Whitby Abbey - Summer 2009

Whitby Abbey is a ruined Benedictine abbey, founded in 657 AD by the Anglo-Saxon King of Northumbria, Oswy as Streoneshalh (the historical name of the harbour town of Whitby where the abbey is located on the north east coast of Yorkshire). It is thought a Roman settlement had previously existed on the site.

In 867, the abbey fell to Viking attack, and was abandoned. William de Percy ordered that the abbey be refounded (1078) by Regenfrith, a soldier monk.

The second monastery lasted until it was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The abbey buildings fell into ruins and were mined for stone, but remained a prominent landmark for sailors and helped inspire Bram Stoker's Dracula.

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