The Shrine Area

The Shrine Area. . , The Shrine Area , In 1065 the priest at Tynemouth found some human bones under the church – these were believed to be the remains of a Saxon saint, St Oswine. , Local people began to make pilgrimages to his tomb, believing that the saint would answer their prayers. They made donations to the priory, which were used to rebuild the area in front of you much grander scale. , Beyond the high altar was the shrine area, where St Oswine’s remains were housed in a magnificently decorated casket. , Look closer ... , the concrete strips on the ground in front of you show where the walls of the first, smaller stone church were. , ( photo captions ) , You can just see the top of the shrine appearing above the altar screen in the centre of this drawing. , St. Oswine’s shrine probably looked something like the shrine in this painting. , The doorway under the huge window in front of you leads to the Percy Chantry, added in the mid-15th century. The Percys were earls of Northumberland, and their arms and emblems are carved on the chapel's elaborate ceiling.