September 20, 2008
Return to Whitby
Today I woke up early, caught the bus, and spent the day in Whitby. If you’ve already guessed it then you are right, Whitby is my favorite place in England. Why is that? I’m not sure but I think it is because of all the North Sea and the boats which remind me of my favorite place in the US; Poulsbo. This trip I went alone. I wasn’t sure if it would be very fun to go alone but I actually found that I had more freedom to see the things I wanted to and spend as much time at different places that I wanted. I decided to be a tourist and take the one hour tour bus trip around town. I am glad I did because I learned to much more about Whitby:
1. There are 199 steps up to the abbey and parish church which is still in use today. That means that every Sunday church goers climb 199 steep steps to go to church sometimes in gale force conditions.
2. Whitby was actually named something else but renamed by the Vikings. Any name ending in “by” is of Viking origin.
3. In a field near Whitby, the first German plane of WWII was shot down over England. The field is now known as Daniel’s Field.
4. Cleveland means Cliffland
5. The term daylight robbery is taken from the window tax: there used to be a tax for every window in a house so to get around that builders would build one continuous long window from the first floor to the top floor.
6. Whitby jet is just fossilized Monkey Puzzle tree
7. Whitby was the third largest ship building port behind London and Newcastle.
8. A Spittle is a hospital.
9. All the crab and lobster pots used today are made by individuals in the Whitby area.
10. When looking at the North Sea, one is actually looking North and not East as one would think being located on the east coast. There are only two locations in England where one can be on the East coast and actually looking North.
I also visited the Royal National Life Boat Museum which is free (I like free) which was very interesting because one of the first life preservers made out of corkscrew was tested here resulting in saving the life of the one man who was wearing it when the boat capsized while all the other crew was lost.
Last time I was at Whitby, I was with 7 other people so didn’t get to visit St. Mary’s Parish Church. My curiosity had been raised after finding out that the pulpit is decorated with ear trumpets because the wife of a past vicar had a hearing loss. This was one of the most moving churches I have been in thus far. It was built in the 1100-1200’s and took over 150 years to complete. Inside the church, the balcony contains the pews that have more leg room, are ornately carved, and varnished; these pews were paid for by the wealthiest families who sat in the balcony so that they were “above” the common folk. The pews below are plain and narrow. Some of these were sold and the names of the family painted on the end of the pew with the date. Other pews say “free” so that people who could not afford to buy a pew would sit there. Then, a grouping of pews nearest the pulpit says “For strangers only”. A section of the church is put aside for visitors to spend in prayer which I did for several moments.
I also ate fish and chips with mushy peas, and tea at a café and then had a Cadbury icecream cone to finish off my meal. I convinced myself that the 199 steps would help me work off the fried and fattening meal I had just eaten.
Well, that was my day’s adventure. I’m writing a separate entry about some thoughts I had while visiting St. Mary’s parish church.
Return to Whitby
Today I woke up early, caught the bus, and spent the day in Whitby. If you’ve already guessed it then you are right, Whitby is my favorite place in England. Why is that? I’m not sure but I think it is because of all the North Sea and the boats which remind me of my favorite place in the US; Poulsbo. This trip I went alone. I wasn’t sure if it would be very fun to go alone but I actually found that I had more freedom to see the things I wanted to and spend as much time at different places that I wanted. I decided to be a tourist and take the one hour tour bus trip around town. I am glad I did because I learned to much more about Whitby:
1. There are 199 steps up to the abbey and parish church which is still in use today. That means that every Sunday church goers climb 199 steep steps to go to church sometimes in gale force conditions.
2. Whitby was actually named something else but renamed by the Vikings. Any name ending in “by” is of Viking origin.
3. In a field near Whitby, the first German plane of WWII was shot down over England. The field is now known as Daniel’s Field.
4. Cleveland means Cliffland
5. The term daylight robbery is taken from the window tax: there used to be a tax for every window in a house so to get around that builders would build one continuous long window from the first floor to the top floor.
6. Whitby jet is just fossilized Monkey Puzzle tree
7. Whitby was the third largest ship building port behind London and Newcastle.
8. A Spittle is a hospital.
9. All the crab and lobster pots used today are made by individuals in the Whitby area.
10. When looking at the North Sea, one is actually looking North and not East as one would think being located on the east coast. There are only two locations in England where one can be on the East coast and actually looking North.
I also visited the Royal National Life Boat Museum which is free (I like free) which was very interesting because one of the first life preservers made out of corkscrew was tested here resulting in saving the life of the one man who was wearing it when the boat capsized while all the other crew was lost.
Last time I was at Whitby, I was with 7 other people so didn’t get to visit St. Mary’s Parish Church. My curiosity had been raised after finding out that the pulpit is decorated with ear trumpets because the wife of a past vicar had a hearing loss. This was one of the most moving churches I have been in thus far. It was built in the 1100-1200’s and took over 150 years to complete. Inside the church, the balcony contains the pews that have more leg room, are ornately carved, and varnished; these pews were paid for by the wealthiest families who sat in the balcony so that they were “above” the common folk. The pews below are plain and narrow. Some of these were sold and the names of the family painted on the end of the pew with the date. Other pews say “free” so that people who could not afford to buy a pew would sit there. Then, a grouping of pews nearest the pulpit says “For strangers only”. A section of the church is put aside for visitors to spend in prayer which I did for several moments.
I also ate fish and chips with mushy peas, and tea at a café and then had a Cadbury icecream cone to finish off my meal. I convinced myself that the 199 steps would help me work off the fried and fattening meal I had just eaten.
Well, that was my day’s adventure. I’m writing a separate entry about some thoughts I had while visiting St. Mary’s parish church.
~Nancy
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