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

Alum production became popular during the beginning of the 17th century and lasted until 1871 (due mainly to other methods of production), when the last alum works (Kettleness and Boulby) were closed. The first successful use of alum in the uk in the making of a mordant was at Guisborough near Whitby in 1604 by the Chaloner family.

Alum is used to manufacture mordants. The textile and fabric industry depended on mordants for ensuring the dyes are retained and lasting after the fabrics are dyed. The main basic chemical components of a mordant are the alumina and sulphur (combined as aluminium sulphate). These components are the result of processing the two components found in the alum shale, aluminium silicates and iron pyrites (fools gold).

The processing of the shale was an incredibly long process. In the most simplest of terms the process can be described as this; shale was dug from the ground, it was then (calcified) burnt on top of a brushwood fire, once alight the shale produced it's own heat (exothermic reaction), more shale was then put on top over many months. The calcined shale was then put into water so liquor could be extracted, which was run off into separate tanks. The waste shale was discarded over the cliffs onto the sea shore. The liquor was then piped to a boiling house, using coal for it's source of heat. Potash or ammonia was added, usually extracted from burnt seaweed (plenty at whitby and along the coast around britain). The liquor was then cooled where by forming the alum crystals, these crystals become liquid again when heated.

Picture of an Alum Crystal

Discover the maritime history and origin of everyday sayings and words with The Whitby Seagull.

LATEST ARTICLES

Whitby RNLI

added Jan 2011

The Gansey

added Dec 2010

Whitby Tokens

added Jan 2011

ALUM PRODUCTION IN WHITBY