Whitby Abbey

Perhaps better enlarged Transepts are the short arms in a cross-shaped church; the place where they intersect with the long axis is called the crossing. Transepts allowed for extra-side chapels with alters which could be separately dedicated. At Whitby, an eroded late medieval inscription in the north transept used to say 'John of Brumton, sometime servant of God' dedicated an alter to the 'Blessed Mary' there. At Whitby, the north transept stands to its full height and is well preserved, whereas the south transept fell in 1736. Much of the Nave of the Abbey collapsed in 1762, although enough remains standing to demonstrate its scale and plan. The north wall of the Nave (shown here) has three simple 13th century lancet windows, the remaining windows date from the 14th century and are much larger with elaborate tracery.

Perhaps better enlarged Much of the nave of the Abbey collapsed in 1762, although enough remains standing to demonstrate its scale and plan. This Gothic building replaced an earlier Romanesque nave from the early 12th century. The north wall of the nave (shown here) has three simple 13th century lancet windows, the two remaining windows date from the 14th century and are much larger with elaborate tracery. The nave at Whitby is not exactly aligned with the presbytery and transepts, in fact, it is misaligned by about four degrees. There is no parallel to this in any other major English medieval church.

Perhaps better enlarged The remains of the west front are in a battered and weathered condition: the shell seems to be 14th century, but the window tracery looks to be of mid 15th century date (see PiP). On the 14th December 1914, four cruisers of the Imperial German Navy appeared off the headland and fired on the town from a range of a mile and an half (2.4 km), damaging the signal station, the coastguard cottages and the west front of the abbey itself. The Ministry of Works rebuilt it, using historic masonry, in the 1920's.

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The ruins of Whitby Abbey that can be seen today date from the 13th century onwards. The first Benidictine church on the headland was a smaller, but still impressive, stone building in the Romanesque style, probably begun in abut 1109. The Romanesque church stood until the 13th century, when abbots, priors and bishops all over England were launching ambitious projects to rebuild what, in most cases, were already large and impressive churches. It seems likely that a spirit of competition mingled with a wish to demonstrate their devotion to God. Dedicated to St. Peter and St. Hild, Whitby Abbey Church is more than 90 metres long - the size of a small cathedral (Ripon Cathedral is about the same length). The abbey church was not built to serve the local community.

Perhaps better enlarged The huge, gaunt shell of Whitby’s abbey church is one of Yorkshire’s most memorable landmarks, visible from miles away from land or sea. Yet the monastery only represents a part of the history of the headland upon which it stands. People have lived here since at least Roman times, when there was probably a signal station on the cliff edge. In the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries there was a thriving Anglican community here, with a famous minster (or monastery) of monks and nuns, founded by St. Hild, at its heart. The minster and settlement had disappeared by the end of the ninth century, presumably following Viking raids along the coast. The name ‘Whitby’ is Danish: the present town, was almost certainly founded by Danish settlers some time in the 10th century. The great Benedictine monastery dominated the headland and the town below from its foundation in the late 11th century until its suppression in 1539. Its site and the surrounding estates were then bought by the Chomleys, a newly rich landowning family. They demolished the monastic buildings but preserved the shell of the church, and adapted the former abbot’s lodgings as a residence, adding a grand new wing to it in the 1670’s. By the later 18th century the Chomleys moved away, but by then the shell of the abbey had become a picturesque ruin and a historic monument. In the 20th century the abbey was placed in the care of the Ministry of Works, and in 1984 the ruins were transferred to English Heritage.

Perhaps better enlarged Dedicated to St. Peter and St. Hild, Whitby Abbey Church is more than 90 metres long - the size of a small cathedral (Ripon Cathedral is about the same length). The abbey church was not built to serve the local community. The town was served by a large early 12th century parish church; The Church of St. Mary (below), which had itself been provided by the abbey, and which still stands.

The ruins of Whitby Abbey are among the most celebrated sights of North Yorkshire. The first monastery here, founded in about 657, became one of the most important religious centres in the Anglo-Saxon world. In 664 it was the setting for the Synod of Whitby, a landmark in the history of the Church in England. The headland is now dominated by the shell of the 13th-century church of the Benedictine abbey founded after the Norman Conquest.

The ruins of Whitby Abbey are among the most celebrated sights of North Yorkshire. The first monastery here, founded in about 657, became one of the most important religious centres in the Anglo-Saxon world. In 664 it was the setting for the Synod of Whitby, a landmark in the history of the Church in England. The headland is now dominated by the shell of the 13th-century church of the Benedictine abbey founded after the Norman Conquest.