Whitby Abby, Whitby

The Whitby Way, St. Hilda’s Way, and the Way of St. Hild all bring pilgrims on foot across North Yorkshire to finish at this evocative ruin

Highlights

• ‍‍Site of St. Hilda’s abbey
• Scene of the Synod of Whitby
• Home to England’s first poet
• Burial place of early saints

St Hilda of Whitby is one of England’s most influential early church leaders. The fact that she was a woman seems not to have caused the slightest concern among her colleagues. She operated at the highest level during some of the church’s most difficult years, from her base at Whitby Abbey.

The abbey is now a dramatic ruin on the cliffs above Whitby. It is an awe-inspiring monument to an awesome figure, who altered the course of British Christian history in numerous ways. Under St Hilda’s oversight, the Anglo-Saxon church amicably resolved its most serious conflict, the dispute between the Celtic and Roman church traditions, at the Synod of Whitby in 664. She trained five of the country’s most senior bishops, and even nurtured the first hymn writer, St Caedmon.

It all happened here on the clifftop at Whitby, a joint male-female monastery which St Hilda founded in 657. Archaeologists have found traces of the early buildings, which were destroyed by Viking raids in around 870. Early remains can be seen in the museum, including the fragment of an 8th-century cross with the words ‘pray for…’ still legible.

A row of graves sitting in the grass to the north of the nave are described as ‘Anglian’ by English Heritage, which basically means Anglo-Saxon. No dates are given, and they are presumably not saint’s shrines. Some of Whitby’s Saxon saints might still lie buried in the region of the abbey ruins, however. The relics of St Hilda herself were supposedly rediscovered here during the 10th century. Both Glastonbury and Gloucester then claimed they had possession, which casts doubt on the story. Her saint’s day is celebrated by all denominations on 17 November.

Other early saints venerated here include St Trumwin, former bishop of Abercorn in Scotland (page 591). He fled to Whitby after a Pictish army drove out the English, serving here as a monk until his death in 704. He received shelter from St Elfleda, another saintly abbess of Whitby, who died in 714.

The current building dates from the 13th century. It was dedicated to St Peter and St Hilda. Despite having several saints attached to its early history, there is no record of any shrine at Whitby’s later medieval monastery. The presumed body of St Begu, a nun who served under St Hilda, was moved here from Hackness around 1125, but there are no records that her veneration was maintained. Even the site of the high altar in the monastery church is unclear. Curiously the building had its roof stripped but was otherwise completely untouched at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Its walls stood eerily intact for 200 years, until the south transept collapsed in 1736, followed by other sections over the next 100 years.

St Hilda

Born into a royal family, St Hilda spent 33 years in the secular world, before becoming a nun for the remaining 33 years of her life. Her first post as abbess was at Hartlepool (page 385), from where she moved to Whitby.

“Those under her direction were required to make a thorough study of the Scriptures and occupy themselves in good works, in order that many might be found fitted for Holy Orders and the service of God’s altar,” wrote the Venerable Bede (History iv.23).

In other words, she trained priests. Indeed, under her rule the abbey produced an entire generation of northern church leaders: St John of Beverley, Bishop of Hexham, St Wilfrid, Bishop of York, and three other bishops. St Hilda of Whitby is a role model for female church leadership, which has become a controversial issue in recent decades. At the time of writing, the United Reformed Church is led by two female moderators. But it is hard to see what scope there is for a future St Hilda to thrive in other denominations, irrespective of female ordination. She can’t be dismissed as a one-off, since all of England’s early male-female monasteries were run by abbesses: Whitby, Hartlepool, Ely, Wenlock, and Barking. She is greatly venerated by all the main churches.

On a creative note, the first English hymns were produced by one of the monastery’s lay workers, St Caedmon, who received the gift of songwriting during a dream. He was a simple farm worker, who slept in a barn, but St Hilda took him under her wing and nurtured his miraculous talent. One of his compositions survives, a nine-line work known as Caedmon’s Hymn, which is possibly the oldest surviving verse written in any form of Germanic language. It uses the phrase ‘Middle Earth’ to describe the world where humans live beneath heaven’s realm: Tolkien was greatly inspired by Old English poetry. You heard it first at Whitby.

Whitby’s Legacy

England’s conversion to Christianity in the 7th century took place in a sort of pincer movement, led by missionaries from the Celtic tradition in Scotland and the Roman church in southern Europe. There were several differences between the two, particularly over the method of calculating Easter and the performance of baptismal ritual, but they managed to co-exist harmoniously enough in the early decades.

As the two churches began to be established, these differences became increasingly problematic. The clash was best illustrated by the marriage of Queen Eanfleda and King Oswiu of Northumbria. She came from Roman tradition, whereas he followed Celtic, which meant that one might be fasting during Lent while the other was celebrating Easter.

The exasperated king summoned a synod to meet at Whitby. The Celtic side was presented by St Colman of Lindisfarne, the Roman by St Wilfrid, bishop of York. St Wilfrid himself had switched to Roman practice, so was well versed in the issues. In the end St Wilfrid won the argument after he pointed out that the Pope’s authority came directly from St Peter, a claim which St Colman gallantly conceded. King Oswiu ruled in favour of the Roman side, and Celtic practice faded out in his kingdom over the next few decades. It lingered in the rest of Britain for centuries, arguably to this day.

Some lament that the Synod of Whitby effectively brought an end to Celtic independence by placing England fully under the sway of Rome. Others celebrate it for exactly the same reason. It might be better to look at how it achieved change, rather than what it achieved, particularly since church division continues to be a live issue whereas the Celtic church is not.

It was a painful process for those involved, and the aftermath was difficult for the Celtic churches and monasteries that had to adapt. St Hilda herself came from the Celtic tradition but accepted the ruling and put in place the necessary changes. Not everyone could agree with the final decision, however. Some monks and bishops simply turned on their heels and walked back to Scotland, rejecting the outcome of the synod altogether.

What seems most striking, given the church’s subsequent history of dispute resolution, is the respectful way in which difference was handled before, during, and afterwards. There were no excommunications, no charges of heresy, no trials, and no fighting. There is no record of someone being attacked or killed because of the Celtic/Roman dispute, which went on for nearly 70 years before the synod and centuries after.

As church governance goes it was an impressive and respectful exercise. St Hilda’s presence undoubtedly helped keep tempers in check. She was especially keen on maintaining peace and charity, according to Bede (History iv.23). “Because of her wonderful devotion and grace, all who knew her called her Mother.”

Directions

Whitby Abbey, Abbey Lane, Whitby YO22 4JR

www.english-heritage.org.uk (search for Whitby)

W3W: absorbs.rigs.missions

GPS: 54.4863N 0.6058W

The abbey is run by English Heritage. It is open year-round, but check online for seasonal times and days of the week, which are restricted in the winter. Tickets cost £8.90 adults, £8 concessions, £5.30 children.