History

History of Whitby Abbey

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.

Whitby abbey and the headland seen from West Cliff
The abbey and the headland seen from West Cliff. The headland may have been the site of a Roman signal station in the 3rd century AD

Prehistoric and Roman Whitby

Recent excavations have shown that the Whitby headland was settled during the late Bronze Age. A round house within a ditched enclosure was found near the cliff edge, and a number of objects dating to this period have been recovered.[1]

The Whitby headland may have been occupied by a Roman signal station in the 3rd century AD, as it is midway between known stations at Goldsborough and Ravenscar, and is in a strategic position at the mouth of the river Esk.[2] If so, the site of the signal station has probably long since fallen into the sea as the cliffs here have eroded steadily.

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Fragment of an 8th century stone cross with the inscription 'orate pro' (pray for), excavated at Whitby Abbey
Fragment of an 8th-century stone cross with the inscription ‘orate pro’ (pray for), excavated at Whitby

Anglian Whitby

Following the collapse of Roman rule Britain fragmented into a number of small kingdoms, and by the 7th century Northumbria – roughly covering what is now Northumberland and Yorkshire – was the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the 7th and 8th centuries the headland at Whitby was occupied by a large Anglian[3] community, together with a celebrated monastery for both monks and nuns. Excavations here have revealed much evidence of Anglian life, including large quantities of pottery, household goods and fine metal objects.[4]

There are two main sources for the history of Streaneshalch (probably meaning ‘Streane’s headland’), as it was then known. These are the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed about 731 by the Venerable Bede, a monk from St Paul’s Monastery at Jarrow on the Tyne;[5] and a life of Pope Gregory the Great (d.604), by an anonymous monk of Streaneshalch.[6]

In 627 the Anglian King of Northumbria, Edwin, converted to Christianity and was baptised by the Roman missionary St Paulinus. The monastery at Streaneshalch was founded in about 657 by Hild (614–80), daughter of an Anglian nobleman, with the support of Oswiu (d.670), then ruler of Anglian Northumbria. Streaneshalch seems to have been of particular importance to the Northumbrian royal family, as a number of its members were buried there. It was during Hild’s rule that the layman Cædmon lived at Streaneshalch, the first named poet in the English language.

Find out more about hild
A scribe, thought to be Bede, depicted in a 12th century manuscript at Whitby Abbey
A scribe, thought to be Bede, who described the events of the Synod of Whitby in the early 8th century, depicted in a 12th-century manuscript
© British Library Board (Yates Thompson MS 26 fol 2)

The Synod of Whitby

The documentary sources only give a limited account of Streaneshalch’s history, but the most important event, the Synod of Whitby in 664, was described in some detail by Bede.[7] Here, the rivalry between the two strands of Christianity in England, the Celtic and the Roman, came to a head.

Christianity had been brought to Northumbria not only by missionaries from Rome but by Celtic missionaries from Iona in Scotland. The two traditions differed over such issues as how priests and monks should dress and wear their hair, and, most notably, how the date of Easter should be calculated. Eventually King Oswiu decided that the Roman side should prevail, and the Pope’s authority was gradually established over the Church in the British Isles.

    

Find out more about the Synod of Whitby
View across the harbour towards the parish church of St Mary, with Whitby Abbey ruins in the background
View across the harbour towards the parish church of St Mary, with the abbey ruins in the background. The church belonged to the abbey and was probably built in the early 12th century

Abandonment and Norman Renewal

The Anglian town and monastery were abandoned at some point in the 9th century. We do not know exactly when or how this happened, but it was probably as a result of raids by Vikings from Denmark, followed by permanent Danish settlement.[8] By the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 the headland seems to have been abandoned, although there was a substantial town called Whitby down by the harbour.

In about 1078 a monk called Reinfrid founded a new monastic community at Whitby.[9] At a very early stage in its history this community split and the two parts each developed into a fully fledged Benedictine monastery – one on the headland at Whitby and the other at St Mary’s Abbey, York.[10]

The Benedictine monastery initially probably had timber buildings or reused the Anglian ruins on the headland. About 1100 a stone church and conventual buildings were built in the Romanesque style, as well as a large parish church close by.

