The Penny Hedge is an ancient tradition in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

coastal town of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. The legend dates back to 1159, when the

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of Whitby imposed a

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

on three hunters, and on their descendants for all time, for murdering a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

at Eskdale. The hunters were following a wild boar near Whitby. When the boar took refuge in a hermitage at Eskdale, the nobles set upon the monk living there, who had closed the door on the hounds. Before he died, the monk consented to forgive them and spare their lives if they and their descendants would enact a penance. Each year, on the eve of

Ascension Day The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared b ...

, on the east bank of the River Esk in Whitby, they had to construct a short

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoini ...

from stakes woven together, able to withstand three tides. The instructions stipulated that a knife "of a penny price" was to be used. The ceremony is still performed in Whitby every year on Ascension Eve, by the occupiers of the land formerly owned by the Abbot. A horn is sounded and followed by the cry "''Out on ye! Out on ye! Out on ye!''" or "''Out on ye - for the heinous crime on ye''". The date of the ceremony on Ascension Eve, has been taken as being 38 days from Easter Sunday. With this, it was easy to predict that the tides would be low by 9:00 am each morning as Easter Sunday is decided and regulated by the moon and the moon dictates the tides also. However, in its 858 year history, the ceremony could not be completed in 1981, due to the tide being too high. Apart from 1981, the ceremony has been carried out each year (according to available documents). The tradition is said to have dated back to a ritual known as ''Horngarth''. This was a requirement of tenants to maintain the hedges that divided their lands, otherwise they would forfeit them to the Abbot of Whitby. The folk-tale about the death of the hermit, has led many writers and historians to believe this was just a story attached to the tradition of the upkeep of hedges and hedgerows.

In literature

The Penny Hedge legend is a major plot point in the children's book ''The Whitby Child'' by

Robin Jarvis Robin Jarvis (born 8 May 1963) is a British Young-Adult fiction (YA) and children's novelist, who writes dark fantasy, suspense and supernatural thrillers. His books for young adults have featured the inhabitants of a coastal town battling a mon ...

References

{{reflist Whitby Northumbrian folklore Yorkshire folklore