Whitby Oldest Map

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

Below, the oldest surviving map of Whitby from Woolers Chart of 1740, showing the routes for ships into the harbour. There is some interesting artwork and symbols. To the lower left, what looks like Poseidon (greek god of the seas) holding his trident, looking into a large mirror and being pulled by his two horses. Upper middle left, two dragons heads facing each other, located where is now royal crescent on the west cliff. There is very little development shown on the map, some buildings along church street on the east side of the harbour and some which run along Flowergate and Baxtergate on the west side of the harbour. Note Whitby harbour faces north towards the north sea, therefore north is to your right, south to your left and then the west and east cliff above and below.

Whitby Oldest Map