About Whitby

Whitby is a town and civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire on the north-east coast of England . Nowadays it is a fishing port and tourist destination. It is situated 47 miles (76 km) from York , at the mouth of the River Esk and spreads up the steep sides of the narrow valley carved out by the river's course. At this point the coast curves round, so the town faces more north than east. According to the 2001 UK census , Whitby parish had a population of 13,594. [ 1 ]

Whitby was founded under its Anglo-Saxon name of Streonshal in 656, when Oswy, the Christian king of Northumbria, founded Whitby Abbey , under its first abbess Hilda . The Synod of Whitby was held here in. In 867, the monastery was destroyed by Viking raiders, and was only refounded in 1078. It was in this period that the town gained its current name, Whitby , (from "white settlement" in Old Norse). In the 18th century Whitby became a centre for shipbuilding and whaling, as well as trade in alum and jet. James Cook set sail from Whitby on his voyage that led to the discovery of Australia.

Tourism and fishing now form the mainstay of the town's economy. There are rail and bus links to the rest of Yorkshire and the North East of England. Whitby has been featured in literary works, television and cinema, most famously in Bram Stoker 's Dracula.

History

Many interesting fossils have been found in the Whitby area including entire skeletons of pterodactyls . Whitby is known for its well preserved ammonite fossils , which can be found on the seashore or purchased from stalls or shops in the town.

Three green ammonites are featured on the coat of arms of the Whitby Town Council. These ammonites are shown with a head carved on, as "snake stones", which were sold as religious souvenirs in memory of Saint Hilda of Whitby.

Early-medieval Whitby

In about 656, Oswiu or Oswy , the Christian king of Northumbria , fulfilled a vow by founding a monastery there.

Faced in 655 with the mighty army of Penda , the pagan king of Mercia , which greatly outnumbered his own, Oswiu asked God to grant him victory, promising to consecrate his infant daughter Ælflæda to the service of God and to give land to found monasteries. Penda and most of his nobles were killed in the battle. Oswiu honoured his pledges by granting 12 small estates of 10 hides each in various places for monasteries to be built. One of them was at Streanæshealh , later known as Whitby Abbey . This was the house that Ælflæda herself entered as a pupil and of which she later became abbess. [ 3 ]

The first abbess was Hilda , a remarkable figure, later venerated as a saint. Under her influence, Whitby became a centre of learning, and the poetry of Cædmon is amongst the earliest examples of Anglo-Saxon literature . It was the leading royal nunnery of Deira , and the burial-place of its royal family. The Synod of Whitby , in 664, established the Roman date of Easter in Northumbria at the expense of the Celtic one, an important and influential decision. [ 4 ]

In 867, Danish Vikings landed two miles west of Whitby at Raven's Hill , and moved on to attack the settlement and to destroy the monastery. It was only after the Norman Conquest of 1066 that William de Percy ordered that the monastery be refounded (1078), dedicating it to St Peter and St Hilda. Later it became Presteby (meaning the habitation of Priests in Old Norse ) then Hwytby; next Whiteby, (meaning the "white settlement" in Old Norse , probably from the colour of the houses) and finally Whitby.

Late-medieval and Tudor periods

According to Langdale's Yorkshire Dictionary (1822) and Baine's Directory of the County of York (1823), even up to the reign of Elizabeth I Whitby was little more than a small fishing port. In 1540, it had consisted of only around twenty to thirty houses and had a population of about two hundred inhabitants [ 5 ] . In that year Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, including Whitby Abbey.

At the end of the 16th century, Thomas Chaloner of York travelled to Italy and visited the alum works in the Papal States [ 6 ] . He recognised that the rock from which the alum was made was identical to that abundant in several areas in and around his Guisborough estate in North Yorkshire. Alum was a very important product at that time, used internationally, in curing leather , fixing dyed cloths and for medicinal uses. Up to this period the Vatican had maintained a virtual monopoly on the production and sale of the product.

Chaloner secretly brought some of the Pope's workmen to England to develop a thriving alum industry in Yorkshire. (It is said that this significantly lowered the international price of alum, impacting the profitability of a traditional source of revenue for the Vatican, and that Chaloner was excommunicated ) [ 7 ] [ 8 ] .

Whitby grew significantly as a port in the following years as a result of the transport of alum and coal [ 9 ] .

