Situated on a steep headland between the River Tyne and the North Sea, Tynemouth Priory and Castle has always been a fortress as well as a religious site. A 7th-century Anglian monastery once stood here until its destruction by Danish raiders. The present Benedictine Priory was refounded here around 1090.

When the Priory's monks surrendered to Henry VIII in 1539, it was adopted as a royal castle. The fortress headland continued to play its part in coastal defence, both against Napoleon and during the two World Wars.