The east end of Whitby abbey ruins, seen from across the abbey pond
The east end of the abbey ruins, seen from across the abbey pond

Monastic Expansion

In the 13th century the monastery church was rebuilt in the Gothic style. This was a massive undertaking, including major landscaping of the whole site, though there is no documentary evidence for it. The first building campaign is dated on stylistic grounds to about 1225–50. The eastern arm, the crossing and transepts, a central tower, and part of the nave were built before funds seem to have run out.[11]

Work appears to have been resumed on the nave in the 14th century, but it was not finished until the 15th century. The only documentary evidence is a grant of permission for a monk of Whitby to embark on a fundraising campaign in 1338, recorded in the Whitby Cartulary (a compilation of the charters by which the monastery had been given property and legal privileges).[12] The remains of the nave have been loosely dated on the basis of architectural style.

There were doubtless extensive monastic buildings south of the abbey church, but they were almost completely demolished after the abbey’s suppression in 1539.

    

Read a Description of Whitby Abbey
Reconstruction of the ruins of Whitby Abbey (left) and the Abbey House (right) in about 1680
Reconstruction of the ruins of the abbey (left) and the Abbey House (right) in about 1680, after Sir Hugh Cholmley II had added a grand new wing and entrance court to the house built by his father
© Historic England (illustration by Liam Wales)

The Abbey and the Cholmleys

After the Suppression Sir Richard Cholmley (d.1578) bought the abbey’s buildings and the core of its estates. The Cholmley family adapted part of the abbot's lodgings into a house.

This was only one of the Cholmleys’ residences. Originally from Cheshire, they had already become major landowners in Yorkshire.[13] Sir Hugh Cholmley I (1600–57) played a notable part in the Civil War (1642–51), defending Scarborough Castle for the king before surrendering it in 1645, after which Parliamentarian troops captured and looted the Abbey House at Whitby.[14]

After the war Sir Hugh Cholmley II (1632–89) did much to restore the family estates and added a grand new wing (c.1672), known locally as the Banqueting House, to the Abbey House. He laid out a new entrance courtyard to provide a formal approach and setting.

In the 18th century the Cholmleys moved away, abandoning the Abbey House. The roof of the 1670s wing is said to have been removed after storm damage in the late 18th century.[15]

An engraving of Whitby abbey from the west, made by Francis Grose in about 1790. It shows the church before the collapse of the central tower and the west front
An engraving of the abbey from the west, made by Francis Grose in about 1790. It shows the church before the collapse of the central tower and the west front
© Historic England (courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of London)

The 18th and 19th Centuries

The shell of the abbey church was substantially complete until the 18th century (see Description of Whitby Abbey). It was weakened, however, by erosion from wind and rain. The south transept collapsed in 1736, much of the nave in 1763, the central tower in 1830 and the south side of the presbytery in 1839.[16]

From the early 19th century Whitby became a popular seaside resort, with new terraces laid out on the West Cliff. The abbey ruins became a tourist destination, and rising interest in the site was recorded in numerous engravings and paintings. The publication of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula in 1897 gave Whitby a major literary association, ensuring that the sinister count would forever be associated with the town.

Ownership of the abbey ruins passed to the Strickland family, who were descendants of the Cholmleys.[17] About 1880 Charles (later Sir Charles) Strickland added a wing to the surviving part of the Abbey House, to adapt it for occasional use as a holiday residence.

Read More about Whitby’s Dracula Connections
A photograph taken in 1914 showing the final collapse of the west front of Whitby abbey after the German bombardment
A photograph taken in 1914 showing the final collapse of the west front of the abbey after the German bombardment
© Historic England Archive

Whitby Abbey in the 20th Century

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 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 (see Research on Whitby Abbey).[18]

   
About the Authors

Steven Brindle, a Senior Properties Historian at English Heritage, is the author of the English Heritage Red Guide to Whitby Abbey. Tony Wilmott is a Senior Archaeologist at English Heritage, and is currently preparing the monograph on the English Heritage excavations at Whitby Abbey.

Read more about Whitby Abbey

  • St Hild

    As abbess of Whitby – a monastery for both men and women – Hild led one of the most important religious centres in the Anglo-Saxon world.

