Whitby Sights

Whitby

Whitby holds a recognized place in the maritime and monastic history of our country.  This small historic town nurtured the genius of Cook, and gave rise to England's first poet Caedmon.  Whitby fathered the abilities of the adventurous Scoresbys, the famous whalers who sailed the Greenland seas.  This small seaport is steeped in history; it attracts people from all over the globe who like to immerse themselves in the towns past.

Ancient Whitby

The early history of Whitby is associated with the founding of a monastery, later known as Whitby Abbey.  In 655, the Christian king of Northumbria Oswy was greatly outnumbered by the Pagan king of Marcia, Penda.  Oswy prayed to god for a victory over Penda and vowed that if victory were his he would give land to found monasteries.  Penda and his nobles were killed in the battle and being good to his word, Oswy founded many monasteries.  One of them was Whitby abbey.  The monasteries first Abbess was called Hilda, a remarkable figure who later became Saint Hilda.  Under her influence, Whitby became a centre of learning giving rise to the poetry of Caedmon who created some of the earliest Anglo Saxon literature.

Whitby abbey was destroyed by Danish Vikings in 867.  The Vikings landed a few miles away west of Whitby at Ravens hill.  They then ransacked the town/settlement and destroyed the monastery.  The monastery was rebuilt under the orders of William de Percy in 1078 and dedicated to St Peter and St Hilda.  The monastery was known then as Prestaby (meaning the habitation of priests) then Hwytby; next Whiteby, (meaning the "white settlement" in Old Norse, most likely from the colour of the houses) then Whitby.  In 1540, Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries including Whitby Abbey.             

Whitby had a population of around 200 in the mid fifteenth century with thirty or so houses according to various directories of the time.  Over the centuries, Whitby has spread out inland and over the West cliff, the east side is still dominated by the ruined abbey.

Victorian Whitby

In the 1830's Whitby was changed dramatically by the coming of the railway.  Visitors from all over the country made property developers create more and more boarding houses to accommodate this influx.  Whitby's west cliff saw the biggest development of property by the wealthy railway king George Hudson.  His plans were to out do Bath and its famous crescent, but his fame and fortune ran out, and only half of his ambitious plans were actually built.

Queen Victoria's loss of her husband Prince Albert made Whitby's jet industry flourish in the 1870's.  As an outward display of bereavement Queen Victoria made wearing jet fashionable.  Whitby's jet deposits are the best found anywhere in the world and it was not long before the black gold industry sprung up all over the town.  At its peak over 1400 people were employed in the industry, from craftsmen to diggers.  At least one steam lathe was even used during this time.  By the 1930s, the interest in jet had dwindled and the industry tailed off.  It is still possible to buy jet in Whitby from local shops and there are some fantastic examples of artistry from that period which can be seen at the local Museum. 

Famous Inhabitants  

This ancient seaport saw its most well known resident James Cook become the worlds most famous Captain and surveyor of the seas.  Cook began his rise to fame in the small fishing community of Staithes among simple fishing folk, but it was in Whitby where he found his skills as a true seaman.  His journeys during the 18th century led to the discovery of many new lands.

Born in 1728 Cook began his career working in a haberdasher's at Staithes then came to Whitby to serve his apprenticeship with a local ship owner.  Cook spent some years in the Baltic trade before joining the Navy with an already experienced knowledge of seamanship.  He rose up the ranks and became a master in 1759 after showing great ability as a navigator and surveyor.  In 1768, he commanded the Endeavour for an expedition to the Pacific on behalf of the Royal Society.  This was the first of three famous expeditions all of which used ships built in Whitby.  Cook also worked out a way to prevent scurvy amongst his crew.  Cook was killed in Hawaii at the age of fifty in 1779; his statue overlooks the harbour on the West cliff.

The whaling industry was a big part of Whitby's economy.  Whitby was the sixth most important port in the British Isles during the 17^th and 18^th centuries.  Its most famous whaler's were the Scoresbys father and son.  William Scoresby served his apprenticeship aboard whaling ships and quickly worked his way up to command a Greenland Whaler, ‘The Henrietta' in 1790.  During 1792 and 1797, he caught eighty whales.  His success led him to form a fishing company with other businesspersons.

William Scoresby was also the inventor of the crows nest and was a renowned whaling Captain and expert navigator of the Artic seas.  The Crows nest protected seamen from terrible weather conditions when on lookout over the Artic regions.  William Scoresby also made improvements to Whitby Harbour's piers and inland roads and used the unemployed to carry out much of the work.  Capt William Scoresby was born in Cropton in 1790 and died in 1829.

William Junior also born in Cropton in 1789 is best known for his exploits as a scientist and explorer.  William junior worked as a whaler on his father's ships and rose to be a whaling Captain.  He was a successful whaler for thirty years.  When he was not whaling William junior studied science at the University of Edinburgh.  He carried out hundreds of experiments in the fields of magnetism to create a more reliable compass needle.  He mapped out the east coast of Greenland and studied the wildlife of this region. 

His experimentation with the new technology of the time (The Marine Diver) enabled him to measure the temperature, density and the marine life at different depths of the Arctic waters.  In 1820, William junior published ‘An Account of the Artic Regions', the first ever scientific account of the area.  He was ordained in 1825 and eventually became the Bishop of Bradford.  He continued with his scientific studies up until his death in 1857 after sailing to Australia to study terrestrial magnetism.