Whitby

Whitby harbour

Whitby town arms with blue waves and green ammonites

Whitby is a fishing port near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, in northeast England. 13,213 people live there. Its name comes from the Old Norse Witebi, which means the "white settlement".

Whitby is on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors.

Its heritage coast is around 35 miles (56 km) long, stretching from Staithes to Flamborough. At Whitby, dinosaur footprints are visible on the beach. The black mineral jet is found in the cliffs and on the moors and has been used since the Bronze Age to make beads. In Victorian times jet was brought to Whitby by pack pony to be made into decorative items. It was most popular in the mid-19th century when it was chosen for mourning jewellery by Queen Victoria after the death of Prince Albert.

In the Middle Ages, Whitby was home to whaling and herring fishing fleets. Now, lobsters, brown and velvet crabs are important to the local fishery. Tourists first began to visit Whitby in the 1800s. Tourism is now the main source of income for Whitby.

Whitby's East cliff is the home of Whitby Abbey. On the West Cliff, a whalebone arch commemorates Whitby's fishing heritage.

Captain James Cook, a British explorer who mapped New Zealand, Hawaii and Newfoundland, learnt to sail in Whitby.

Part of Bram Stoker's story of Dracula is set in Whitby.

Whitby Media

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  The ruins of Whitby Abbey are reflected in the abbey pond

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  The Captain Cook Memorial Monument located on the East Terrace at Whitby.

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  Whitby jet mourning jewellery became popular in late Victorian England

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  Whitby town from Abbey Terrace, sketched on 3 October 1861, looking across to Whitby Abbey

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  The Bombardment of Whitby, 16 December 1914, by William Scott Hodgson

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  Photo of the exterior of Whitby museum and pannett art gallery

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  Old Town Hall, a grade II* listed building no longer used for municipal use

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  St Mary's Church

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  A 'Snakestone' from near Whitby, with head carved onto a specimen of Dactylioceras commune (Sowerby, 1815), Whitby Formation, Toarcian Stage, late Lower Jurassic. Specimen in the Natural History Museum, London.

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  The Parkol company was formed in 1971 by Ken Parker and John Oliver, with the new venture being a portmanteau of the first parts of their surnames. *The company offers a range of marine engineering services; from refurbishment and repair, to a whole newbuild ship.

Other websites

• Whitby website