In North Yorkshire, about an hour's drive or train ride northeast of York, is the North Sea resort city of Scarborough. Through much of the middle ages, into the Renaissance period and into the post-Civil War era, it was a place for wealthy estate owners of Yorkshire to "take the waters." Today, however, Yorkshire has to share Scarborough with the rest of the U.K. and, indeed, Europe (OK, North America too since we were there!!).

 

But before the Middle Ages, Scarborough was an important place owing to the presence of Scarborough Castle -- situated on a roughly triangular headland that rises 300 feet above the North Sea. The castle was built in the 1130s but human settlements (including military) were there long before. There is evidence of Iron Age settlements and the remains of a Roman signal station on the site. The most significant structure of the castle still standing is the keep.

 

First, an overview of this very scenic city. It has the appearance of a Mediterannean-like resort, although certainly not as warm. But you can't tell that in these pictures! ....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's low tide at Scarborough...

 

 

 

And why is this outcropping a strategic place for a castle? You have a 180-degree view of ships approaching. This is the view looking south from the castle grounds....

 

 

 

They aren't kidding....

 

 

 

The newest building at Scarborough Castle is this house, converted as a gift shop and English Heritage offices...

 

 

The keep....

 

 

The castle was a massive structure. Sadly, not much of it remains. But this wall gives some idea as to how much of the site held the castle...

 

 

As with most castles, there was a chapel on site. But since this was also a strategic military post, the chapel was built below the surface for protection. It served as a bunker for British troops during World War II as they looked out over the North Sea to keep an eye out for the German Navy.

 

 

 

 

After leaving Scarborough, we stopped at this pub for lunch along the main highway westward. The original part of the pub dates from the 1100s and was expanded in the modern era in the 1700s....

 

 

 

 

So, does all this talk of "old stuff" start to change your perspective of time? No? Well try this....

 

The following are pictures of a remote abbey in the Yorkshire countryside. It's a mile drive down an access road, that's off a secondary road. You get to the parking lot, and it's another half-mile walk down a path to reach the site.

 

Fountain's Abbey was abandoned when King Henry VIII and the Church of England broke off from the Vatican. The king then took the land, booted out the monks and gave the land to a crony. So when did all this happen? Try 100 years before the 1607 landing at Jamestown, Virginia. Yep, the site has been abandoned for 500 years.

 

And when was Fountain's Abbey built? Another 400 years earlier. So imagine Jamestown being abandoned this year, and some tourist coming to visit its ruins in 2507. That's the timeline of Fountain's Abbey yet only a part of the timeline of civilization in U.K. How's that for changing one's perspective of time??? This is why much of the world looks down on America -- too many of us think the civilized world began in 1776.

 

At last, the photos....

 

 

 

 

Here is a map and a key of the site, showing when certain sections were built...

 

 

 

 

It's a very peaceful, secluded setting -- the same reason the monks liked the site 900 years ago. Some people come here to play with their kids. Others to look. And some just to read...

 

 

 

More views of the abbey...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had Henry VIII not taken this land and given it to a crony, and instead remained a religious institution for the Church of England, it's quite possible a significant city would have grown up around it -- see Salisbury or York.

 

Some parts of the abbey are still intact...

 

 

 

But, as often happens, photos don't do justice to the sheer scale of the Fountain's Abbey. I recommend a visit.

Beautiful photos. I'm most impressed when I look at structures like that and think about how they must have been built. There were no trucks, no cranes, no power tools. It was all done with the skills of trades and craftspeople, and the strength of workers and draft animals. Any idea how many years it took to build the abbey?

1138 to 1526 = 388 years.

Although continuous construction for the bulk of the site lasted about 112 years. See the photo above of the timeline.

very nice pics and i'd like to visit sometime, but one look at that overbearing british sky, much less the buildings and there is no way i can think of the mediterannean coast.

 

also, i'd certainly say a more evolved form of civilization started after 1776 with the birth of the usa. no monarchs. so it goes both ways, we look down on europe for stuff too.

Beautiful.

Living history.

There is a simplistic beauty to this structure/site...looks wonderful.

          Henry VIII took a wife from Spain,

          Catherine Aragon was her name.

          She bore him a daughter a cute little one,

          But to keep the throne he needed a son.

          Their rocky marriage couldn't get worse,

          But the pope refused to grant a divorce.

          So Henry started a church of his own,

          He got his divorce and stayed on the throne.

 

          -Histeria kid's chorus