Whitby Abbey

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In 664 the Anglo-Celtic monastery at Streonshalh (Whitby) was chosen to decide the outcome of an international controversy. The reason it was chosen was Hild. Hild, also known as St Hilda, was the daughter of a Deiran king who was brought up by her great-uncle, the powerful King Edwin of Northumbria, after her father was assasinated. She became a nun at the age of 33 and founded several monasteries. Whitby in particular became known as a place of great learning and a role model under Hild's tutelage and several of its monks went on to prominent postions in Anglo-Saxon society. A local legend says that the ammonites fossils at thre bottom of the cliff were infact snakes banished by Hild (similar to St Patrick in Ireland). To learn more, read here.