Whitby No. 6, Whitby Abbey

The entry for Whitby Abbey in the Victoria County History (York, vol. 3, 1974) notes: "While the history of the monastery of Streoneshalch, so intimately associated with the Abbess Hilda, forms an important chapter in the early history of Christianity in the north of England, that of the Benedictine house, which after a lapse of two centuries was founded on its site, is devoid of exceptional interest or importance. [...] The story of the re-founding of the monastery by William de Percy is not very clear, for there are extant three accounts, practically contemporary with one another, which differ as to many of the facts related. [...] From William the Conqueror the monastery received two undoubted charters [...] The abbey was surrendered by Henry Davell, the abbot, and the convent on 14 December 1539". The entry for this abbey in English Heritage [www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/whitby-abbey/history-and-stories/history] [accessed 3 September 2019] notes: "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 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. [...] 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."