Culture, Media and Sport
Frank Meadow Sutcliffe left a photographic record of the town, harbour, fishing and residents in late-Victorian times. His most famous photograph entitled "Water Rats" was taken in 1886. He became famous internationally as a great exponent of pictorial photography. He exhibited his work in Tokyo, Vienna, France, the U.S.A. and Great Britain winning over 60 gold, silver and bronze medals. He retired in 1922 and became curator of Whitby Museum. The Royal Photographic Society made him an honorary member in 1935. A gallery of his work is located on Flowergate.
Pannett Park was built on land purchased by a local philanthropist and politician Alderman Robert Pannett in 1902. After his death in 1928, the trust he set up created a public park and art gallery. In 1931 Whitby Museum was built behind the gallery by the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society. It holds a collection of the archaeological and social history of jet and has on display a "Hand of Glory". The Friends of Pannett Park, formed in 2005, successfully bid for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to refurbish the park. There has been a lifeboat in Whitby since 1802 and the old boathouse, built in 1895 and used until 1957, is a museum displaying the Robert and Ellen Robson lifeboat, built in 1919.
The ancient Penny Hedge ceremony is performed on the eve of Ascension Day commemorating a penance imposed by the abbot on miscreant hunters in the Middle Ages. The hunters using a knife costing a penny had to cut wood in Eskdaleside and take it to Whitby harbour where it was made into a hedge that would survive three tides. This tradition is carried out annually on the east side of the upper harbour.
The Whitby Gazette was founded in 1854 by Ralph Horne, a local printer. The first issues were records of visitors and lodgings rather than a newspaper. The publication became a weekly newspaper in 1858 and is now published twice weekly. Local radio stations are BBC Tees and Yorkshire Coast Radio.
The Pavilion Theatre built in the 1870s in West Cliff hosts a range of events during the summer months. For over four decades the town has hosted the Whitby Folk Week and a bi-annual Whitby Gothic Weekend for members of the Goth subculture. "Whitby Now" is an annual live music event featuring local bands in the Pavilion which has taken place since 1991. Since 2008, the Bram Stoker Film Festival has taken place in October.
Wind surfing, sailing and surfing take place off the beaches between Whitby and Sandsend and the area is visited by divers. Whitby has various sports facilities including the town cricket and football pitches and tennis courts. The Cleveland Way Long Distance Footpath follows the coast between Saltburn and Filey running along the developed frontage of Whitby.
The Whitby Regatta takes place annually over three days in August. The competition between three rowing clubs – Whitby Friendship ARC, Whitby Fishermen's ARC and Scarborough ARC – forms the backbone of the weekend. The event has expanded to include a fair on the pier, demonstrations, fireworks and military displays – including the spectacle of the Red Arrows aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force.
Whitby Town F.C., formed in 1892, is an amateur football club which plays in the Northern Premier League at the 3,200 capacity Turnbull Ground on Upgang Lane. Golfing facilities range from "pitch and putt" to Whitby Golf Club whose 18-hole golf course is situated on the cliff tops to the north west of the town.
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