Whitby Abbey and St Mary's Church

Over the centuries, the town spread both inland and onto the West Cliff, whilst the East Cliff (sometimes called the Haggerlythe) remains dominated by the ruins of Whitby Abbey and St Mary's Church. The way into the interesting ruined Abbey is through the historic Banqueting House alongside. The Abbey is owned by English Heritage , which restored the Banqueting House to contain exhibitions and museum displays about the Abbey and Whitby and opened it in 2002.

The East Cliff is at quite a distance by road, the alternative being to climb the famed 199 steps known as 'Caedmon's Trod'. [ 10 ] Many who make the climb can be heard counting on the way up. 2005 saw the completion of the first major restoration of the 199 steps since the 19th century. To raise funds, each step was offered for sponsorship at £1,000, which was raised from visitors as well as locals. The project culminated in a service at St Mary's Church on Sunday 1 October 2005 . A commemorative book, available on request at the church, contains a page dedicated to each sponsor.

Modern History - since 1605

Several alum producing centres were established close to Whitby including, in 1615, one near Sandsend (now Sandsend Ness ) three miles from the town. Two new industries thus arrived in the port of Whitby—the transport of alum and that of the coal used in its production.

Whitby thereby grew in size and wealth, extending its activities to include shipbuilding , using the local oak timber as raw material. Taxes on imports entering via the port raised the necessary finance to improve and extend the town's twin piers, thereby improving the harbour and permitting further increases in trade. (They are working piers, not the variety which caters elsewhere to holidaymakers .)

In 1753 the first whaling ship set sail from Whitby to Greenland . This initiated a new phase in the town's development, and by 1795 Whitby had become a major centre for the whaling industry.

George Hudson completed his railway network connecting Whitby and the towns of the East Riding with York in 1839. It is thought to have played a vital part in the development of Whitby as a tourism destination. George Hudson was also responsible for building or, rather, half-building the Royal Crescent. Plans to complete the project were abandoned due to insufficient funds. The Crescent still remains a popular tourist attraction. [ 11 ]

Whitby was the site of the Rohilla disaster of 30 October 1914 , when the hospital ship Rohilla was sunk (either by running aground, or hitting a mine; accounts differ) within sight of shore just off Whitby. Eighty-five people lost their lives in the disaster; most of them are buried in the churchyard at Whitby.

Also in 1914, Whitby was shelled by German battlecruisers Von der Tann and Derfflinger , aiming for the signal post on the end of the headland. Scarborough and Hartlepool were also attacked. Whitby Abbey sustained considerable damage during the attack, which lasted only 10 minutes. The attack on Whitby was the final assault on the Yorkshire coast. The German squadron responsible for the strike was able to escape without capture despite an attempt made by the Royal Navy. The Navy reported poor visibility and signalling as a determining factor.

Present day Whitby

The modern Port of Whitby, strategically placed for shipping to Europe , with very good proximity to the Scandinavian countries, is capable of handling a wide range of cargoes, including grain, steel products, timber and potash . Vessels of up to 3,000 tonnes DWT are received on a routine basis at the Wharf, which has the capability of loading/unloading two ships simultaneously. 54,000 square feet (5,000 m 2 ) of dock space is currently (2004) allocated for storage of all-weather cargo and a further 17,000 square feet (1,600 m 2 ) of warehouse space is reserved for weather-critical goods storage.

The town is served by Whitby railway station which forms the terminus of the Esk Valley Line from Middlesbrough , formerly the northern terminus of the Whitby, Pickering and York line. Whitby is also served by the Yorkshire Coastliner bus line, which can take travellers to and from Leeds , Tadcaster , York , Scarborough , Bridlington , Pickering , Malton and many more towns in Yorkshire .

The town was awarded "Best Seaside Resort 2006", by Which? Holiday magazine.

The town's college, Whitby Community College was granted specialist school status in September 2002, specialising in Technology. [ 12 ]

Whitby has a fish market on the quayside which operates as need and opportunity arise. [ 13 ] The ready supply of fresh fish has resulted in an abundance of " chippies " in the town, including the Magpie Cafe which Rick Stein has described as the best fish and chip shop in Britain. [ 14 ]

Information courtesy of Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitby

Video courtesy of Enjoy England

http://www.enjoyengland.com/your-england/enjoyenglandtv/