Church of SS Oswin and Mary

Part of the church of the Benedictine Tynemouth Priory "was set apart for parochial purposes and divided from the rest of the building by a stone screen erected at the time of the Transitional extension of the chancel". The vicar was appointed by the prior of Tynemouth, and the vicarage generously endowed. After the Dissolution the nave of the priory church, i.e. the parish church, remained standing and in use, to the annoyance of the governors of the castle. It steadily decayed, however, and when the Civil war broke out the parishioners could no longer obtain access to it. In 1650 it was "quite ruined", ten years later the roof fell in, and a new parish church (Christ Church) was built to replace it. The first baptism there took place in 1675.