WHITBY, a seaport and watering-place in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England, is picturesquely situated on both banks of the Esk, at its entrance into the North Sea, and on the North-Eastern Railway, 247∣ miles north of London and 56 north-east of York. The river is crossed by a bridge which opens in the centre to permit the passage of vessels. The old parts of the town present a very antique and picturesque appearance, with narrow, steep, and irregular streets and plain old-fashioned houses, while the modern portion, included chiefly in West Cliff, possesses the usual characteristics of a fashionable watering-place. Of the old abbey all that now remains are the ruins of the church, occupying the site of the old Saxon building, but exhibiting no traces of remains earlier than the 12th century. The oldest portion is the choir, which is Early English; the transept also is Early English but of later date; and the nave is rich Decorated. The west side of the nave fell in 1763 and the tower in 1830. On the south side are foundations of cloisters and domestic buildings. Adjoining the abbey is Whitby Hall, built by Sir Francis Cholmley about 1580 from the materials of the monastic buildings, enlarged and fortified by Sir Hugh Cholmley about 1635, and restored within recent years. A little below the abbey is the parish church of St Mary, at first Norman, which still retains some portions of the original building, but owing to a variety of alterations and reconstructions at different periods presents a very incongruous appearance. The principal public buildings are the town-hall, the museum, the public baths, St Hilda’s Hall, the temperance hall, and the sea-side home. Previous to 1632 the piers of the harbour were constructed of wood, but in that year a west pier of stone ...was constructed by Sir Hugh Cholmley. Under an Act of Parliament obtained in 1702 the west pier was reconstructed and the east pier greatly improved. Lately further improvements have been in progress, including the dredging of the river and the extension of the quay to permit the landing of fish close to the railway station. In 1886 the number of vessels that entered the port was 384 of 48,439 tons, the number that cleared 371 of 48,504 tons. The chief exports are jet ornaments and iron, but the shipping trade is on the decline; in fact the town is being gradually transformed into a fashionable watering-place. The manufacture of alum, by which in the reign of Elizabeth the foundations of its prosperity were laid, is now discontinued. The introduction of iron ship-building has also affected an industry (the building of wooden ships) for which Whitby was at one time famous: it was here that the ships for Captain Cook’s voyages were built. In 1886 the number of vessels built at the port was 3 of 1356 tons. Whale-fishing, established in 1753, began to decline in 1823, and was abandoned in 1837. The only manufacture that maintains its importance is that of jet ornaments, peculiar to the town, and made from time immemorial from a variety of petrified wood found towards the bottom of the Upper Lias. The fishing industry, owing to improved railway communications, has been progressive within late years. In 1886 it employed 231 boats of 1830 tons. Whitby is an important herring fishing station. The population of the urban sanitary district (area 2008 acres) was 12,460 in 1871 and 14,086 in 1881.
Whitby was called by the Saxons Strconshalh, but in Domesday the name occurs as Whitteby or the ’ ‘ white town.” It owes its origin to the foundation of a monastery by Oswy, king of Northumbria, in 658, in fulfilment of a vow for a victory gained over King Penda. The monastery embraced an establishment both for nuns and for monks of the Benedictine order, and under Hilda, a grandniece of Edwin, a former king of Northumbria, acquired high celebrity. In 664 it was the meeting-place of a synod held under the presidency of Oswy to determine the time of keeping Easter and the shape of the religious tonsure. In 867 the town and abbey were destroyed by the Danes, after which they lay waste for upwards of 200 years. At the Conquest they belonged to Gospatric, earl of Northumberland, whose lands were confiscated by William and given to Hugh, earl of Chester, who sold them to William de Percy. In 1074 the restoration of the abbey was begun by Reinfrid, who had been a soldier in the Conqueror’s army. In 1539 the abbey and lands were surrendered to the crown, and in 1555 were purchased by Sir Richard Cholmley. Whitby obtained the grant of a market from Henry II., and of a fair from Henry VI. It was created a parliamentary borough in 1832, but in 1885 it was included in the Whitby division of the North Riding.
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