| Old Town Hall, Whitby | |
|---|---|
 Old Town Hall, Whitby | |
| Location | Whitby, Borough of Scarborough, North Yorkshire |
| Coordinates | 54°29′16″N0°36′44″W / 54.4878°N 0.6122°W |
| Built | 1788 |
| Architect | Jonathan Pickernell |
| Architectural style(s) | Neoclassical style |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Designated | 23 February 1954 |
| Reference no. | 1261706 |
  Shown in North Yorkshire | |
The Old Town Hall, Whitby is a building on the Kirkgate section of Church Street, in the Old Town area of Whitby, North Yorkshire, England.
The building was commissioned and paid for by the local lord of the manor, Nathaniel Cholmley, and was designed and built, in the neoclassical style, by the architect Jonathan Pickernell, [1] who also constructed the two inner piers in Whitby Harbour between 1781 and 1812. It is located in the Old Town area of Whitby on the east side. [2] The town hall was built when the market place was laid out to replace the earlier market place that was located on the west side of the River Esk at the west end of the bridge. [3] The town hall measures 11 yards (10 m) in length and 9 yards (8.2 m) in width and was furnished with a clock at the expense of the town (the building being paid for privately). [4] The clock tower also holds a bell which was tolled to start any court process. [5]
The Old Town Hall served as the location for the first meeting of the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society in September 1823. [6] The society was started to provide funding and space to display fossils found in the environs of Whitby town. [7] The present day location of this museum is in Pannett Park in the town. [8]
The building has an open ground floor with the upper floor supported by Tuscan columns. [9] This allowed the undercroft to be used for market trading. [10] The upper floor, accessed by a spiral staircase in the centre of the lower floor, is where the Court Leet of Whitby, the Court of Pleas and the Court of Piepowder used to meet. [11] Sometimes guilty parties would have to occupy the stocks outside the building. [12] The arches on the upper floor are pedimented with Venetian windows. [13]
The building was given listed status in 1954 [14] and was renovated in 1987 but is prone to decay with some stone falling off the top of one of the columns. [15]
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk. It has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. The fishing port emerged during the Middle Ages, supporting important herring and whaling fleets, and was where Captain Cook learned seamanship and, coincidentally, where his first vessel to explore the southern ocean, HMS Endeavour, was built. Jet and alum were mined locally, and Whitby jet, which was mined by the Romans and Victorians, became fashionable during the 19th century.
The River Esk is a river in North Yorkshire, England that empties into the North Sea at Whitby after a course of around 28 miles (45 km) through its valley of Eskdale. The river's name is derived from the Brythonic word "isca" meaning "water". The Esk is the only major river in Yorkshire that flows directly into the North Sea; all other watercourses defined as being major rivers by the Environment Agency, either flow to the North Sea via the River Tees or the Humber Estuary.
Lythe is a small village and large civil parish, in North Yorkshire, England, situated near Whitby within the North York Moors National Park. The name of the village derives from Old Norse and means hill or slope.
Loftus is a market town and civil parish in the Redcar and Cleveland borough of North Yorkshire, England. The town is located north of the North York Moors and sits between Whitby and Skelton-in-Cleveland.
The Esk Valley Line is a railway line located in the north of England, covering a total distance of approximately 35 miles (56 km), running from Middlesbrough to Whitby. The line follows the course of the River Esk for much of its eastern half.
Westerdale is a village, civil parish and dale within the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. The Esk Valley Walk runs through part of the village. The village is at the confluence of three streams (Esklets) which combine as the head of the River Esk.
Staithes is a village in North Yorkshire, England. Easington and Roxby Becks, which run into Staithes Beck, form the border between the unitary authorities of North Yorkshire and Redcar and Cleveland. The area located on the Redcar and Cleveland side is called Cowbar. Formerly a hub for fishing and mining, Staithes is now a tourist destination in the North York Moors National Park.
