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Tynemouth Priory                                     


The first Christian Saxon King, King Edwin, built a little wooden church near the mouth of the Tyne River and probably dedicated it to Saint Mary early in the seventh century.  The sainted Saxon King Oswyn was buried at the church in 651 CE, and the new church shrine was built of stone (this may have served as a shrine, or second church named St. Oswyn.)  The site endured multiple attacks from the Danes, who finally destroyed it. In 1074 CE Waltheof, Earl of Northumberland, gave the land and site over to the monks at Yarrow to refound the priory and rebuild...  More>>
          

[Tynemouth, Newcastle-on-Tyne, England]
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Tynemouth Priory
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Tynemouth Priory
            Photo by Michael Hanselmann, 2006.  Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.
Tynemouth Monastery
                                 Tynemouth Priory viewed from Tynemouth pier. Photo by Chris McKenna 2005
                                            This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license.
Order:  Benedictine. 

Location: Northumbria, England

Founded: The first Christian Saxon King, King Edwin, built a little wooden church near the mouth of the Tyne River and probably dedicated it to Saint Mary early in the seventh century. The sainted Saxon King Oswyn was buried at the church in 651 CE, and the new church shrine was built of stone.  The site endured multiple attacks from the Danes, who finally destroyed it. In 1074 CE Waltheof, Earl of Northumberland gave the site over to the monks at Yarrow to refound the priory and rebuild.  In the rebuilding, the monks rediscovered the shrine of St. Oswyn, and it, too, was restored. A small chantry, which is usually a chapel donated by someone seeking masses said for his soul once he is dead, belonging to the priory was built on St. Mary's Island near Tynemouth.   

Short History: Along with the rest of the Northumbrian coastline, Tynemouth has a long history of warfare and invasion.  The Saxons were themselves invaders, and they in turn were harried by the Danes. The Danes succeeded in burning Tynemouth and its wee churches to the ground probably a few times.  Atop a sandstone cliff, Tynemouth Priory was too visible to invaders, but required fortification.  The monks kept a garrison of soldiers until Tynemouth castle was built nearby.  Though it was vulnerable to invasion, it was also located in a good spot for defense.  Strong walls helped defend the castle and priory from waves of war: defending first the Saxons from the Danes and Picts, and then the English from the Scots (who still managed to burn it at least once) and then the English from each other.  Tynemouth Priory survived the dissolution and served as a parish church.

Of Interest: After all the trouble the Danes caused the Saxon Kings, it is a Danish saint, Hermit Henry of Coquet, who is among Tynemouth's most revered.  Henry lived on Crocket (Croquet) Island and as a hermit was supported by the monks at Tynemouth.  He is buried at the priory. 

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Copyright (c) Richenda Fairhurst and historyfish.net, 2007
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