The Gatehouse

The Gatehouse. . , The Gatehouse , Tynemouth's gatehouse is an imposing piece of architecture. It looks more like part of a castle than an entrance to a monastery. , Tynemouth Priory needed defences because it was so close to the Scottish border and the Scots regularly invaded Northumberland. This gatehouse was built following a Scots invasion in 1388. , The upper storeys were designed as a fine residence for someone of high status , possibly the steward who looked after the priory's estates. On the lower floor there was an entertaining and living space, and a kitchen with a large fireplace. The bedroom was on the floor above. , Look closer ... , at the modém bridge leading to the doorway in front of you. There was once a little drawbridge here, which could be pulled up to stop an enemy coming into the gatehouse. , ( photo captions ) , In the 18th century a barrack block was built on top of the other side of the gatehouse. These barracks were damaged by a fire in 1936 (shown here). , Before the 18th-century barrack block was added the gatehouse at Tynemouth probably had battlements topped by stone human figures, like these at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland. , This drawing shows how the gatehouse would have appeared in about 1400.