Whitby Abbey (English Heritage Red Guides)

High on their windswept headland, the imposing ruins of Whitby Abbey dominate the busy harbour town below. Originally founded in the seventh century and ruled by the renowned Abbess Hild, the first monastery here was the setting for one of the defining episodes in the establishment of the Anglo-Saxon church - the synod of Whitby. After the Norman Conquest, a new religious community was established on the site, which eventually grew into one of the great abbeys of Yorkshire. Later, after the Suppression of the Monasteries, the abbot's house was converted into a grand private residence. Drawing on the latest archaeological investigations, this new, richly illustrated guidebook provides a full tour and history of the abbey and headland.