Hi Everybody,
Here I am home again from my lovely weekend away.
Of course a visit to Whitby would not be complete without the climb up 199 stone steps to the ruined Abbey and St Mary's Church at the top.
It is a long and steep climb and every so often along the route there are benches to rest on. These where called coffin stops as they where used to rest the coffin on as it was carried to the top for burials.
The weather was so kind to us and the sun shone all the time we where there... you can see the blue sky in the photo.
Now I know to some people it's just a ruin but it is so steeped in History and it is very beautiful even as a ruin.
So for my international visitors here is a little about the Abbey.
This is an artists impression of what it would have been like when built. It was a place of sanctuary for many.
Henry the 8th reigned at the time and he was a huge influence over his subjects.
But he was also a very selfish and cruel king and life had little value at that time.
He decided that he wanted to get rid of the wife he had because she had only produced a girl ... and he wanted an heir... and the Roman Catholic church wouldn't grant him a divorce.
So he changed the country from Catholic and made himself the head of the Church of England so that he could make his own rules and then divorce her.
He also decided that everything to do with Catholicism had to go and so he dissolved the monasteries and claimed all their wealth as his own to refill his dwindling bank balance.
The monks where executed if they didn't conform and the Abbey became unused.
The stone work was used to create this house that sits near the ruin.
I am sure there is a lot more to this story then I relate but that is just a little overview of the history of Whitby Abbey.
It is well worth a visit and if you can't face the stone steps then you can drive close to the ruin and walk the rest of the way from the car park.
More tomorrow ...
Hugs xx
