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.
In 1914 the German High Seas Fleet shelled Whitby and struck the abbey ruins, causing considerable damage to the west front, though this was later repaired. In 1920 the Strickland family,(owners at this time),handed the abbey over to the Ministry of Works, and over the following decade Sir Charles Peers directed major excavations at the site, uncovering evidence of the Anglian settlement here.
Between 1993 and 2008 English Heritage carried out archaeological excavation and survey work, first in connection with the construction of the visitor centre, and secondly to rescue archaeological remains threatened by the steady erosion of the cliff. These excavations produced important evidence for all periods of the abbey’s history
@leggzy Thank you for your kind comments-it has an amazing position on top of a headland on the coast, very beautiful location. I would imagine that maybe the Irish Abbeys are probably linked in some way.
