Scarborough Light

Historic Buildings, structures and Ruins


Scarborough Light

19 Sep 2015 35 38 487
Scarborough’s lighthouse stands on Vincent’s Pier, completed in 1752 and named after its engineer, William Vincent, The lighthouse, first constructed 1801-06, was seriously damaged during the bombardment of Scarborough by German cruisers on December 16th 1914. The lighthouse tower had to be dismantled and was rebuilt in 1931. Some 500 shells were fired on the town and eighteen people killed. The lighthouse is currently the home of Scarborough Yacht Club. The gun on right of picture is a 1914 Vickers pattern 13 pounder gun. Raised by Scarborough Sub-aqua Club and local fishermen October 1982, recovered from a depth of 100 feet (30 meters) from the wreck of the S. S. Hornsund, sunk by torpedo 23 September 1917 2-5 miles south east of this location. Airlifted into this position by a Wessex helicopter of D flight 22 squadron Royal Air Force 2 June 1984.

Whitby Abbey Church - Eastern wall of the Presbyte…

20 Jun 2019 35 31 451
(1 x PiP - showing the interior from the western (Nave) end of the building) The ruins of Whitby Abbey that can be seen today date from the 13th century onwards. The first Benidictine church on the headland was a smaller, but still impressive, stone building in the Romanesque style, probably begun in abut 1109. The Romanesque church stood until the 13th century, when abbots, priors and bishops all over England were launching ambitious projects to rebuild what, in most cases, were already large and impressive churches. It seems likely that a spirit of competition mingled with a wish to demonstrate their devotion to God. Dedicated to St. Peter and St. Hild, Whitby Abbey Church is more than 90 metres long - the size of a small cathedral (Ripon Cathedral is about the same length). The abbey church was not built to serve the local community.

Kirkham Priory Tour (8 x Pips)

16 Jun 2019 27 32 344
The ruins of Kirkham Priory are situated on the banks of the River Derwent, at Kirkham, North Yorkshire, England. The Augustinian priory was founded in the 1120s by Walter l'Espec, lord of nearby Helmsley, who also built Rievaulx Abbey. The priory was surrendered in 8 December 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Legend has it that Kirkham was founded in remembrance of l'Espec's only son who had died nearby as a consequence of his horse being startled by a boar. Dormitory This view of the dormitory showing a doorway and lamp niche on the upper part of the wall. Normally the canons' dormitory would have bee at first-floor level, with a staircase in the south transept for access to the church for night services. At Kirkham it was set at the level of the cloister, because of the fall of the ground to the south. Cloister The cloister is a rectangular court which formerly had a covered alley on each side, though all trace of these has now vanished.The alley roofs would probably have been supported on open arches, and may have been embellished with animal and figure sculptures as they were in other Augustinian priories.The central court or garth might have been laid out as a formal garden which may have had water running through open drain channels around the sides. When not attending services in the church, the canons spent most of their days in this court. they would have been provided with a series of carrels or desks at which thy might study or write. The western end of the priory church and the vaulted entrance to the cloister with the remains of the chapel above. Gatehouse The great gatehouse formed the main entrance into the priory and was built in about 1320 to 1340 and rebuilt in the 13th century. It has a wide carriage arch, surmounted by a very decorative pointed gable around which is ranged a series of figures and shields bearing the arms of the noble patrons with which the priory was associated. Originally, the figures and the shields would have been painted. The gatehouse viewed from the south. The gatehouse arch viewed from the south. The decorated exterior wall of the gatehouse viewed from the north. Church Window Remains of a tall (13th century) window at the east end of the Priory church.

Dormitory - Kirkham Priory

16 Jun 2019 1 159
This view of the dormitory showing a doorway and lamp niche on the upper part of the wall. Normally the canons' dormitory would have bee at first-floor level, with a staircase in the south transept for access to the church for night services. At Kirkham it was set at the level of the cloister, because of the fall of the ground to the south.

East Window Kirkham Priory

Kirkham Priory Gatehouse 1

16 Jun 2019 1 200
The gatehouse arch viewed from the south

Kirkham Priory Gatehouse 2

16 Jun 2019 194
The gatehouse viewed from the south.

Kirkham Priory Gatehouse Exterior

16 Jun 2019 1 201
The decorated exterior wall of the gatehouse viewed from the north The great gatehouse formed the main entrance into the priory and was built in about 1320 to 1340 and rebuilt in the 13th century. It has a wide carriage arch, surmounted by a very decorative pointed gable around which is ranged a series of figures and shields bearing the arms of the noble patrons with which the priory was associated. Originally, the figures and the shields would have been painted.

Whitby Abbey Headland from the clifftop path (HFF…

20 Jun 2019 44 55 546
HFF 12/7/2019 (1 xPiP) Taken from the clifftop path (part of the *Cleaveland Way) The *Cleveland Way is a National Trail in ancient Cleveland in northern England. It runs 110 miles (177 km) between Helmsley and the Brigg at Filey, skirting the North York Moors National Park. The trail can be walked in either direction linking the trailheads of Helmsley and Filey in a horseshoe configuration. The trail is waymarked along its length using the standard National Trail acorn symbol. The trail falls into two roughly equal sections. The inland section leads west from Helmsley, then north, then east around the west of the North York Moors National Park. It then leaves the National Park near Guisborough to meet the coast at Saltburn. It re-enters the National Park just north of Staithes; the coastal section follows the coast from Saltburn to Whitby, then leaves the National Park for the final time at Cloughton Wyke to reach Scarborough and Filey.

