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Whitby Planting the Penny Hedge

A custom dating back to the reign of King Henry II; the legend says a group of noblemen were hunting wild boar in Eskdale, and slew a hermit who tried to protect the animal. The Bishop of Whitby Abbey as a penance ordered them to construct on Ascension Eve each year a hedge of wood with a penny knife to withstand three tides. Completion of the hedge was announced by blowing a horn as seen in the postcard image.

Image courtesy of Joyce Dobson & Keith Bowers.

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