Whitby Abbey Church - North Transept and Nave wall

Perhaps better enlarged

Transepts are the short arms in a cross-shaped church; the place where they intersect with the long axis is called the crossing. Transepts allowed for extra-side chapels with alters which could be separately dedicated. At Whitby, an eroded late medieval inscription in the north transept used to say 'John of Brumton, sometime servant of God' dedicated an alter to the 'Blessed Mary' there. At Whitby, the north transept stands to its full height and is well preserved, whereas the south transept fell in 1736.

Much of the Nave of the Abbey collapsed in 1762, although enough remains standing to demonstrate its scale and plan. The north wall of the Nave (shown here) has three simple 13th century lancet windows, the remaining windows date from the 14th century and are much larger with elaborate tracery.