Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Today’s photo features Black Nab — bottom right hand corner — and Saltwick Nab — in the distance, both heavily eroded by the extensive alum workings.

Saltwick Bay and Black Nab

When King Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries, Whitby Abbey did not escape. Its fixtures and furnishings were all sold off with the funds going into the King’s coffers. The lead on the roof was stripped and used on the nearby St. Mary’s Church which until then had a thatched roof.

The bells were sold and ordered to be conveyed by ship to London. On a clear, calm day, crowds gathered on the cliffs to see the departure of the ship. Many thought it was a flagrant theft of church property, all were saddened.

But the ship never barely reached the open sea when it came to grief, floundering near Black Nab in full view of the crowds. Some say it was the weight of the bells that made the ship unstable.

Whatever the cause, it is said the bells still remain on the sea bed and, on quiet nights, they can be heard ringing a sweet peal1Jeffrey, Percy Shaw. “Whitby Lore and Legend.” Chapter III, Footnote to Page 35. Reprinted 1991. Caedmon of Whitby.2BLAKEBOROUGH, RICHARD. Notes on North Riding Lore. WELLS-LAKES-RIVERS | Northern Weekly Gazette | Saturday 19 September 1903 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2022. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003075/19030919/067/0007> [accessed 9 December 2022].

Today’s photo features Black Nab — bottom right hand corner — and Saltwick Nab — in the distance, both heavily eroded by the extensive alum workings.

The remains of this alum industry are much in evidence at low tide. Just to the left of Black Nab is a man-made dock associated with this alum industry3North York Moors Historic Environment Record (HER) No: 7586.

 

  • 1
    Jeffrey, Percy Shaw. “Whitby Lore and Legend.” Chapter III, Footnote to Page 35. Reprinted 1991. Caedmon of Whitby.
  • 2
    BLAKEBOROUGH, RICHARD. Notes on North Riding Lore. WELLS-LAKES-RIVERS | Northern Weekly Gazette | Saturday 19 September 1903 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2022. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003075/19030919/067/0007> [accessed 9 December 2022]
  • 3
    North York Moors Historic Environment Record (HER) No: 7586

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