The Interior of Tynemouth Priory, Northumberland

Thomas Miles Richardson Senior (1784-1848
The Interior of Tynemouth Priory, Northumberland

Signed lower right: T M Richardson/1835
Watercolour over pencil heightened with bodycolour, stopping out and scratching out
55.7 by 36.5 cm., 22 by 14 ¼ in.

Richardson exhibited regularly in London throughout his career, at the Royal Academy, the Old Watercolour Society and the British Institution. However, he remained based in his native Newcastle throughout his life. In 1820, he published Picturesque views of the architectural antiquities of Northumberland from original pictures painted expressly for the work by W.D. and T.M. Richardson, 1819-20, which includes two views of Tynemouth Priory, one of the exterior and one of the interior of a small chapel.

The foundations of Tynemouth Priory date back to the 8th century. The original priory was the subject of several raids in the 9th century, the last of which in 875 led to its destruction and the site was not re-established as a monastery until 1083. Its strategic position on the coast, as well as its proximity to Scotland meant that under the great castle builder, Edward I, the priory was heavily fortified. On the dissolution of the monasteries, its use as a priory ended and it became a military fortress, with the army only finally vacating the site in 1956.