Whitby Abbey

Whitby Abbey was founded in 657 AD by King Oswiu, as an act of thanksgiving, after defeating Penda, the pagan king of Mercia. He appointed Lady Hilda, grand-niece of Edwin, the first Christian king of Northumbria, as founding abbess.

The abbey became the leading royal nunnery of the kingdom of Deira, and the burial-place of its royal family. In 664, the Synod of Whitby took place, which determined the calculation of the Christian date of Easter, according to which Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the beginning of spring on March 21st. This rule for the movable holiday prevailed throughout Europe and is still in force today.

The abbey monastery was laid waste by Danes in successive raids between 867 and 870 remained desolate for more than 200 years.
Reinfrid, a soldier of William the Conqueror, became a monk and approached William de Percy for a grant of land, who gave him the ruined monastery of St. Peter. Serlo de Percy, the founder's brother, joined Reinfrid at the new monastery, which followed the Benedictine rule. The greater part of de Percy's building was pulled down and the monastery was rebuilt on a larger scale in the 1220s.

The abbey thrived for centuries as a centre of learning. The monastery was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

In December 1914 the abbey buildings sustained considerable damage during an attack by German battlecruisers.