These internal troubles were not, however, generally known to the outside world, but the unfaltering searchlight of the records falls upon such great folk as Peter de Mauley, fifth Baron Mulgrave, whose castle at Mulgrave, near Whitby, is mentioned elsewhere; Lucy de Thweng, wife of Sir William le Latimer; Sir Nicholas de Meynyl; and Katherine, wife of Sir John Dentorp, whose conduct merely reflected the morals of medieval times.  It was, indeed, no uncommon event for the congregation to hear some high-born culprit confessing his sins as he walked barefoot and scantily clothed in the procession in York Minster.  An exceedingly beautiful crucifix of copper, richly gilded, was discovered during the early part of last century, when some men were digging amongst the foundations of an old building in Commondale.  There seems little doubt that this was a cell or chapel belonging to the monastery, for the crucifix bears the date 1119, the year of the founding of Guisborough Priory.  Another metal crucifix, probably belonging to the thirteenth century, was discovered at Ingleby Arncliffe.  It was beautifully inlaid with brilliant white, green, red, and blue enamels, and the figure of Christ was discovered to be hollow, and to contain two ancient parchments, written in monkish Latin and scarcely legible.  One of them was a charm, addressed to ’ye elves, and demons and all kind of apparition,’ who were called upon in the name of the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, the Apostles, Martyrs, Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, and the elect generally, to ’hurt not this servant of God, Adam Osanna, by night nor by day, but that, through the very great mercy of God Jesus Christ, by the help of Saint Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, he may rest in peace from all the aforesaid and other evils.’

Another intensely interesting relic of the great priory is the altar-tomb, believed to be that of Robert de Brus of Annandale.  The stone slabs are now built into the walls on each side of the porch of Guisborough Church.  They may have been removed there from the abbey for safety at the time of the dissolution.  Hemingburgh, in his chronicle for the year 1294, says:  ’Robert de Brus the fourth died on the eve of Good Friday; who disputed with John de Balliol, before the King of England, about the succession to the kingdom of Scotland.  And, as he ordered when alive, he was buried in the priory of Gysburn with great honour, beside his own father.’  A great number of other famous people were buried here in accordance with their wills.  Guisborough has even been claimed as the resting-place of Robert Bruce, the champion of Scottish freedom, but there is ample evidence for believing that his heart was buried at Melrose Abbey and his body in the church of Dunfermline.

The memory of Mr. George Venables—­that most excellent man who devoted many years to gathering funds for a charity school in the town—­is preserved on a monument in the church.  He had retired from business, but, in order to find the means to start the school, he resumed his labours in London, and devoted the whole of the profits to this useful object.