Working in Whitby

I visited Royal Crescent on West Cliff, which was built in the 1850s by George Hudson, also known as the Railway King. His intention was to develop a complete crescent of large houses and hotels to rival the Royal Crescent in Bath. Unfortunately, he was declared bankrupt before completing the project. He fled to France to avoid being sent to debtor's prison. The half-crescent of elegant houses he did complete stands today as an excellent example of Victorian architecture.

Just around the corner from Royal Crescent is Whitby's Whale Bone Arch, a draw for all visitors to the town.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the whaling industry was thriving in Whitby. Dozens of ships braved the Arctic seas off Greenland to hunt whales for their lucrative oil. It was a dangerous pursuit, and many crews never returned. On a ship's return to port, the crew would tie a whale's jawbone to the top of the mast as a sign that they had killed the animal and not the other way round.

To recognise this tradition, a whalebone arch was erected on Whitby's West Cliff in 1853. The archway frames a view of the town's quaint cottages and cobbled streets, as well as the ruins of medieval Whitby Abbey across the bay on East Cliff.

The original arch succumbed to the vagaries of the British weather and was replaced in 1963 with 20-foot jaw bones from a 113-ton Fin whale 🐋 killed by a Norwegian whaling ship.

The current arch comprises the lower jaw bones of a Bowhead Whale legally killed by Alaskan Innuits. They were presented to the town of Whitby by the citizens of Anchorage, Alaska, in April 2002. (Whitby is twinned with Anchorage)En savoir plus