Here it is! The (unexpectedly) long awaited second part to my Whitby post, which documented my day out to my favourite little seaside town at the start of September. If you would like to give that one a read through, then you can find it here. Although this was on the same day, I wanted to do a separate post regarding the church and abbey because there is just so much to talk about. I've been up the famous 199 steps countless of times, but never actually went inside the church and abbey grounds, so it was a truly spectacular day for me. I did take a few snaps inside the church, but let me tell you, that lighting was not good. Not good at all. However, I did get nice shot of my grandad walking towards it before we went inside.
After having a little walk through the church and admiring all of the grand furnishings, we then proceeded towards the abbey. When I was younger, I was always led to believe that this abbey was where Dracula lived when he visited Whitby, like most people I assume. I must admit, when I learnt about the history of the abbey and who actually lived there, I did feel like a part of my childhood died a little because I always carried the fantasy of Dracula being real and living up there. I would get such a thrill walking up towards it. Although, I still got a very excited thrill when I was walking through the grounds, it was just a very different thrill. It was an excitement of being standing next to another historical landmark and beginning to understand and learn about its true history.
It was actually initially built as a 7th century Christian monastery, which then later converted into a Benedictine abbey after its abandonment during the Viking invasion. For all you non historic folks, an abbey was basically where monks lived a communal life, with this one particularly, under the Order of Saint Benedict; a patron Saint of Europe. It was a place where they would live, work and practice religious activities. When I was studying Rievaulx Abbey in Year 11 history, I was so fascinated by the monastic way of life, so I'm hoping my facts are somewhat accurate.
During the 12th century, two monks and their followers set up a campaign to re-establish the monastery and return this way of life back to the North. It wasn't until after the abandonment, during the 13th-15th centuries, that the abbey gained its Gothic features, which is an aspect that makes it so famous as it became a valuable inspiration to Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'. The success of the monastery before the invasion did not live short as the abbey soon became one of the richest in Yorkshire.
After the settlement of the monks, the abbey became property of the Cholmley family in 1539, once everything valuable inside was confiscated by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Although there has been mass deterioration due to it being left to ruin in the 18th - 19th centuries and undergoing the 1641-5 Civil War and First World War, remains of the abbey are still left standing to this day. It always surprises me how historical landmarks like Whitby abbey can still be standing after such a long period of time, which has seen wars, abandonment and dissolution. It is however now looked after by English Heritage, which is a charity that works to preserve and look after over 400 historic buildings within the country. If you want to learn more about the charity itself then you can click here, but if you're still not satisfied with my post and want to learn about the abbey's history in even more depth, then click here.
I can not wait to return to Whitby, believe me, it wont be long before I'm back. I'm also very much interested in exploring the panoramic aspect of the grounds, so there could possibly be another abbey post in the future. Keep an eye out!
