Whitby Abbey

Yorkshire holiday 10

On previous visits to Whitby, I've baulked at the cost of entry to the Abbey, which sits on the headland above the port, cared for by English Heritage. At £12 ish it seems a bit steep for a single ruin and a small museum. This time I paid up, and was able therefore to take the 'classic' shot of the Abbey with a small pool in the foreground. 

The history of it all is fascinating. Founded in 657 AD by Hild, daughter of an Anglian nobleman, it became one of the most important religious centres in the Anglo-Saxon world. In 664, a significant meeting of the Synod of Whitby to try to reconcile the differing traditions of Celtic and Roman Christianity, decided that the date of Easter should from then on follow the Roman traditions. 

The monastery was eventually abandoned, probably due to Viking raids, but then reinstated in 1078 as a Benedictine monastery. The present Gothic buildings were constructed during the 13th-15th centuries. Then, King Henry VIII's famous 'Suppression of the Monasteries' caused its abandonment in 1539. Much of the abbey settlement was demolished and the land was bought by the Cholmley family, who built a mansion in the grounds (now housing the museum).  The full and fascinating story can be found HERE. 

It's frankly amazing that any of it survives, exposed as it is to salt-laden winds and rain on the headland above Whitby. The stonework looks like honeycomb in places. 

English Heritage supply an audio-tour, should you like one. (No good to me, I'm deaf). Thankfully there are a few information boards around too, one of which showed an artists' impression of what the abbey nave might have looked like.