Whitby Harbour Buildings

Whitby is best known for its Jet jewelry, wonderful fish, Captain Cook, Whitby Abbey, Dracula and the North York Moors Railway. But where does the name come from?

Whitby was originally called Sinus Fari by the Brigantes who were a Celtic tribe controlling large sections of Northern England but by 71 AD they had been conquered by the Romans. In 657 AD Whitby became known as Streonshalh when the then Christian King of Northumbria, Oswy founded a monastery and Abbey there. The Vikings arrived in 867 AD destroying the monastery and renaming the settlement Whitby from the old Norse for White Settlement.

Whitby today is a traditional maritime town and historic port in North Yorkshire, where the River Esk meets the sea. It is located in the North York Moors National Park, designated in 1952 and on the Heritage coast, designated in 1979. There have been recorded settlements here since the Saxon period but the erection of the Abbey in 657 AD marked the birth of the town.

During the medieval period Whitby was a place of major religious significance, it was one of the earliest and most important centers of Christianity in England. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540 Whitby remained a small fishing community of approximately 200 people until the Elizabethan period when Alum was discovered and mining began, the port then grew in maritime and commercial significance.

In the mid 18th-19th century there were bustling shipyards, roperys and sail yards in Whitby and ships such as HM Bark Endeavour, Resolution and Adventure were built there. But by the mid the 19th century the shipbuilding and whaling industries were in decline and it was hoped that the railway would help to regenerate the town. A new development began to grow on the West side of the river designed with tourism in mind including a promenade, bandstand and luxury hotels. It is still a busy working environment with a fishing fleet, pleasure boats, ship building works, dry dock and of course the lifeboat which was one of the earliest to be established in 1802.