Grosmont is a village and civil parish situated in Eskdale in the North York Moors National Park, within the boundaries of the Scarborough district of the county of North Yorkshire, England.
Castleton is a village on the River Esk, part of the civil parish of Danby in the county of North Yorkshire in England. It can be found 7.1 miles (11.5 km) south-east of Guisborough, in the North York Moors. There was once a medieval castle sited on Castle Hill that is thought to have been abandoned when Danby Castle was constructed.
Sleights is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 2 miles 78 chains (4.8 km) south-west of Whitby, serves the villages of Briggswath and Sleights, Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Whitby is a railway station serving the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. It is the southern terminus of the Esk Valley Line from Middlesbrough. The station is owned by Network Rail; its mainline services are operated by Northern Trains and its heritage services by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
Lealholm is a small village in the Glaisdale civil parish of the Borough of Scarborough, in North Yorkshire, England. It is sited at a crossing point of the River Esk, in Eskdale which is within the North York Moors National Park. It is 9.5 miles (15.3 km) by road from the nearest town of Whitby, and approximately 27 miles (43 km) from both Middlesbrough and Scarborough. The village is typical of those found all across the North York Moors which straddle the main through-routes along the valley bottoms. It is mostly built of local stone with pantiled or slate roofs.
Hinderwell is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England which lies within the North York Moors National Park, about a mile from the coast on the A174 road between the towns of Loftus and Whitby. The 2011 UK census states Hinderwell parish had a population of 1,875, a decrease on the 2001 UK census figure of 2,013. Hinderwell was the most northerly parish in the Scarborough Borough Council area until its abolition in 2023. Hinderwell is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Hildrewell, and is said to have got its name from Saint Hilda of Whitby, the Abbess of Whitby Abbey.
Hawsker-cum-Stainsacre is a civil parish in the former Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the parish was listed as being 710 at the 2021 Census.
Whitby Swing Bridge is a pedestrian and road bridge over the River Esk in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England.
Newton Dale is a narrow dale within the North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire, England. It was created by meltwater from a glacier carving the narrow valley. Water still flows through the dale and is known as Pickering Beck.
Ship and boat building in Whitby was a staple part of the industry of Whitby, North Yorkshire, England between the 17th and 19th centuries. In 1792 and 1793, Whitby was the second largest ship-building port in England and Wales. Building continued throughout the 20th century but on a smaller scale both in terms of output and overall size of the vessels being built.
Kettleness, is a hamlet in the Scarborough District of North Yorkshire, England. The settlement only consists of half-a-dozen houses, but up until the early 19th century, it was a much larger village. However, most of that village, which was on the headland, slipped into the sea as a result of instability caused by quarrying for the alum industry. Kettleness became a smaller settlement, with houses rebuilt slightly further inland.
The Church of St Ninian is a former place of worship in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. The building was a proprietor church, the only one in the whole of Yorkshire, and one of only two Anglican churches to be dedicated to St Ninian in England. St Ninian's used to serve as an Anglican place of worship. St Ninian's later became involved in the Anglo-Catholic church after a disagreement with the Church of England over the ordination of women priests. The church is noted for its interior woodwork, crafted by men who worked in the shipyards at Whitby noted for turning out the ships used by Captain Cook on his explorations looking for Terra Australis. The church was the second oldest Anglican church in the town of Whitby, with more churches and chapels being built after St Ninian's.
The piers of Whitby are four structures along the River Esk estuary in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. Whilst all the piers can be accessed by the general public, the piers were not built as seaside attractions – so-called pleasure piers like Redcar, Saltburn or Withernsea – but rather serving a civil purpose, such as ship loading and protecting the harbour. The main West and East piers in the town were built to provide shelter from the currents and storms of the North Sea, and in the 18th and 19th centuries, any ships seeking refuge in the harbour were charged a levy for use of Whitby's safe haven. These levies were used to pay for the maintenance and improvement of the piers.