Whitby

Whitby is a seaside town aport, situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the of the River Esk. The earliest record of a permanent settlement is in 656, when as Streanæshealh it was the place where Oswy, the Christian king of Northumbria, founded the first abbey, under the abbess Hilda. The Synod of Whitby was held there in 664. In 867, the monastery was destroyed by raiders. Another monastery was founded in 1078. It was in this period that the town gained its current name, Whitby (from "white settlement") in Old Norse. Whitby was called Streanæshalc, Streneshalc, Streoneshalch, Streoneshalh, and Streunes-Alae in Lindissi in records of the 7th and 8th centuries. Prestebi, meaning the "habitation of priests" in Old Norse, is an 11th century name. Its name was recorded as Hwitebi and Witebi, meaning the "white settlement" in Old Norse, in the 12th century, Whitebi in the 13th century and Qwiteby in the 14th century St Mary's church reached by 199 steps has a Norman tower. Picturesque seafarer's town proudly maintaining its link with the sea, with narrow winding streets and fishermen's cottages steeped in history. Dominating the famous harbour are the