Upcoming Event
The planting of Penny Hedge
Long ago, near Whitby, Ralph de Percy, William de Bruce and their friend Allatson were out hunting wild boar in the woods. One boar in particular led them on a long chase and finally they chased it into a chapel at Eskdaleside near Sleights. The men followed the boar and killed it by the chapel altar. Unfortunately a hermit was living in the chapel at the time and, furious at their behaviour, he shouted at them to leave. In a rage at being told off by a lowly hermit, the young men attacked him with their spears and then galloped off. The poor hermit dragged himself out of the chapel and towards a well used track which led to Whitby.
Not long afterwards, Abbot Sedman of Whitby was riding towards Whitby and saw something which looked like a bundle of rags by the side of the track. As he got down off his horse, he recognised the hermit and with some difficulty he managed to get the old hermit onto his horse. Quickly they rode to Whitby to get treatment for the poor old man.
Sadly the hermit did not survive his wounds, but he lived long enough to tell the Abbot who had attacked him. He also said that he would forgive the men if they carried out a penance. If the hermit had not given them his pardon, they would have faced execution so of course they agreed to the penance, which went as follows:
On Ascension Eve (38 days after Easter Sunday) every year, the men had to cut wood in Eskdaleside with a knife that cost a penny and carry the wood on their backs to Whitby. There, before 9 o’clock in the morning, the wood was to be made into a hedge in the harbour. This hedge had to survive three tides and this task had to be carried out every year, otherwise the men would lose some of their lands. A horn blower had to blow his horn and shout, “Out on you, out on you, out on you for this heinous crime” after the hedge had been made. They had to do all of this so they would not forget that they had murdered the poor old hermit.
This tradition is still carried out in Whitby today. If you go down to the upper harbour on the east side of town at 9 o’clock in the morning on Ascension Eve, you can watch the ceremony of the Penny Hedge.
Whitby harbour
Wednesday 12th May 2010
