Tynemouth Iron Age and Romano-British settlements, monasteries, site of lighthouse, cross, motte, enclosure and artillery castles and later coastal defences

Scheduled area

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History & significance

Tynemouth is a complex archaeological site located on a promontory in Tyne and Wear (formerly Northumberland) that encompasses evidence of human settlement spanning from the Iron Age through to the modern period. The site contains remains of Iron Age and Romano-British settlements, succeeded by an important early medieval monastery founded in the seventh century, which became one of the principal religious houses in northern England. The headland was fortified in the medieval period with a motte-and-bailey castle and enclosure, later developed into a substantial artillery fortress from the sixteenth century onwards as coastal defence became increasingly important to protect the mouth of the River Tyne. The site also preserves the remains of a medieval cross and later includes the lighthouse constructed to mark the dangerous rocky entrance to the river, making Tynemouth a palimpsest of successive defensive and ecclesiastical use across more than two thousand years of English history.

Tynemouth Iron Age and Romano-British settlements, monasteries, site of lighthouse, cross, motte, enclosure and artillery castles and later coastal defences is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1015519. View the official record →

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