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Welcome to WHITBY, gateway to the North Yorks Moors and Heritage coast one of England’s areas of outstanding natural beauty.
Whitby's known history dates back to the 7th century, when a Saxon Monastery was founded on the site of today's famous 13th century abbey ruins. It became an industrial port and ship building town in the early 18th and 19th centuries, as well as a whaling centre.
During the Victorian era, the red tiled cottages at the foot of the east cliff were filled with workshops that crafted famous Whitby jet into jewellery and ornaments. Antique crafted examples of the distinctive black gem are sold in the tourist shops where the jet workshops used to be.
Exploring Whitby
Whitby is a town divided in two by the estuary of the River Esk. The Old Town, with its cobbled streets and pastel hued houses, huddles round the harbour. High above it stands St. Mary's Church with a wood interior fitted by ships' carpenters. The ruins of the 13th century Whitby Abbey are still used as a landmark by mariners. From ruins, you get a fine view over the still busy harbour, strewn with colourful nets. A pleasant place for a stroll, the harbour is overlooked by a bronze cliff top statue of the great explorer Captain James Cook (1728 - 79), who was apprenticed as a teenager to a Whitby shipping firm.
Places to visit:
Whitby Pictoral
Archives Heritage Centre
Web
site E-mail
Tel. 01947 600170
17/18 Grape Lane, Whitby, North Yorkshire YO22 4BA
Whitby Museum and Pannett
Park Art Gallery
Web site E-mail
Pannett Park, 01947 602908
The Pannett Park grounds, museum and gallery were a gift of Whitby Solicitor, Robert Pannett (1834 - 1920), to house his art collection. Among the museum's treasures are fine collections of objects illustrating local history, such as jet jewellery, fossils, model ships and Captain Cook artefacts.
Whitby Abbey
Abbey Lane, 01947 603568
The monastery that Abbess Hilda founded in 657 for men and women was sacked by Vikings in 870. At the end of the 11th century it was rebuilt as a Benedictine Abbey. The present ruins date mainly from the 13th century rebuilding.
St. Mary's Parish Church
East Cliff, 01947 603421
Stuart and Georgian alterations to this Norman church have left a mixture of twisted wood columns and maze like 18th century box pews. The 1778 triple-decker pulpit has rather avant-garde decor - ear trumpets used by a Victorian rector's deaf wife.
Captain Cook Memorial Museum
Grape Lane, 01947 601900
The young James Cook slept in the attic of this 17th century harbourside house when apprenticed. The museum has period furniture in the style described in Cook's inventories and watercolours by artists who travelled on his voyages.
Museum of Victorian Whitby
Sandgate, 01947 601221
Among the exhibits on Victorian life in Whitby are the animated wheel-house of a whaling ship and a unique collection of miniature room settings.
Caedmon's Cross
East Cliff, 01947 603421
On the path side of the abbey's clifftop graveyard is the cross of Caedmon, an illiterate labourer who worked at the abbey in the 7th century. He had a vision that inspired him to compose cantos of Anglo-Saxon religious verse still sung today.
Whitby Tourist Information Centre can answer your questions!
01947 602674
Located near Whitby is Robin Hood's Bay
Legend has it that Robin Hood himself kept his boats here in case he needed to make a quick getaway. The village has a history as a smugglers' haven, and many houses have ingenious hiding places for contraband beneath the floor and behind the walls. The cobbled main street is so steep that visitors need to leave their vehicles behind in the car park. In the village centre, attractive, narrow streets full of colour washed stone cottages huddle around the quaint quay. There is a rocky beach with rock pools for children to play in. at low tide, the pleasant walk south to Boggle Hole takes 15 minutes, but you need to keep an eye on the tides.
Robin Hood's Bay Tourist Information Centre - 01947 602674
Photographs by Alison & Bill Baker
