The first mention of piers at Whitby occurs in 1545, when they were constructed of loose stones and timber and were to be maintained at royal cost.  An act of 1702 provided for maintenance of the piers from duties imposed on all coals shipped at Newcastle, Sunderland and parts of the north passing to the south (Whitby being regarded as a harbour of refuge for colliers), also duties on coal, salt etc.  landed at Whitby, on butter and fish shipped and on ships entering the port.  This act was superseded by the Harbour and Passing Tolls Act of 1861, which imposed rates on vessels entering and leaving the harbour, according to tonnage, and on goods shipped and unshipped in the harbour.

Photographs by Bertram Unné, undated [c.1940s-1970s], left to right:

• BU00778A A view of one of Whitby’s lighthouses,
• BU00924 Looking across Whitby harbour and Burgess pier towards the east cliff,
• BU00855A A moving boat creates a ripple effect on the River Esk in Whitby.

The records of Whitby piers and harbour in the collections of the Record Office include the minute books of the harbour trustees from 1781 to 1902 and reports on the harbour by J. Walker in 1845 and by J. Watt Sandeman in 1880 [DC/WHU].  There are also a number of plans of the harbour from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.

ZW(M)1-115 Draught of part of the coast of Yorkshire, showing Whitby Harbour by J Pickernell, 1791

• Left: ZW(M) 1-91 Plan of Whitby and environs by John Wood, 1828
• Right: ZW(M)1/92 Plan of the town and harbour of Whitby by Francis Pickernell, 1841

The period covers the completion of the West Pier in 1814 and the construction of the West Pier lighthouse in 1831. The minutes of April 26 1831 order that:

“… the trustees meet tomorrow at the News Room at half past eleven o’clock to go in procession to the Pier End to accompany the Chairman, Richard Moorsom, esquire in laying the Foundation Stone of the Lighthouse intended to be erected on the West Pier End.”

Four lamps and reflectors were ordered to be prepared in June of that year.

In March 1844 it was resolved:

“… that previous to any alteration or additions being made to the present works of the harbour that the opinion of an eminent Engineer be obtained as to the best means of improving the harbour generally and that the chairman write to Aaron Chapman esq. M.P. for obtaining information as to the most suitable individual as engineer to be applied to.”

James Walker was appointed and his report was received in 1845. This remarked upon the usefulness of Whitby as a harbour of refuge, particularly during North West gales, but also drew attention to some unhealthy aspects of the harbour:

“Another regular and almost authorized (at least not objected to) mode of disposing of the town rubbish is into the sea on the west side of the battery, behind the West Pier, whence it is washed down by the seas in North West winds and brought to and round the end of the Pier into the harbour with the flood tide.”

DC-WHU 122 Survey of Whitby harbour showing the proposed improvements referred to in Mr Walker’s report, Plan “B”, 4 January 1845

Walker’s report concluded that there was danger and difficulty to ships entering the harbour caused by the unequal length of the piers and that the heavy swell within the harbour was aggravated by the width of the end of the West Pier.  He proposed to extend the East Pier as far out as the West Pier to narrow the entrance and to reshape the end of the West Pier to lessen the heavy seas.  Upon receipt of his report, however, the Harbour Trustees decided to take another opinion from Francis Pickernell, the resident engineer, who submitted plans of his own and it was these that were accepted.  He too proposed extending the East Pier in a north easterly direction over a number of years.

DC-WHU Extract from a plan of the harbour and part of the town of Whitby, by Francis Pickernell, 1838

The next major alteration to the harbour was the construction of the East Pier lighthouse in 1854, again to plans prepared by Mr Pickernell. This was followed in 1878 by the appointment of a committee by the ratepayers and inhabitants to enquire into improvements to the harbour. A bill was proposed to amend the constitution of the Whitby Piers and Harbour Trust to enable them to seek a loan from the Public Works Loans Commissioners and suggestions were made for the alteration of the dangerous entrance and navigation. 

EF451-035 The Piers, Whitby by George Washington Wilson (1823-1893), undated [19^th century]

A report by J. Watt Sandeman, civil engineer, recommended the construction of two detached piers and additions to the heads of the present piers to reduce the admission of waves and the effect of their internal range. The new piers would be founded in deeper water and the sand overlying the shale between the new and present piers was to be dredged to increase the depth. The new entrance channel would be the full width between the pier heads, rather than being confined to 20 feet close alongside the East Pier. Plans of the improvements are in the archive, along with plans showing competing designs. 

DC-WHU 123 Whitby harbour improvement plan of entrance showing competing designs, 1880

Mr Sandeman’s scheme received the sanction of the Board of Trade but the works were never commenced and in 1906, the District Council who had recently taken over the administration of the harbour, proposed £73,000 worth of improvements including constructing piers and deepening the harbour for the better accommodation of the fishing fleet. They claimed that the decline in Whitby’s fishing industry was caused by the defective condition of the harbour and that their improvements would develop the harbour into a first class fishing port, since it already benefited from its proximity to the fishing grounds and the position of the railway alongside the harbour, for which a new fish quay was expected to be constructed by the North Eastern Railway Company. 

• Left: SC258101 Low water at Whitby harbour by James Valentine (1815-1879), undated [19th century]
• Right: SC258096 Towing in boats, Whitby by George Washington Wilson (1823-1893), undated [19^th century]

Whilst negotiating with the Board of Trade for a grant towards the works, the District Council’s claim was strengthened by a tragic accident.  The Clerk wrote to the Board of Trade that as:

“… a small sailing vessel named the “Star” of Colchester made for and entered the Harbour, one of the crew [was] washed off at the Harbour entrance and drowned in the presence of thousands of spectators. Had the piers been extended as proposed by Mr Sandeman the engineer, the Council are of opinion that the casualty would not have happened, and that the utility of Whitby as a Harbour of Refuge would have been demonstrated.”

A public inquiry was held and the work was carried out.

Further reading:

Further maps and plans of Whitby can be viewed in our blog: Focus on Whitby Records – Part 4