Sandstone Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire, UK, is shown above. It is the second church erected on this site and the first to employ stone, namely local sandstone. This started around 1220. The abbey was destroyed by fire in 1549 but restored over the next few years. It closed in 1821 and all that remains today are the outer walls and a small part of the nave. Whitby is a town in North Yorkshire, England, near the confluence of the River Esk and the Whitby Narrows. The population at the 2011 census was 16,924. Whitby is known for its association with ghosts and haunted places. The town's history as a fishing community has left many buildings with stories to tell about how they came to be. Some are said to be haunted by the spirits of those who lived there before it was renovated or rebuilt, others by servants who worked in the area's many castles and other grand houses. Whitby is also famous for its connection with witchcraft. In 1489, William Gifford was tried for practicing witchcraft after he failed to cure a young girl of epilepsy. She was found guilty by a jury of her peers and executed. That same year, his assistant John Hale was also convicted of witchcraft and died in prison.