Tynemouth | |
---|---|
Tynemouth Castle and Priory |
|
Tynemouth shown within Tyne and Wear
|
|
Population | 67,519 (2011) |
OS grid reference | NZ367694 |
Metropolitan borough | |
Metropolitan county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | NORTH SHIELDS |
Postcode district | NE30 |
Dialling code | 0191 |
Police | Northumbria |
Fire | Tyne and Wear |
Ambulance | North East |
EU Parliament | North East England |
UK Parliament | |
Location | Tynemouth |
---|---|
Coordinates | 55°00′52″N 1°24′10″W / 55.014559°N 1.402897°W |
Year first constructed | 1864 (first) |
Year first lit | 1903 (current) |
Construction | stone tower |
Tower shape | tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
Markings / pattern | unpainted tower, white lantern |
Height | 23 metres (75 ft) |
Focal height | 26 metres (85 ft) |
Current lens | rotating catadioptric lens (6 panels in 2 groups of 3) |
Light source | mains power |
Range | 26 nmi (48 km; 30 mi) |
Characteristic | Fl (3) W 10s. |
Fog signal | 1 blast every 10s. |
Admiralty number | A2700 |
NGA number | 2104 |
ARLHS number | ENG-159 |
Managing agent | Port of Tyne |
Tynemouth (/ˈtaɪnˌmaʊθ/) is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England at the mouth of the River Tyne, being 8.1 miles (13.0 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne.Historically part of Northumberland, the modern town of Tynemouth includes North Shields and Cullercoats and had a 2011 population of 67,519. It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough, including North Shields, in its own right. It had a population of 17,056 in 2001. The population of the Tynemouth ward of North Tyneside was at the 2011 Census 10,472.
Its history dates back to an Iron Age settlement and its strategic position on a headland over-looking the mouth of the Tyne continued to be important through to the Second World War. Its historic buildings, dramatic views and award-winning beaches attract visitors from around the world. The heart of the town, known by residents as "The village", has popular coffee-shops, pubs and restaurants. It is a prosperous area with comparatively expensive housing stock, ranging from Georgian terraces to Victorian ship-owners' houses to 1960s "executive homes". It is represented at Westminster by the Labour MP Alan Campbell.
The headland towering over the mouth of the River Tyne has been settled since the Iron Age. 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.