Whitby Abbey was a 7th century Christian monastery that later became a Benedictine Abbey. The Abbey and it's possessions were confiscated by the crown during the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry the VIII.
The abbey ruin, spectacularly sited at the top of the East Cliff is the town's oldest and most prominent landmark.
It was while staying in Whitby that Bram Stoker got the inspiration for his world famous literary character Count Dracula !