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

 

Jet, proper name lignite, is a minor gemstone made popular in Whitby and across britain by Queen Victoria after the death of her husband Prince Albert. Wearing jet following the death of a family member was popular amongst the wealthy, the colour black has always been associated with death, and jet being black, was an obvious choice for jewellery. The wearing of black during mourning was formalised during the victorian and edwardian era, and special rules were adopted for the duration in which jet jewellery should be worn. Incidentally, mourning is directly taken and a play on the word morning. Morning of course follows the dark of night, the apparent death of the sun, and so mourning is an act of wearing black, as is why the hearse is black, the dress code is black and the undertakers wear black. There are still a number of jet manufacturers in whitby today, although not in quite the numbers there were in the 19th century. Most Whitby jet shops can now be found on the east cliff, on Church Street, Sandgate and Grape Lane.

 

Below an extract taken from The Times 19 October 1880

"The Whitby jet trade, which has been in a depressed state for so many years, is again looking-up. When the bad times came the Whitby jet ornament trade was one of the first of the fancy industries to suffer, and the fashion or the taste for jet ornaments as articles of mourning changed. Jet, however, now appears to be coming into favour again, not only for mourning purposes but for ordinary adornment. On inquiry it would appear that the increased demand is by no means confined to England, but extends over France and Germany. The chief exportations, however, are to America"

 

 

 

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