Whitby Abbey

Whitby is famous for?

Whitby (St Hilda's) Abbey, Dracula, Bram Stoker, Captain Cook, Whitby Goths, Whitby Regatta, Whitby Whaling, Fishing, St Mary's Church, Whitby Jet, Whitby Witches, Whitby Town, The Whitby Seagull, 199 Steps, Harbour, Whitby Piers, Shipping Trades, Alum Production, B&Bs, The East Cliff, Captain William Scoresby, Fisherman's Cottages, Whitby's Yards, Steps and cobbled streets, Fish and Chips, The Endeavour, Ghost Walks, Sea Food, Seaside, The West Cliff, Whitby Folk Festival, Caedmon, Frank Sutcliffe, Whitby Kippers, Lobster, Crabs and Scampi, Synod of A.D. 664, Australian 'First Fleet' supply vessels,

Do you know any other things Whitby is famous for? Let us know and we'll add it to the list, see here!

Discover Whitby's street names and their history here

Break the ice, Jury, Binge drinking, Incredible Hulk, Down the hatch, ...discover these and many more well known phrases from our maritime past here

Find out about the building styles and architecture found in the buildings of Whitby here.

Whitby in times gone by, ads from the past here

Old Whitby Ad

The gaunt yet beautiful ruins of the Abbey standing on the site of the east cliff plane have been hallowed since 657 A.D. The spot where the ruins now lay, was the place where in 664 A.D. Bishops and Clergy of the Church in Britain came to decide for all time the date of the Feast of Easter, based on the Roman system instead of the Celtic. The coenobitic monastery where people lived as a community in their own houses sharing only the church, was destroyed by the Danes in 867. What we see today is the ruin of a rebuilt monastery around early 13th century. Of the original monastic buildings there is little left to see. Only a few stone courses can be seen.

Whitby Abbey Postcard 1910