Whitby Abbey

Whitby Abbey was a special place of worship from the 7th century. It started as a monastery and later became a Benedictine abbey. The church stood high on a cliff overlooking the North Sea above the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. Back then, this area was part of the medieval Northumbrian kingdom.

The abbey was taken over by the crown under Henry VIII during a big change called the dissolution of the monasteries between 1536 and 1545. Even after that, sailors have used the ruins as a guide when they travel near the coast.

Today, the ruins of the church are very old and important. They are looked after by English Heritage and are protected as a special Grade I Listed building. There is also a museum in an old building called Cholmley House, which was turned into a museum by a design studio called Stanton Williams in 2002.

Streoneshalh

The monastery was founded in AD 657 by Oswy, King of Northumbria. It was called Streoneshalh. He chose Lady Hilda, abbess of Hartlepool Abbey, to lead it.

The monastery was home to the famous Northumbrian poet Cædmon for many years. In 664, an important meeting called the Synod of Whitby happened there. Leaders decided to follow the same rules for important holidays as other nearby kingdoms.

Later, the monastery was damaged by raids and stayed empty for a long time. Over time, some religious life returned to the area.

Whitby

Reinfrid, a soldier of William the Conqueror, became a monk and went to a place called Streoneshalh, also known as Prestebi or Hwitebi, meaning "White settlement". He asked William de Percy for land and got the ruins of an old monastery of St. Peter to start a new one. Serlo de Percy, Reinfrid’s brother, joined him, and they followed the Benedictine way of life. The old buildings were torn down, and a bigger monastery was built in the 1220s.

The monastery became an important place for learning for many years. But in 1540, Henry VIII destroyed it during a time called the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The land was bought by Sir Richard Cholmley and stayed with his family, later passing to the Strickland family. In 1920, they gave the ruins to the UK government, and now English Heritage takes care of them.

In December 1914, during a war, German ships attacked the area, and Whitby Abbey was damaged. Nearby places like Scarborough and Hartlepool were also hit.

Abbey possessions

The original gift to the abbey included the monastery of St. Peter at Streoneshalch, the town and Port of Whitby, with its parish church of St Mary and six dependent chapels at Fyling, Hawsker, Sneaton, Ugglebarnby, Dunsley, and Aislaby. It also included five mills such as Ruswarp, the village of Hackness with two mills and the parish church of St. Mary, and the church of St Peter at Hackness.

Priors and abbots

The first prior of the reestablished monastery was Reinfrid. He ruled for many years but died in an accident. He was buried at St Peter's in Hackness, which is now in North Yorkshire. After Reinfrid, Serlo de Percy became the new prior.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Whitby Abbey showed three coiled snakes, which were really fossils named ammonites. They appeared in red on a blue background. At the top was a golden bishop’s hat and a golden staff.

Dracula

Bram Stoker’s 1897 book Dracula has a scene where Count Dracula looks like a big dog. He arrives at the coast and runs up the 199 steps to the graveyard of St Mary's Church near the old Whitby Abbey. In the story, Mina Harker writes in her diary about the amazing ruins of Whitby Abbey. She says it is very big and has many beautiful parts. The abbey was damaged long ago by invaders called the Danes and is also part of another story called Marmion.

Notable burials

Some important people were buried at Whitby Abbey. These include Hilda of Whitby, a well-known leader, and Edwin of Deira, who was a king and later became a saint. Other notable burials are Oswiu of Northumbria, a king, and several abbesses and nobles like Ælfflæd of Whitby and Sir William de Percy, 1st Baron Percy.