90 AMONG THE YORKSHIRE ABBEYS. 
belong obtained possession of the ruins and land. By their 
excavations a good idea of the original structure can be had. 
The principal remains consist of the north wall of the nave of the 
church, with its eight windows, and panelled archade with 
pointed arches. The whole length of the church was 371 feet 
and the breadth 60 feet, and it was a beautiful specimen of early 
decorated work. 
Proceeding to describe Whitby Abbey, the lecturer told the 
story of its foundation by Oswry, King of Northumbria, whose 
daughter Hilda became its first Abbess. After varying fortunes 
the abbey began to flourish under the Romans. In its original 
shape the abbey was cruciform, consisting of a nave, with two 
aisles, a transept (with aisles on the east side only), a square 
lantern tower, and a choir, with aisles. It extended about 300 
feet from east to west, and the transept about 150 feet from north 
to south. It is of Gothic architecture, but has undergone many 
alterations and repairs, with the unfortunate result that we have a 
conglomerate mass of styles far from satisfactory to even the 
most amateur of students. Amongst these styles were mentioned 
the “early pointed ’’ (chiefly shown in the long, narrow, lance- 
headed windows, without mullions), the “decorated ’’ (distin- 
guished from the preceding by a considerable increase and 
variety of ornament), and, lastly, the “ perpendicular ’’ (distin- 
guished by large windows divided by perpendicular mullions and 
horizontal transoms, and by a great display of ornamentation and 
elaboration). The tower of the abbey, which rose to the height 
of 104 feet, is reported to have fallen in 1833. 
The last Abbey dealt with was that of Jorvale or Jerveaulx, 
an interesting ruin near Middleham. Belonging to the Cistercian 
order, it was founded in 1156, and dedicated to St. Mary. 
Cruciform in design, its extreme length was 270 feet, and the 
ruins were thoroughly cleared in 1807 by the Earl of Aylesbury. 
The outstanding feature of the ruins are the refectory and 
domestic buildings, which are very extensive. 
