Whitby Abbey

Mixed feelings about this place. The church is crazy. The local worthy had a family pew in a gallery above the chancel step facing west.. towards the three decker pulpit which is plonked right in the middle of the nave.

The abbey is tremendous but of course Henry VIII knocked it about before the local worthy pinched the stone for his new house. English Heritage have done a good job on the visitor centre but the audio guide was rather superficial and sensationalist. Most unfortunately the popular attraction to the site was 'Myths and Legends' featuring Dracula (as well as Hild(a) and Caedmon). So an important place in our history characterised in the public mind by a fictional vampire.