The Church of Staint Mary - Whitby

20 Jun 2019 23 18 376
The Church of Saint Mary is an Anglican parish church serving the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire England. It was founded around 1110, although its interior dates chiefly from the late 18th century. The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 23 February 1954. It is situated on the town's east cliff, overlooking the mouth of the River Esk overlooking the town, close to the ruins of Whitby Abbey (see below). Church Steps, a flight of 199 steps lead up the hill to the church from the streets below. The church graveyard is used as a setting in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula. Church of St. Mary and Whitby Abbey Ruin A Norman church was built on the site around 1110 and added to and altered over the centuries. The tower and transepts are from the 12th and 13th centuries. The tower is square and crenellated, as are the walls. One of the oldest parts of the church is the quire which has three round-headed windows at its east end. Its side walls originally had three bays with similar windows but have been altered. It has three aumbries, one with a small piscina. The nave has five bays and is contemporary with the quire, its south wall is much altered but three external buttresses remain. When the church was enlarged in 1818 most of the north wall was removed and replaced by columns to accommodate an aisle, four large square-headed windows were inserted on the south side, the south porch was built in 1823 and a north porch built in the new annexe. The ceilings over the nave are boarded with several skylights. The transept was built in the 13th century and has three altered lancet windows in its northern arm while its southern arm is considerably changed and its windows all replaced. The three-stage west tower has a squat appearance, its corners supported by flat buttresses and its embattled parapet is a 16th-century addition. Of its ring of eight bells, six are inscribed, "Whitby 1762 Lester and Pack of London fecit" and two were added in 1897.

Cloister Decorated Doorway View of the Misericord

16 Jun 2019 25 22 418
Kirkham Priory View towards the remains of the Misericord (the room in a monastery for monks granted a relaxation of monastic rules) from the Cloister.

The Arched Entrance to the Cloister

16 Jun 2019 15 14 428
Kirkham Priory The view through the arch show the three arch bridge over the River Derwent.

The Cloister from the Nave area of the Church

16 Jun 2019 130
Kirkham Priory (1 x PiP) The PiP shows view from the decorated door that lead from the cloister into the refectory. The cloister is a rectangular court which formerly had a covered alley on each side, though all trace of these has now vanished.The alley roofs would probably have been supported on open arches, and may have been embellished with animal and figure sculptures as they were in other Augustinian priories.The central court or garth might have been laid out as a formal garden which may have had water running through open drain channels around the sides. When not attending services in the church, the canons spent most of their days in this court. they would have been provided with a series of carrels or desks at which thy might study or write.

Over the River Derwnt by Kirkham Priory

16 Jun 2019 8 4 340
(1 x PiP) The house (1845) on the other side of the bridge was the railway station building before the station was closed on 22nd September 1930 and is now a private home.

Bridge over the River Derwent by Kirkham Priory

16 Jun 2019 14 12 443
Constructed in 1806. By John Carr. The bridge has one pointed arch and two segmental arches divided by cutwaters forming refuges on the narrow road. Now grade II listed.

St. Andrews Harbour Panorama

07 Jun 2019 22 22 548
(4 x PiPs) The history of St Andrews Harbour is one that spans the centuries and is inseparably linked with the life of the coastal town it serves; indeed at one time the very life-blood of it. No doubt the Harbour's footings are to be found in nothing more than the unimproved shores of the Kinness Burn, around which the early inhabitants of the town, then still known as Kilrymont, would go about their simple lives of fishing and farming. During medieval times and through to the 16th century the harbour would see significant development with the construction of the original stone built piers and quays to serve the many travellers and merchants of the time; the town developing as an important academic, ecclesiastical and trading centre. Today the 18th to 20th century extensions and developments to the Long (North) Pier and Cross Pier form the well-sheltered havens of the Outer and enclosed Inner Harbours, which are home to a small, but growing, flotilla of pleasure craft and a small fishing fleet that in its heyday would have numbered fifty vessels and more.

