Illustrated with maps, plans and historic photographs, this post looks at the history of the piers and harbour in Whitby. Particular focus is given to alterations and improvements that were made in the 19th century using records and reports held in the Record Office collections. … Read More Whitby piers and harbour from 1781-1906
Descriptions of the weather can be found in a wide variety of records held in the Record Office collections. In this blog, you can see examples from the past 350 years, ranging from impromptu remarks made in early diaries, travel journals and parish registers, through to the methodical, late-19th-century daily observations of lighthouse keepers and a 1920s sunshine recorder.… Read More Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not…
Following our two previous posts about Arctic explorer Thomas Blanky, read more about his life that has come to light through further research.… Read More More on Arctic voyager Thomas Blanky…
Read all about a 1794 plan of the defences of Whitby, made by Francis Gibson, who commanded the first Whitby company of volunteers formed at a time when Britain was under threat of invasion by France, which had declared war in 1793. … Read More Francis Gibson’s plan of the defences of Whitby, 1794
This post by Gwyneth Endersby continues our series on Criminal Women by exploring the life and times and Mary Ann Stonehouse of Whitby through her many appearances at the Quarter Sessions court. … Read More Criminal Women: The Life & Times of Mary Ann Stonehouse of Whitby
This post explores some of the letters in the Whitby Shipowners collection relating to Smuggling Laws and the Impressment of Sailors in 1790s.… Read More Collection Highlights: Committee of Whitby Shipowners
By Tom Richardson, Record Assistant We hold a wide range of sources for maritime history spread across a number of the collections in our custody. This article will focus on some of the records of merchant ships and their crews found amongst these collections. Scarborough’s Company of Shipowners and Master Mariners Within the Scarborough Corporation… Read More Introduction to Shipping Records
By Katherine Bullimore, Record Assistant Part One of this post covered the family background and early career of Thomas Blanky or Blenky of Whitby, a seaman who took part in four Arctic voyages of discovery in the 19th century, this post will cover his later life and disappearance on the tragic Franklin Expedition. In 1829… Read More Thomas Blanky of Whitby: Arctic Seafarer
By Katherine Bullimore, Record Assistant Think of Arctic exploration in the nineteenth century, and chances are you think of the doomed Franklin expedition, of the three spookily well preserved bodies of dead sailors excavated in the 1980s, and the eerie underwater pictures of the expedition’s two sunken ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, revealed much… Read More Thomas Blanky of Whitby: Arctic Seafarer
Maps and Plans The County Record Office holds thousands of historic maps and plans covering North Yorkshire dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries. These holdings include substantial collections of parish tithe maps, enclosure maps and historic Ordnance Survey maps. Maps can also be found in estate archives, local authority archives, parish collections and… Read More Focus on Whitby Records – Part 4
North Yorkshire County Record Office 