This priory dates from 1085 when it was home to a colony of Benedictine monks. Today there is still a small 15th Century vaulted chapel on the site. Situated at the mouth of the River Tyne, on a steep outcrop of rock and overlooking the North Sea, both priory and castle occupied an excellent defensive postion. Even after dissolving the monastery Henry VIII maintained the site as a Royal Castle, and it was used as a coastal defence unit in World War II.
