.jpg) | |
 Interactive map of Whitby Abbey | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Benedictine |
| Established | 657 AD |
| Disestablished | 1538 |
| Diocese | Diocese of York |
| People | |
| Founders | 1.Oswiu 2. Prior Reinfrid |
| Site | |
| Location | Whitby,North Yorkshire, England |
| Coordinates | 54°29′20″N0°36′29″W / 54.489°N 0.608°W /54.489; -0.608 |
| Visible remains | substantial |
| Public access | yes |
Whitby Abbey was a 7th-century Christianmonastery that later became aBenedictineabbey.[1] The abbey church was situated overlooking theNorth Sea on the East Cliff aboveWhitby inNorth Yorkshire, England, a centre of the medievalNorthumbrian kingdom. The abbey and its possessions were confiscated by the crown underHenry VIII during thedissolution of the monasteries between 1536 and 1545.[2]
Since that time, the ruins of the abbey have continued to be used by sailors as a landmark at the headland. Since the 20th century, the substantialruins of the church have been declared a Grade IListed building and are in the care ofEnglish Heritage.[1] The site museum is housed inCholmley House,[3] a 17th-century banqueting hall repurposed by design studioStanton Williams in 2002.[4]
The monastery was first founded in AD 657 byOswy,King of Northumbria, asStreoneshalh (the older name for Whitby).[5][6] He appointedLady Hilda, abbess ofHartlepool Abbey and grand-niece ofEdwin, the first Christian king of Northumbria, as founding abbess.
Thedouble monastery of monks and nuns was home (614–680) to the greatNorthumbrian poetCædmon.[7]
In 664 theSynod of Whitby took place at the monastery to resolve the question of whether the Northumbrian church would adopt and follow the Easter dating ofIona (the 84-year cycle which had previously been used at Rome and on the continent) or the new 19-year cycle which had recently been adopted at Rome. There was also discussion of what kind oftonsure clergy and monks should use. The decision, with the support ofKingOswy, was for adopting the newer Roman Easter calculation, as was used in other English kingdoms to the south.Streoneshalch monastery was laid waste by Danes in successive raids between 867 and 870 underIngwar andUbba, and remained desolate for more than 200 years. A locality named 'Prestebi' was recorded in theDomesday Book of 1086, which may be a sign that religious life was revived in some form after the Danish raids; 'Witebi' (Whitby) is also mentioned. InOld Norse, Prestebi means a habitation of priests.[8] The old monastery given to Reinfrid comprised about 40 ruinedmonasteria vel oratoria, similar to Irish monastic ruins with numerous chapels and cells.[9]
Reinfrid, a soldier ofWilliam the Conqueror, became a monk and travelled to Streoneshalh, which was then known asPrestebi orHwitebi (the "white settlement" in Old Norse). He approachedWilliam de Percy for a grant of land, who gave him the ruined monastery ofSt. Peter with twocarucates of land, to found a new monastery. Serlo de Percy, the founder's brother, joined Reinfrid at the new monastery, which followed theBenedictine rule.[9] The greater part of de Percy's building was pulled down and the monastery was rebuilt on a larger scale in the 1220s.[10]
The Benedictine abbey thrived for centuries as a centre of learning. This second monastery was destroyed byHenry VIII in 1540 during theDissolution of the Monasteries. The abbey was bought by Sir Richard Cholmley. It remained in the Cholmley family and their descendants, the Strickland family. The Strickland family passed it to the UK government in 1920.[11] The ruins are now owned and maintained byEnglish Heritage.[12]
In December 1914, Whitby Abbey wasshelled by theGermanbattlecruisersVon der Tann andDerfflinger,[13] whose crew "were aiming for the Coastguard Station on the end of the headland."[14][15]Scarborough andHartlepool were also attacked.[16] The abbey buildings sustained considerable damage during the ten-minute attack.
The original gift of William de Percy included not only the monastery of St. Peter at Streoneshalch, but the town andPort of Whitby, with its parish church of St Mary and six dependent chapels atFyling,Hawsker,Sneaton,Ugglebarnby,Dunsley, andAislaby; five mills includingRuswarp; the village ofHackness with two mills and the parish church of St. Mary; and the church of St Peter at Hackness, "where our monks served God, died, and were buried," and various other gifts enumerated in the Memorial in the abbot's book.[9]
The first prior of the reestablished monastery, Reinfrid, ruled for many years before being killed in an accident. He was buried at St Peter's atHackness, now inNorth Yorkshire. He was succeeded as prior by Serlo de Percy.[9]
The abbey's coat of arms consisted of three coiled snakes or "snake-stones", representingammonite fossils with serpents' heads, colored red on a blue field. The shield's crest consisted of amitre and the head of acrosier, both in gold.[17]
Bram Stoker's 1897 novelDracula featuredCount Dracula as a creature resembling a large dog which came ashore at the headland and ran up the199 steps to the graveyard ofSt Mary's Church in the shadow of the Whitby Abbey ruins.[18][19] The abbey is also described inMina Harker's diary in the novel:
Right over the town is the ruin of Whitby Abbey, which was sacked by the Danes, and which is the scene of part ofMarmion, where the girl was built up in the wall. It is a most noble ruin, of immense size, and full of beautiful and romantic bits; there is a legend that a white lady is seen in one of the windows.[20]
.jpg)
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Abbey of Whitby".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
