Visiting Whitby Abbey ruins

We hopped off the sightseeing bus to visit Whitby Abbey. We are members of English Heritage so it didn't cost us anything to go in.

This great Benedictine monastery was founded in the late 11th century. It dominated the headland and the town below until 1539 when it was surrendered to Henry VIII's commissioners as part of his 'Dissolution of the Monasteries' programme. Sir Richard Cholmley, aka 'The Black Knight of the North', bought the freehold to the abbey land in 1555. He dismantled the monastic buildings of the abbey for their materials, though the shell of the great church remained standing.Read more