Tynemouth Castle and Priory |
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Tynemouth is a village and historic resort in Tyne and Wear,
situated at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields
(on the Tyne) and Whitley Bay. Tynemouth was a settlement from Iron
Age times and the headland was easily defended. The queens of
Edward I and Edward II preferred to stay in the medieval castle
there while their husbands were campaigning in Scotland. King
Edward III considered it to be one of the strongest castles in
the Northern Marches. After Bannockburn in 1314, Edward II fled
from Tynemouth by ship. Tynemouth Priory stands next to the castle
remains and its east wall is one of the finest Early English
compositions in the country. Tynemouth was incorporated as a
municipal borough in 1849 under the Municipal Corporations Act
1835. The county borough covered the whole area east of Wallsend
and south of Whitley Bay, including the less historic but more
economically significant town of North Shields as well as smaller
villages such as New York and Cullercoats. |
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