Tynemouth

An aerial shot of Tynemouth Castle, taken in 1917, which was a major coastal fortress and the control centre of the Tyne defences, which stretched from Sunderland to Blyth.

The headland towering over the mouth of the River Tyne has been settled since the Iron Age.[4] The Romans may have occupied it as a signal station, though it is just north of the Hadrian's Wall frontier (the Roman fort and supply depot of Arbeia stands almost opposite it on the southern headland of the Tyne). In the 7th century a monastery was built in Tynemouth and later fortified. The headland was known as Pen Bal Crag.[5]

The place where now stands the Monastery of Tynemouth was anciently called by the Saxons Benebalcrag

— John Leland at the time of Henry VIII

The monastery was sacked by the Danes in 800, rebuilt, and destroyed again in 875, but by 1083 it was again operational.[6]

Three kings are reported to have been buried within the monastery: Oswin, King of Deira (651); Osred II, King of Northumbria (792); and, for a time, Malcolm III, King of Scots (1093).[7] Three crowns still adorn the North Tyneside coat of arms. (North Tyneside Council, 1990).

The queens of Edward I and Edward II stayed in the Castle and Priory while their husbands were campaigning in Scotland. King Edward III considered it to be one of the strongest castles in the Northern Marches. After the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Edward II fled from Tynemouth by ship.

A village had long been established in the shelter of the fortified Priory, and around 1325 the prior built a port for fishing and trading. This led to a dispute between Tynemouth and the more powerful Newcastle over shipping rights on the Tyne, which continued for centuries. For more history see North Shields.

Prince Rupert of the Rhine landed at Tynemouth in August 1642 on his way to fight in the English Civil War.[8]

Tynemouth was listed in the 2018 Sunday Times report on best places to live in Northern England.[9]

Tynemouth has a very moderated oceanic climate heavily influenced by its position adjacent to the North Sea. As a result of this, summer highs are subdued and, according to the Met Office 1981–2010 data, average around 18 °C (64 °F). Due to its marine influence, winter lows especially are very mild for a Northern English location. Sunshine levels of 1515 hours per annum are in the normal range for the coastal North East, which is also true for the relatively low amount of precipitation at 597.2 millimetres (23.51 in).[10]

Maintaining transport links between Tynemouth and Newcastle is Tynemouth Metro station, originally opened in 1882 as a mainline station catering for the thousands of holiday-makers who flocked to the Tynemouth beaches. Its ornate Victorian ironwork canopies have earned it Grade II listed status. They were restored in 2012, and the station now provides a venue for a weekend "flea market", book fairs, craft displays, coffee shops, restaurants, exhibitions and other events.[29]

Tynemouth is the end point for the 140-mile (230 km) long Coast to Coast Cycle Route from Whitehaven or Workington in Cumbria.[30]

In 2011, Tynemouth had a population of 67,519, compared to 17,056 a decade earlier.[31] This is mainly because of boundary changes rather than an actual population increase: for example, North Shields was a separate urban subdivision in 2001 and had a population of over 36,000. Shiremoor was also a different urban subdivision, with a population of almost 5000 in 2001.[31] The 2011 definition of the town of Tynemouth includes North Shields along with some areas in the north west of the town such as Shiremoor or West Allotment. However using 2011 methodology boundaries Tynemouth had a population of 60,881 in 2001 based on the 2011 boundaries. Thus Tynemouth has become larger in both area and population.[32]

[33][34]

Tynemouth's Parish Church is the Church Of The Holy Saviour in the Parish of Tynemouth Priory. It was built in 1841[35] as a chapel of ease to the main Anglican church in the area, Christ Church, North Shields. In Front Street there were two other churches, the Catholic Parish of Our Lady & St Oswins,[36] opened in 1899, and also Tynemouth Congregational Church, which closed in 1973[37] and is now a shopping arcade.

