St Hilda's Terrace

From the museum, I walked through Pannett Park to St Hilda's Terrace, a rare example of a Georgian terrace that remains almost in its original condition.  It was built in the 1700s on pasture land that the Hayes family had owned for centuries.  It quickly became the burgeoning whaling port of Whitby's most desirable address and has always had a strong connection to the sea.  In its early years, it was the main residence of ship owners, while their vessels' captains lived closer to the harbour on Esk Terrace.  

The houses were built for gentlemen, and most had appendages at the back that they would use as their offices to run businesses from.  Early residents included William Scoresby, who had made a fortune from the Arctic whaling trade, and William Skinner, a ship owner who later entered banking.  Interestingly, there was a religious divide on the Terrace with the top end mainly occupied by Wesleyan Methodists and the bottom end by Quakers.  Reports from the time suggest that they didn't intermingle much.

In the Georgian era, as was common, the houses were mainly acquired as assets and leased out to tenants, and many were passed down through generations.  By the 19th century, however, owner-occupiers were becoming more common.

The demographics changed slightly in the later Victorian period as whaling declined.  Professional men moved in.  By the later 1900s, there were a lot of doctors.  It was like a northern Harley Street with surgeries at the back of the properties.  There were several estate managers, too.

The whole street was Grade II-listed in 1954, so it largely avoided post-war decay as the Regency townhouses could not be converted or subdivided into small flats or bedsits.

I then went in search of Whitby's Alice in Wonderland Garden, which is tucked away in Cliff Street. It's a lovely spot to sit and admire the view across the rooftops to the Abbey.Read more