St. Andrews Castle above Castle Sands

07 Jun 2019 30 24 632
St Andrew's Castle is a picturesque ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing at the site since the times of Bishop Roger (1189-1202), son of the Earl of Leicester. It housed the burgh’s wealthy and powerful bishops while St Andrews served as the ecclesiastical centre of Scotland during the years before the Protestant Reformation. In their Latin charters, the Archbishops of St Andrews wrote of the castle as their Palace, signing, "apud Palatium nostrum." Wars of Scottish Independence During the Wars of Scottish Independence, the castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times as it changed hands between the Scots and the English. Soon after the sack of Berwick in 1296 by Edward I of England, the castle was taken and made ready for the English king in 1303. In 1314, however, after the Scottish victory at Bannockburn, the castle was retaken and repaired by Bishop William Lamberton, Guardian of Scotland, a loyal supporter of King Robert the Bruce. The English had recaptured it again by the 1330s and reinforced its defences in 1336, but to no avail. Sir Andrew Moray, Regent of Scotland in the absence of David II, recaptured it after a siege lasting three weeks. Shortly after this, in 1336-1337, it was destroyed by the Scots to prevent the English from once again using it as a stronghold. It remained in this ruined state until Bishop Walter Trail rebuilt it at the turn of the century. His castle forms the basis of what can be seen today. He completed work on the castle in about 1400 and died within its walls in 1401. Home to kings Several notable figures spent time in the castle over the next several years. James I of Scotland (1406-1437) received part of his education from Bishop Henry Wardlaw, the founder of St Andrews University in 1410. A later resident, Bishop James Kennedy, was a trusted advisor of James II of Scotland (1437-1460). In 1445 the castle was the birthplace of James III of Scotland. Use as a prison During these years, the castle also served as a notorious prison. The castle's bottle dungeon is a dank and airless pit cut out of solid rock below the north-west tower. It housed local miscreants who fell under the Bishop's jurisdiction as well as several more prominent individuals such as David Stuart, Duke of Rothesay in 1402, Duke Murdoch in 1425, and Archbishop Patrick Graham, who was judged to be insane and imprisoned in his own castle in 1478. Reformation and siege During the Scottish Reformation, the castle became a centre of religious persecution and controversy. Referring to the bottle dungeon the Scottish reformer, John Knox, wrote, "Many of God's Children were imprisoned here." In 1521 James Beaton, then Archbishop of Glasgow, won the seat of St Andrews and took up residence in the castle. Beaton altered the defences to enable the castle to withstand a heavy artillery attack, which was a threat as tensions grew between English Protestants and Scottish Catholics. In 1538 James Beaton was succeeded by his ambitious and wealthy nephew David Beaton. Cardinal David Beaton's strong opposition to the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, with Prince Edward (later King Edward VI), the son and heir of Henry VIII of England, helped to spark renewed fighting in 1544. Scottish Protestants were increasingly viewed as dangerous turncoats who sided with the English. In 1546 David Beaton imprisoned the Protestant preacher George Wishart (1513-1546) in the castle’s Sea Tower and had him burnt at the stake in front of the castle walls on March 1. Today, brick lettering with his initials marks the spot where he died. In May of that same year, Wishart's friends conspired against the cardinal. On May 26 they gained entry to the castle by disguising themselves as masons when some building work was in progress. After overcoming the garrison, they murdered Cardinal Beaton and hung his body from his window on the front of the castle. Following this murder, the Protestants took refuge in the castle and formed the first Protestant congregation in Scotland. A long siege was ordered by the Scottish Regent, James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran. In October 1546 a mine was begun by the attackers which was successfully counter-mined by the defenders. Both the mine and counter-mine cut through solid rock. They were rediscovered in 1879 and remain open to the public today. Arran heard that an English army was on its way to relieve the Castle and asked Fife Lairds like John Wemyss of that Ilk to come by 4 November 1546, bringing his followers and whatever artillery they had to resist a sea invasion. Although Henry VIII made plans to assist the Protestants within the castle, the invasion never came and his son Edward VI did not send aid. During an armistice in April 1547, John Knox entered the castle and served as the garrison's preacher for the remainder of the siege. For a time Knox had the freedom to pass to and from the castle to preach in the parish church. This peaceful interlude came to end, however, when a French fleet arrived bringing an Italian engineer Leone Strozzi who directed a devastating artillery bombardment to dislodge the Protestant lairds. The lairds knew an expert was in the field when their own Italian engineer observed cannon being winched into position with ropes rather than exposing the besiegers to their fire. Guns were also placed on St Salvator's and the cathedral towers. One of the largest Scottish cannon was called "thrawynmouthe." The castle was quickly rendered indefensible; within six hours according to Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie. The defeated Protestants were taken away: some were imprisoned in France while others, including Knox, were condemned to the galleys. Decline and current condition Following this Protestant defeat, the castle was substantially rebuilt by Archbishop John Hamilton, the illegitimate brother of Regent Arran, and successor to Dr. David Cardinal Beaton. But following his death in 1571 it was mainly occupied by a succession of constables. Parliament separated the castle from the archbishopric in 1606, and it was granted to the Earl of Dunbar, constable since 1603. In 1612 it was returned to Archbishop George Gledstanes, but further attempts to re-establish the former estates of the Archbishop failed. With the eventual success of the Reformation in Scotland, the office of the bishop was increasingly eroded until it was finally abolished by William of Orange in 1689. Deprived of any function, the castle fell rapidly into ruin. By 1656, it had fallen into such disrepair that the burgh council ordered the use of its materials in repairing the pier. The principal remains are a portion of the south wall enclosing a square tower, the "bottle dungeon," the kitchen tower, and the underground mine and counter-mine.

St. Andrews Castle from the Castle Sands


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