A ruined priory and fortress

The ruined priory at Tynemouth sits in splendid isolation in a stunning headland location, surrounded by gravestones, where once monks and soldiers would have roamed. It’s hard to think of a more dramatic setting. It wasn’t always like this though and the story of the site is complicated, featuring many buildings that are now invisible to us.

A mind boggling 2,000 years of occupation are known about on the headland, beginning with the Votadini, an iron age tribe, and ending with the closure of the garrison in the 1950s. No small amount of history is connected to this site. Three kings have been buried here and many others have stayed here. Notably, Edward II, his wife Isabella and favourite Piers Gaveston sheltered here in 1312 before being forced to flee by sea to Scarborough.

The Priory Church

The ruins we see today are from the second monastery to grace the site, thought to have been constructed in two bursts, in 1090 and from 1190 to 1210. It’s monastic life ended in 1539 with the dissolution of the monasteries, but the nave of the priory church continued to function as a parish church for the folk of Tynemouth until the 17th century. It cuts a striking sight today with its heavily worn yellow sandstone contrasting against the rich green lawns.

The most intact building in the priory complex is the Percy Chantry, which dates to the 15th century. It is a small and beautifully decorated chapel with a rib vaulted ceiling and carved bosses.

The headland has long been fortified and today you enter the grounds through the medieval gatehouse, which dates to around 1390, and fortress walls from different eras run round the edge of the complex. However, the most recent phases of fortification and defence are to be seen at the far end of the complex where the gun batteries from the late 19th century can be found. From this commanding position the guns protected the approaches to the Tyne.

The 6 inch gun battery

Fascinating photos show the whole headland occupied by buildings, including a lighthouse, barracks, governor’s house and a massive ammunition magazine with some of the buildings dating back to the 17th century. The lighthouse was demolished in 1898 and the rest of the buildings were swept away in the 1960s by an attempt to clear the site of any trace of the post-medieval occupation. One new addition was added in the 1980s, a coastguard station, which closed in 2001.

It was terrific to be able to wander the ruins of castle, priory and burila ground. I particularly liked that you could explore the interior of one of the gun batteries, complete with mechanical hoists to transfer cartridges and shells to the 6-inch gun above. Overall, I spent coming up to two hours wandering around the complex soaking up the layers of history. Highly recommended.

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Winter wanders in Tynemouth

A gap of six weeks was all it took for my next visit to Newcastle, once again for a gig. Being an unusually mild day for mid December prompted a short hop by metro to Tynemouth, a coastal town which you won’t be surprised to hear is located at the mouth of the River Tyne. It’s one of those places that immediately impresses as you step off the metro.

King Edward’s Bay

The vast station at Tynemouth was a real surprise, a beautifully restored Victorian marvel with ornate ironwork canopies and footbridge complemented by gothic station buildings in red brick. It was one of those stations built with vast capacity to serve the excursion trains of the late 19th and early 20th century. One writer described it quite superbly as the St Pancras of the Tyne & Wear Metro.

It is quite shocking to see just how close we came to losing this. The station was placed on the English Heritage ‘at risk’ register in 2008, but removed from the list in 2012 after a stunning £3.68m restoration project. Today, it is a popular destination in its own right as the canopied space that once covered the bay platforms now serves as a market place at the weekends.

After escaping the crowds, I took a wander down to the seafront at King Edward’s Bay and was astonished to see folk braving the sea. It was not chilly but still only about 11 degrees, so rather on the cool side for a dip. Have to be impressed by that while I was wrapped up in a shirt, jumper, fleece and winter jacket!

Continuing on, down Pier Road, to Spanish Battery gave me a marvellous view of one of the main draws in the town – the castle, priory and gun battery on a striking defensive position overlooking the Tyne. I later returned and spent a good couple of hours exploring the fascinating site, of which more in the next post.

The Collingwood Monument

Nearby stands an impressive monument to Admiral Lord Collingwood, second-in-command to Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar, complete with four guns from his ship, HMS Royal Sovereign. After the recent rain the approach was something of a mudbath but I found a way through. The monument was erected through public subscription. Collingwood was born in Newcastle in 1748 and died from illness on board his ship, in 1810, after seven years away from England. He is buried in St Pauls Cathedral in the City of London.

I had originally planned to continue my walk down to The Old Low Light at North Shields but ran out of time, so that will have to go on the list for another time. I headed back to the market in the station where I was delighted to be able to pick up some local treats, including a superb lime and chilli flapjack, before braving the Christmas shoppers and footie fans on the jam-packed metro back to the city centre.