery through a gate cut out of the rock so narrow that a cart can hardly pass through. Day and night the waves break and roar and undermine the cliff. Thick sea frets roll in wrapping everything in a gloom. Dim eyes, hoarse voices, sore throats are the consequence... Shipwrecks are frequent. It is a great pity to see the numbed crew, whom no power on earth can save, whose vessel, mast swaying and timbers parted, rushes upon the rock or reef. No ringdove or nightingale is here, only grey birds which nest in rocks and greedily prey upon the drowned, whose screaming cry is a token of a coming storm... In the Spring the sea air blights the blossoms of the stunted fruit trees, so that you are lucky to find a wizened apple, though it will set your teeth on edge if you try to eat it. See to it, dear brother, that you do not come to this comfortless place. But the church is of wondrous beauty. It has been lately completed. Within it rests the body of the blessed martyr, Oswine, in a silver shrine, magnificently decorated with gold and jewels. He protects the murderers, thieves and seditious persons who fly to him and commutes their punishment to exile. He heals those whom no doctor can cure. The martyr's protection and the church's beauty furnish us with a bond of unity. We are well off for food, thanks to the abundant supply of fish of which we tire.</blockquote>
The church housing the shrine mentioned here refers to the Lady chapel which was built before 1336. The Percy chapel was added in the mid 15th century.
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Tynemouth Castle
In 1095 Robert de Mowbray revolted against William II. When the Earl's stronghold, Bamburgh Castle, was besieged by the king he and 30 followers took refuge in Tynemouth where they held out for six days before being captured, suggesting the monastery was defended in some way, perhaps by a motte-and-bailey castle. The castle was the birthplace of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland in 1564, during the period when his father, the 8th Earl, was guardian of the castle.
In May 1594 George Selby and Thomas Power, lieutenant of Tynemouth Castle, captured two fugitives from the court of Anne of Denmark who had stolen some of her jewels. Power kept Jacob Kroger, a German goldsmith, and Guillaume Martyn, a French stableman, as prisoners at Tynemouth for five weeks until they were returned to Edinburgh for summary trial and execution.
William Selby became keeper of Tynemouth Castle in December 1606, succeeding Sir Henry Widdrington. An inventory was made of the artillery at the castle. Some muskets and halberds in the great chamber and armoury were claimed for the Earl of Northumberland. Selby wrote that the house or lodging was uninhabitable and the guns were not mounted. His duties involved keeping a light for shipping.
Subsequent history
Lighthouse
thumb|upright|left|Tynemouth Priory viewed from Tynemouth pier shows the strategic and dramatic nature of its headland setting
For some time a navigation light, in the form of a coal-fired brazier, had been maintained on top of one of the turrets at the east end of the Priory church. It is not known when this practice began, but a source of 1582 refers to: "the kepinge of a continuall light in the night season at the easte ende of the churche of Tinmouthe castle ... for the more safegarde of such shippes as should passe by that coast". As Governor of Tynemouth Castle, Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland is recorded as having responsibility for the light's maintenance; and he and his successors in that office were entitled to receive dues from passing ships in return.
thumb|300px|right|Tynemouth priory, 1867 proof engraving by [[William Miller (engraver)|William Miller after J. M. W. Turner. The lighthouse, since demolished, stands on the far right of the promontory.]]
However, the stairs leading to the top of the turret collapsed in 1559 preventing the fire from being lit. Like its predecessor, the lighthouse was initially coal-fired, but under the (42 Geo. 3. c. xliii) an oil-fired argand light was installed. In 1841 Governor William Fowke sold the lighthouse to Trinity House, London. the Tynemouth light was altered to display a revolving red light rather than revolving white. It remained in operation until 1898, when it was replaced by St. Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay to the north; Tynemouth Castle Lighthouse was then demolished.
Coastal defence and coastguard station
thumbnail|right|Gun emplacement within the Priory precinct. This [[BL 6-inch Mk XXIII naval gun is a modern installation to represent an earlier Mk VII gun.]]
At the end of the 19th century the castle was used as a barracks with several new buildings being added.
In 1930 the castle was taken over by the Office of Works following a fire and many of the modern additions were removed. The castle played an important role during World War II when it was used as a coastal defence installation covering the mouth of the river Tyne. It also suffered heavy air raids in 1941. Military structures remained in place until 1956 when the army departed.
Present day
The gatehouse is the only building of the medieval defences to have survived intact.