Please bare with me friends as I may have to post this in sections as this is a shared computer..
Please let me tell you this is a beautiful story before you reply.
Read On And Enjoy....



Whitby Abbey is one of the most atmospheric locations in England. The desolate ruins stand stark above steep cliffs overlooking the old whaling village of Whitby in North Yorkshire, a testament to the town's former religious significance....

The abbey was founded in 651A.D. and was the site of the Synod of Whitby in 664, when a vote was held to decide if the church should adopt the Celtic or Roman date for Easter....The vote favoured the Roman date and this led to a decline in Celtic Christianity.....

The abbey's influence decreased in the 9th Century and it was destroyed and looted in the bloody viking raid of 867A>D>

In the late 11th Century a Norman Knight came to Whitby, which continued as a place of monastic life until the dissolution of the monastries by Henry V111.

Tradition holds that Henry,s men had the abbey bells loaded onto a ship, which sank, in heavenly retribution, not long after it had left shore....In the bygone years, young lovers would listen to the sound of the bells in the depths, as this was thought to be a fortunate omen for their future....
Whitby itself, is steeped with folklore and legend, which along with the abbey's forboding ruins are said to have provided inspiration for Bram Stoker's gothic masterpiece; Dracula....
In the book, Whitby is the destination for the doomed ship Demeter, which carries Dracula to England.....

.....The first Abess of the Abbey , St Hilda became a focus for folklore and legend through the centuries and was said to have performed many miraculous deeds.....Tradition tells of how she rid the town of snakes by lopping off their heads with her enchanted whip....Fossil ammonites, frequently found on the shore, were once seen as the headless remains of these petrified snakes.....

The Abbess Hild was also once thought to make an appearance. Crowds from far and wide used to gather at the West side of the churchyard, between 10-11am in the morning, where there was a clear view of the North side of the Abbeyand the highest window. When the sun shone on the window, it created an optical illusion of a woman's form wrapped in a shroud....This optical illusion was presumed to be the ghost of the Abbey's founderer.Tradition grew that she also walked the Abbey as a phantom..She can also be seen today.............

....Other Whitby traditions which can also be seen to this day include a phantom coach and horses, which thunders to a halt outside the church, a headless spectre at Fitzsimmons steps(The top of the 199 steps which takes you to the abbey on the cliff top) and a mischievious sprite called hob(which is a generic word for goblin), who haunts the dark country lanes around the town, and who has associations with the Giant Wade who lived nearby....
The first poet of England also lived in Whitby in the 7th Century. He was given the gift of poetry after having an angelic vision........

With Love and Light
Nightshade.
xxx.

Your story inspired me to search for more information. I found this website with great pictures and more links. Thanks Deadly Nightshade!

http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/...by/whitby.shtml

You are most welcome Mel....This town is nearby me and it is so incredibly eerie, believe me, Ive been there....

With Love and light

Deadly nightshade.
xxx.

There are many reasons which Whitby is famous for;
An ancient festival called " The Planting Of The Penny Hedge", is held on the shore on the eve of Ascension Day....Wooden stakes are cut from Eskdale side and carried through the town at sunrise to the shore, where they are woven into a strong hedge, before the tide turns.......

....The name of Penny Hedge is thought to relate the price of the knife used for cutting the hedge.....
In legend the ceromony dates back to 1159, when the abbot of Whitby imposed a penance on three hunters and their future generations for murdering a hermit. To save them from execution they had to make a stake hedge that would resist the sea every year until their descendant had died out...
The festival is probably related to the renewing of the old bounderies around the parish.

With Love and Light.

Nightshade.
xxx.

Whitby is an inspirational place to visit if you are interested in folklore and traditions of Britain....The abbey has an archeological display and gift shop which is open most of the year.

Map ref; NZ 904 115
Directions: Whitby can be reached via the A171 from Scarborough or Middlesbrough, or the A174 coastal road in England United Kingdom.

Whitby is also famous for the crystal Jet, which is often found washed up on the shore. It is also put into silver jewellry and can be bought from quaint little gift shops on cobbled lanes. As you may know Jet wards off evil. This town has a very eerie feel to it as Im sure you will agree if you have ever visited it.

With Love
With Light
In The Midst Of The Night

Deadly Nightshade.
xxx.

pretty interesting, im going to do some research and read up on this

Yes Mars, it truely is an interestesting Abbey....Good luck with your research Im sure you will find it very interesting indeed.

With Love and Light

Nightshade.
xxx.