Tynemouth Castle and Priory

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. The monastery was probably founded by one of the Anglian kings of Northumbria. Medieval traditions assert that it was founded in the mid-7th century when the Deiran king St Oswine, the first king to be buried at Tynemouth, was interred at the site by his murderer Oswiu, a Bernician king, who established the convent in penance. An abbey at the site is mentioned by Bede and, by 792, it was of enough…

The gatehouse is the only building of the medieval defences to have survived intact. The surviving sections of the priory, including the east end wall and lancet windows, are examples of early Gothic architecture. The later Percy chapel remains completely intact. Much remains of the walls which are 3200 feet (975 m) in length. The promontory was originally completely enclosed by a curtain wall and towers, but the north and east walls fell into the sea, and most of the south wall was demolished; the west wall and a section of the south wall (with original wall walk) remain in good condition. Of the modern military structures, only the Warrant Officer's house and gun emplacements remain.…