Whitby Abbey

Why visit

Whitby Abbey is worth allowing time for because it combines monastic architecture, ruins and the historical setting of a religious community. The site is more useful than a quick photograph: its surviving features give clear evidence of how the place developed and how people used it. Key things to concentrate on are principal surviving features and the surrounding historic or natural setting. Its position in or near Whitby also makes it a practical anchor for exploring the surrounding region without reducing the visit to a simple landmark stop.

What you will see

• principal surviving features.
• the surrounding historic or natural setting.

History

The first monastery at Whitby was founded in the 7th century and hosted the Synod of Whitby in 664. The visible abbey ruins belong largely to the later Benedictine house founded after the Norman Conquest.

Photographs

Chris Gunns · CC BY-SA 2.0 · full attribution on the image credits page.

Visitor tips

1. 1

   Allow enough time for the principal features rather than treating the stop only as a photograph.

2. 2

   Check the official visitor page shortly before travel for access, booking and any temporary restrictions.

About Yorkshire and the Humber

York’s medieval core, abbey ruins, country estates and the limestone and moorland landscapes of the Yorkshire national parks.