  • Easter and the Synod of Whitby

    Discover how a meeting about calculating the date of Easter became a landmark in the history of Christianity in England.

  • The Inspiration of Cædmon

    Discover how Cædmon’s poetic awakening, at the monastery that lies beneath the present day ruins, produced one of the first fragments of English verse.

  • How Dracula came to Whitby

    Find out how Bram Stoker’s visit to the town of Whitby provided him with atmospheric locations for a Gothic novel – and a name for his famous vampire.

  • The Bombardment and Restoration of Whitby Abbey

    Visit our online Google Arts and Culture exhibition to discover how Whitby’s west front was rebuilt after First World War bomb damage. 

  • Why Whitby matters

    Learn about the significance of Whitby's Gothic architecture and the Anglo-Saxon monastery's role as a major centre of religious learning.

  • Description of Whitby Abbey

    Discover what you’ll find on the Whitby headland today, and what the ruins reveal about Whitby Abbey’s appearance in its heyday.

  • Research on Whitby Abbey

    Read about the excavations that have helped reveal the centuries of history buried within Whitby’s famous headland.

  • Sources for Whitby Abbey

    Continue exploring Whitby's history using this summary of the main written, material and visual sources for our knowledge and understanding of the abbey.

  • Download a Plan

    Download this PDF plan which shows how Whitby Abbey changed over time.

  • Buy the Guidebook

    This guidebook includes a tour of the site and a comprehensive history illustrated with historical photographs and drawings.

  • MORE HISTORIES

    Delve into our history pages to discover more about our sites, how they have changed over time, and who made them what they are today.

Footnotes

    1.
    T Wilmott, The Whitby Headland Project, 1993–2013 (English Heritage, forthcoming).
    2.
    T Bell, ‘A Roman signal station at Whitby’, Archaeological Journal, 155 (1998), 303–22.
    3.
    ‘Anglian’ is used here rather than ‘Saxon’ or ‘Anglo-Saxon’, as the people who settled on the eastern seaboard of Britain in the 6th century called themselves ‘Angli’ or Angles, distinct from the Saxons who landed on the south-east and south coasts.
    4.
    C Peers and CAR Radford, ‘The Saxon monastery of Whitby’, Archaeologia, 89 (1943), 27–88; see R Cramp, ‘Monastic sites’, in The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England, ed DM Wilson (London, 1976), 223–9, for a discussion of the plan of the Anglian features published by Peers and Radford.
    5.
    Bede, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, trans and ed L Sherley-Price, rev RE Latham (London, 1990).
    6.
    B Colgrave, The Earliest Life of Gregory the Great, by an Anonymous Monk of Whitby (Lawrence, Kansas, 1968; reprinted Cambridge, 1985).
    7.
    Bede, op cit.  
    8.
    W Page (ed), Victoria County History: A History of Yorkshire North Riding, vol 2 (London, 1923), 506 (accessed 14 Feb 2013); JC Atkinson (ed), Cartularium Abbathiae de Whiteby, vol 1, Surtees Society, 69 (Durham, London and Edinburgh, 1879), xxi (accessed 14 February 2013).
    9.
    Atkinson, op cit, xxv–xxvii.
    10.
    Ibid, introduction; J Burton, The Monastic Order in Yorkshire, 1069–1215 (Cambridge, 1999), 36.
    11.
    Page, op cit, 508–9.
    12.
    British Library, Add MS 4715; Atkinson, op cit.
    13.
    J Binns, Sir Hugh Cholmley of Whitby, 1600–1657: Ancestry, Life and Legacy (Pickering, 2008).
    14.
    Ibid; J Binns (ed), Memoirs and Memorials of Sir Hugh Cholmley of Whitby, 1600–1657, Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record Series 153 (Woodbridge, 2000).
    15.
    L Charlton, History of Whitby and Whitby Abbey (York, 1779); Page, op cit, 510; R Lea, ‘Whitby Abbey Headland Project: conservation plan – supporting information, annex one: significance, part 1, the Banqueting Hall’, unpublished English Heritage report (1997).
    16.
    Charlton, op cit, xvii; A White, A History of Whitby (Chichester, 1993), 23–6.
    17.
    Page, op cit, 517.
    18.
    Wilmott, op cit.