Category: whitby
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From Leprosy to Ropewalks: The Forgotten History of Spital Beck
A tired old fishing boat, its hull a faded patchwork of blue and white, sits abandoned on the shingles at Whitby harbour, marooned by the tide and neglect. It has not tasted the sea in years. This sad tableau, no doubt, repeats itself in harbours all around our coast. In the background, a jumble of…
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Whitby’s Forgotten Monastery and Its Founder, Mother Thekla
I stumbled upon a podcast months ago, half paying attention, about Mother Thekla (1918–2011). Teacher, nun, founder of an Orthodox monastery at Normanby near Whitby, and spiritual inspiration to Sir John Tavener. Whitby caught my interest. A quick map check suggested it might merit a visit someday. Today was that day. I could not get…
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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…
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The Wreck of the Rohilla
At 1:00 pm on 29th October 1914, HMHS (His Majesty’s Hospital Ship) Rohilla set sail from Leith Docks bound for Dunkirk where she would help evacuate wounded soldiers from the Western Front. She had been built in 1906 and intended to be used as a luxury cruise ship, but almost immediately was requisitioned as a…
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Sandsend and The Maharajah of Mulgrave Castle
In the decade following the death of Maharajah Ranjit Singh in 1839, the Punjab was thrown into turmoil with several successions to the throne and a threat of annexation by the British East India Company. In 1843, Duleep Singh, just five years old, was crowned King of the Punjab and head of the Sikh nation.…
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Hilda and the petrified snakes
I’ve been two days now in a virtual Scotland. Long enough, time to head south. This is the classic view of Whitby Abbey, founded by St. Hilda in the 7th-century. Of course, she wasn’t a saint when she first stood on this cliff overlooking the small settlement of Streanæshealh at the mouth of the Esk…
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Whitby Abbey from Sandsend
A right rowelly day at Sandsend. A great day for a walk on the beach. Down the coast, Whitby Abbey stands grandly on the cliffs veiled by the spray kicked up by the tummelly sea. Founded by Hild, the daughter of a Deiran prince, in the late 650s, the Abbey is most famous for the…