England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Whitby St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Whitby sits on the east coast (North Sea) of North Yorkshire, Whitby is one of Yorkshire major ports and market towns and is also a seaside resort of some repute. Whitby is a large and fairly compact town & port divided by the course of the River Esk, modern Whitby has spread rather more to the north and east than in former times when the river roughly divided the old town into two halves. Whitby is located roughly 25 miles east of the industrial town & port of Middlesborough (Teeside) and 13 miles north of the seaside resort of Scarborough. Whitby has a long and ancient history dating back to the 7th century, the foundation of Whitby Abbey lead to its initial growth from small fishing port but its great growth came with the discovery of the local alum deposits which grew trade significantly. It had a large fishing fleet which apart from being a major centre for herring as well as cod, haddock & various flat fish also held a substantial whaling fleet traveling as far as Iceland & Greenland in pursuit of their prey. To support the fishing trade Whitby was also a shipbuilding centre, it's ships famously providing Captain Cook with sturdy vessels for his discoveries. Nowadays Whitby is a visitor attraction of great importance, both for its history & culture as well as its northern beaches, perhaps more famous for its wonderful fish & chip restaurants and its literary connection with Bram Stoker's Dracula than anything else. The River Esk, swift and fast flowing from its short journey from the North York Moors runs through the heart of the town and of course that heart is sited at close to 0 metres above the sea, modern Whitby spreads up both sides to some 40 metres higher. Whitby parish is large, typical of northern English parishes and also contains the licensed chapelry of Eskdaleside, it covered some 5,100 acres and supported a population of almost 12,000 parishioners most of whom were in the town itself. In Domesday times Whitby was a relatively small place, held by Earl Hugh of Chester it could offer just 9 ploughs (although expansion to 39 was available) as well as small meadows & woods plus a mill.

The Church

St Mary's church sits high above the town, next to St Hilda's Abbey, and best reached by the notorious climb of 199 steps from the town. For those of a less energetic disposition there is vehicle access to close by and parking is available. St Mary's church is not outshone by its neighbour and Pevsner waxes lyrical about it stating that it is a church of which it is one that "he is fondest in the whole of England" and describing it as a "wonderful jumble of mediaeval & Georgian". The earliest parts of the church are Norman and progress onwards into the Early English Gothic style, Pevsner sites the tower & chancel as the principal Norman features whereas much else is an amalgam of those two styles mixed with Georgian repair, renovation and alteration. Much work dates from the late 18th century but the restoration of Victorians and later left well alone. The church is remarkable in its length, a feature which would appear to remain from its 12th century origins and attributable to the wealth of its neighbouring abbey, by comparison the tower seems almost too squat and low but perhaps influenced by its cliff-top setting it was prudence that kept it to its present height. Recent cliff-falls have exposed part of the graveyard, bones cascading onto the foreshore leading to many references to Count Dracula and his fictional deeds. The church sits on its cliff top, passed by the Cleveland Way National Trail, and the site is almost wholly treeless making for a straightforward site for photography.