Whitby Abbey was founded in the seventh century on cliffs by the sea; its haunting remains can still be seen from the sea and are a testament to the Golden Age of Northumbria.

Although Whitby later became well-known as a sea port associated with Captain Cook and for the stairway to the parish church and monastery which inspired portions of Bram Stoker's Dracula, its legendary history began with the seventh-century abbey whose monks and nuns included such illustrious figures as Hild, Caedmon, and others of the most well-known churchmen of seventh-century Northumbria