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
The Abbey Lodge also suffered severely from the bursting shells, but the old Manor House, the Abbey House as it is called, which is quite near by, escaped injury.
The other damage done by the bombardment was very largely confined to the Meadowfield Park and Fishburn Park districts. Windsor Terrace suffered badly, and it is remarkable that the St. John’s Church of England Schools and the Roman Catholic School, immediately behind, were practically untouched. The teachers had a nerve-trying experience in dealing with the frightened children, but they responded nobly to the calls made upon them. To the rear of the schools, in Gray Street, George Street, and particularly Falcon Terrace, in some new property, the havoc wrought was pitiable to see, though a merciful Providence saved any loss of life. In Spring Hill Terrace, however, a house was very badly damaged, and the invalid occupier was hit whilst in bed, and died within a few days in consequence of her injuries and the shock sustained.
In Fishburn Park, and particularly in Esk Terrace, the same story of wreckage and destruction is to be told. Meadowfield Hall School was particularly heavily hit, and at Airy Hill and some residences in Prospect Hill much damage was done in those few and fateful minutes.
Death overtook a highly respected townsman, Mr. W. E. Tunmore, a railway rulleyman, who was struck by a piece of shell as he was, with characteristic devotion to duty, endeavouring to secure the safety of his horse. His bravery was brought to the notice of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and to his representatives, and to James Thomas Mitchell, a youth of sixteen, who exhibited great courage in controlling his frightened horse as it bolted from Wellington Road to Esk Terrace, the silver medal “For Bravery” was awarded by the Society.
A number of shells fell at Ruswarp and also at Sleights; and at the latter place two unexploded shells were found, and were critically examined by a party of British soldiers who, fresh from the front, were being nursed at Sleights Institute.
The general demeanour of the people of Whitby was characteristically British. After the first shock of the bombardment had passed, the dominant hope was that the British Navy might catch the fleeing Teutons, and avenge the affront on our English coast; but alas! the fog intervened, and our brave tars were on this day baulked of their quarry, and the castigation was deferred until the fight of Sunday, January 24th, 1915, when Whitby men took part in the discomfiture of the German Fleet which had embarked upon another raiding expedition.
The last refers to the Battle of Dogger Bank, which although trumpeted as a victory – it was in so far as enemy aims were thwarted – did very little damage to the German surface fleet, which met its nemesis at the 1916 Battle of Jutland. And the Von der Tann and Derfflinger? They were among post war Scapa Flow internees scuttled on 21 June 1919.
In December 1914, though, Scarborough and Hartlepool were hardest hit, with many more fatalities than Whitby, but the whole episode caused outrage, some of which was directed at the Navy for letting the raiders through. However, criticism was deflected by propaganda: the Germans had broken the ‘rules’ of war producing the first civilian casualties on sacrosanct British soil since the French attack on Fishguard in 1797. So, the upshot was men flocking to military recruiting stations; doubtless the opposite of what Germany wanted.
Today’s Whitby visitor will see little evidence of the December 1914 bombardment, but on arrival there’s a good chance he or she will alight from a vehicle on, or near car parks south of the modern Co-Op supermarket. Those car parks occupy the site of the former railway sidings, so at the very moment of setting foot in Whitby the visitor directly engages with the town’s history. And Whitby is indeed a town where much of its past is easily discovered.
Kindly written for The Whitby Seagull
COLIN BRIGGS
Ingham
Lincolnshire
14 July 2010
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