The ruins of Whitby Abbey stand on the cliff top over the the old whaling town of Whitby on the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire. The port town has a long history. HMS Endeavour, the ship commanded by James Cook was built in the town and went on to discover Australia and New Zealand. (Much to the relief of the people already living there who now had a place to live.) The Abbey became famous the world over as a backdrop to Dracula's landing in England in the gothic horror story.
Above is probably the most common view of the ruins taken from beyond the pond.
The image above is from a different angle and captures most of what is left of the Abbey that fell into ruin with the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. The Abbey was the second one to be built on the site just after the Norman Conquest. The first Abbbey was founded in 657 AD and became a major site in the early Christian church in Great Britain before being sacked by viking raids in 867 and 870 and it was left in ruins for about 200 years afterwards.
While much of the Abbey is now gone there is enough left to be able to grasp the splendour and importance of this Abbey The large archways that still stand and large windows give an idea of just how large this building would have been.
This Abbey would have been visible for miles as it dominated the clifftop over the town and was a major site for Christianity run by the Benedictine monks. The Abbey is also the burial place of a Saint and a king of Northumbria.
The picture above shows part of one of a passageway built into the walls high up from the ground while in the forground the effects of errosion by the North Sea winds on the limestone used to build it.
Images are mine taken on a family visit.