Tynemouth Priory |
| Hob Uid: 1162261 | |
Location :
North Tyneside
Non Civil Parish
|
| Grid Ref : NZ3735069370 |
| Summary : Benedictine Monastery founded in 1085 by Robert de Mobray, Earl of Northumberland, as a daughter house of St Alban's Abbey in Hertfordshire. Located on the site of an ancient Anglian monastery which was sacked during the ninth century (see NZ36NE583). The upstanding remains of the priory comprise a number of construction and alteration phases phases; first, the ruins of the Norman priory; built 1090-1140, altered 1140-95 and 1195-1220 , with further major modifications and additions of the early 13th century date, modifications and additions dating to the 14th and 15th century. There are also less major phases of alteration dating 16th century and later. The earlier remains include the ruins of the church and parts of the claustral range including a chapter house. Some foundations of this first phase have been exposed by excavation. At the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century the church was largely rebuilt. During the 15th century a small vaulted chapel, known as the Percy Chapel, was attached to the eastern end of the church. This was restored in the the mid 19th century and the elaborately vaulted ceiling remains intact. The claustral ranges are situated to the south of the church and inlude the upstanding remains of the cloister, chapter house, communal hall and warming house. To the south of the cloister stands the prior's lodgings including a hall and chapel surviving virtually to their full height. To the north of the priory church lies the outer court containing two large yards and the buried remains of buildings such as store houses, barns and stables. Excavations in 1963 also uncovered a sacristy and a lime kiln. Further excavations in 1980 uncovered a large aisled barn, known from historical evidence to be a monastic wheat barn. The priory was dissolved in 1539 and the headland passed into Crown control. The priory is in the care of English Heritage. |
More information : The Benedictine Priory church once housed the relics of St Oswin, king and martyr, whose pilgrimage was second only to St Cuthberts at Durham. (3)
Excavations in the winter of 1963, directed by George Jobey, in the area north of the church yielded evidence for early timber buildings consistent withsettlement in both the Iron Age and Roman periods. There was also evidence for pre-conquest early medieval timber buildings, including one with a semi-cuircular west end which conceivably has some religious purpose. The excavation also revealed timber buildings of various medieval phases although the lack of associated finds means that their function remains unclear. (4)
A re-used stone once forming part of an Anglo-Saxon sculptured cross-shaft was discovered in the wall of the priory. (5)
The excavation of 1980 concentrated on the area designated as the Outer Court and was largely concerned with the remains of the Wheat Barn. It was also in this area that remains of the large house constructed by Colonel Edward Villiers, Governor of the Royal Garrison at Tynemouth Castle, was discovered. Built circa 1672, demolished 1902. The site was reoccupied by 1916 as the control centre for the World War I coastal batteries. (7)
NMR aerial photographs. (9)
Description of the conservation of the east arm of the priory church. (10)
The English Heritage guidebook to the site includes a tour of the salient features of the priory and also a phase plane of the standing building remains. This shows construction and alteration phases of 1090-1140, 1140-95, 1195-1220, 1220-50, late 13th century, 1th, 15th and 16th century and later. (11) |