How do you make a wish? Upon a star? By crossing your fingers? By Blowing out candles on a birthday cake? How about tossing a penny into a fountain?
Wishing on charms and rituals is a habit as old as mankind itself, chasing luck in all its forms is addictive, and if a small action might just push the odds in your favour, you’re going to make it.
On the Western outskirts of Whitby, on the pavement outside a discount supermarket sits a little inconsequential stone. People walk past it every day without so much as a glance. It’s little more than a bit of old masonry, a shaped rock, a trip hazard. But this is no forgotten rock, but Whitby’s very own ancient wishing chair.
Legend says that if you sit in the little chair, close your eyes and wish, it will come true. The seat itself is very small, meaning children or those with a smaller build might be able to wish a little more comfortably. I decided that if I just wished hard enough, my bum would fit in the seat. Either that or I’d dislocate my hip, whichever came first. Whatever happened, I was sure to get my wish. But most importantly of all, regardless of the size of your bum – do not speak your wish aloud, or it will be lost.
The ‘wishing chair’ has been known as such for decades, but is in fact the remnants of a medieval mile cross that once signalled the approach to Whitby Abbey, the once grand 7th century Christian monastery. Such crosses were commonplace in the medieval era, use as boundary markers, and signal posts to holy sites. Over the centuries, the cross was damaged or destroyed, leaving just the base of the once grand sign. Similarly, one side of the sandstone base has worn away, creating the uneven little seat that we see today.
The name ‘wishing chair’ first appears on a 1927 ordinance survey map, as before this, it is simply marked as ‘Stone Cross (base of or pedestal).[1] Similarly, depending on your source, the wishing chair may only be suitable for use by good children (no wishes for naughty kids, I’m afraid), but I choose to believe in a broader definition, as why should young ‘uns have all the fun?
The very fact that this seat once contained a large cross may well have added to its local mysticism and supposed powers, as though the once-holy sign still resonated through its foundations.
In recent years, a new cross was constructed on the opposite side of the road, which now operates as a boundary marker for the Abbey. However, I cannot comment on its magical properties, should you try to sit on it.
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Sources and Further Reading
Images: mostly personal
https://www.visitwhitby.com/blog/whitby-wishing-chair/
Burials & Beyond 
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