The History of Whitby

Whitby first entered the history books when in approximately 657AD, Oswiu or Oswy, the Christian king of Northumbria, built a monastery there.

Oswiu went on to built 12 small estates of 10 hides each in various places for monasteries to be built. One of them was at Streanæshealh, known today as Whitby Abbey.

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.

The monastery was re-founded in 1078. The town later became known as Presteby (meaning the habitation of Priests in Old Norse) then Hwytby and finally next Whiteby, (meaning the "white settlement" in Old Norse, probably from the colour of the houses). This has been adapted to the modern name of Whitby.

Whitby became a small fishing port and in 1540, it had consisted of around twenty to thirty properties with a population of about two hundred. In that same year Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, which sadly included Whitby Abbey.

Over the many hundreds of years, the town grew and spread both inland and across and onto the West Cliff.

The East Cliff still remains dominated by the ruins of Whitby Abbey and St Mary's Church to this very day.

Several alum producing centres were established close to Whitby, including that near Sandsend (today known as Sandsend Ness), just three miles from the town, in 1615. This created two new industries. The transport of this item, and the coal required to do so.

This new industry caused the town's wealth to increase and Whitby began to grow, and begun shipbuilding also, using the local oak as raw material.

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.

Whitby is very sadly famous also for being the site of the Rohilla disaster of October 30, 1914; when the hospital ship Rohilla was sunk just off shore from Whitby. Eighty-five people lost their lives in the disaster and most of them are buried in Whitby churchyard.

1914 was a bad year for the town as it was also shelled by German battlecruisers, aiming for the signal post on the end of the headland. Whitby Abbey sustained considerable damage during the attack.

In recent times, Whiby has become a tourist resort for holiday makers and the town was awarded "Best Seaside Resort 2006", by Which? Holiday magazine.