• Susan Mary Auld – naval architect[38]
• Thomas Bewick – engraver, spent many holidays at Bank Top and wrote most of his memoirs there in 1822
• Septimus Brutton – played a single first-class cricket match for Hampshire in 1904
• Toby Flood – England rugby player, was a pupil at The King's School[39]
• Harriet Martineau – novelist and journalist, lived at 57 Front Street 1840–45, now The Martineau Guest House named in her honour. She wrote three books here and some hundred pages of her autobiography are devoted to the Tynemouth period.
• Ridley Scott – film director, was a pupil at The King's School
• Andy Taylor – former lead guitarist for the new wave group Duran Duran was born in Tynemouth in 1961 at the Tynemouth Jubilee Infirmary.[40]
• Henry Treece – Poet, children's author and editor, spent 1935-38 teaching at Tynemouth School for Boys. He certainly wrote one story set locally, The Black Longship in his collection The Invaders
• John of Tynemouth (canon lawyer) – (died 1221), Canon lawyer, author, teacher at Oxford University later canon and judge.[41]
• John of Tynemouth (chronicler) – (fl. c. 1350), vicar of Tynemouth, author of world history and of British hagiography.[42]
• John of Tynemouth (geometer) – (fl. early 13th century), author of a book on geometry later relied on by Adelard of Bath and Roger Bacon. Possibly the same man as the canon lawyer.[41]
• Stephen Tupling – Former professional football player

Charles Dickens visited Tynemouth and wrote in a letter from Newcastle, dated 4 March 1867:

'We escaped to Tynemouth for a two hours' sea walk. There was a high wind blowing, and a magnificent sea running. Large vessels were being towed in and out over the stormy bar with prodigious waves breaking on it; and, spanning the restless uproar of the waters, was a quiet rainbow of transcendent beauty. the scene was quite wonderful. We were in the full enjoyment of it when a heavy sea caught us, knocked us over, and in a moment drenched us and filled even our pockets.'

Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed into the mouth of the River Tyne in 1854 and briefly stayed in Huntingdon Place. The house is marked by a commemorative plaque.

Lewis Carroll states in the first surviving diary of his early manhood, that he met 'three nice little children' belonging to a Mrs Crawshay in Tynemouth on 21 August 1855. He remarks: 'I took a great fancy to Florence, the eldest, a child of very sweet manners'.

Algernon Charles Swinburne arrived hot foot from Wallington Hall in December 1862 and proceeded to accompany William Bell Scott and his guests, probably including Dante Gabriel Rossetti on a trip to Tynemouth. Scott writes that as they walked by the sea, Swinburne declaimed his Hymn to Proserpine and Laus Veneris in his strange intonation, while the waves ‘were running the whole length of the long level sands towards Cullercoats and sounding like far-off acclamations’.

Peter the Great of Russia is reputed to have stayed briefly in Tynemouth while on an incognito visit to learn about shipbuilding on the Tyne. He was fascinated by shipbuilding and Western life. Standing 6 feet 8 inches (203 cm) and with body-guards, he would not have been troubled by the locals.[43]

• 
  The Statue of Queen Victoria
• 
  Tynemouth Pier
• 
  Tynemouth Pier looking out to the English Channel
• 
  Tynemouth War Memorial
• 
  Tynemouth Boer War Memorial
• 
  The view of Front Street from the Salutation Inn
• 
  King Edwards Bay with Tynemouth Priory above the cliff
• 
  Tynemouth Metro Station

• Many of the books of prize-winning children's author Robert Westall are set in Tynemouth.[20]
• The Fire Worm. London: Gollancz, 1988. ISBN 0-575-04300-8, a book by prize-winning science fiction author Ian Watson is set in Tynemouth,[45] and is based on the Lambton Worm legend.
• The 1980s television series Supergran was predominantly filmed in Tynemouth and the flying bicycle and other artefacts used in filming were until 2006 on display in the Land of Green Ginger (converted Congregational Church) on Front Street.[20]
• Much of the 2004–05 BBC television series 55 Degrees North, starring Don Gilet and Dervla Kirwan was filmed in and around Tynemouth.
• In the 2005 film Goal!, the lead character played by Kuno Becker trains by running along Tynemouth Longsands.
• Many scenes from the 1961 film Payroll are set in Tynemouth.[46]
• Several scenes from the TV series Vera have been shot in and around Tynemouth.[47]
• A short Manga comic, written by Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, entitled A Trip To Tynemouth was released in 2006.[48]

• Tynemouth Castle and Priory
• Tynemouth Metro station

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Tynemouth.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tynemouth.

• Tynemouth, in video and pictures (personal website)
• Tynemouth Priory at the English Heritage website
• A guide to Tynemouth market
• Tynemouth shops, bars, cafes and events