Follow in the footsteps of Bram Stoker’s Dracula by climbing Whitby’s 199 Steps (tradition demands you should count them as you go).

Starting among a slew of idiosyncratic shops, the steps clamber up the cliffside, slowly revealing more and more of the red-roofed town. At the top you’ll find Whitby Abbey, as decorously ruined a place of worship as you could hope for, and the decidedly odd St Mary’s church with its triple-decker pulpit and bewildering maze of box pews.

Little wonder that Bram Stoker found so much gothic inspiration here.

199 Steps At Whitby

199 Steps At Whitby

2005 Restoration Of The 199 Steps

The Whitby Gazette teamed up with Whitby Parochial Church to offer readers the chance to sponsor each step for £1,000 back in March 2004. The work was carried out on the steps through 2005.

Anyone donating  £1,000 could name a step and become part of Whitby’s history.

Families, businesses and societies showed their support and all 199 were snapped up in just 14 weeks.

Did you sponsor one of the steps ? Have you got a story to tell ? Why did you sponsor a step ? What does Whitby mean to you ? Please use the comments section below to let us know your story as we would love to hear from as many people as possible.

Whitby 199 Steps Restoration List Of Sponsors

In 2005 The 199 Steps at Whitby were restored. Public Fundraising helped with the restoration. Below is a list of names of people and businesses who sponsored a step.

 

  • North East Coop
  • SPC UK
  • William Wright And Family
  • John Atkinson 1924-1971
  • Duke Of York Public House
  • Headlam And Sons SS Ltd
  • William Headlam 1908 – 1988
  • Marjory And Dick Hunter
  • Andrew And Marion Walker
  • The Sutcliffe Gallery
  • Phyl And Lol Inman
  • Rachel And William Tyreman
  • Whitby Goth Weekend
  • Nell The Sheepdog
  • Burdon And Smith Family
  • Len And Helen Butters
  • The Evans Family
  • Galleway
  • The Smailes Family
  • MA Mike Richardson
  • John And Mavis Mawdsley NeeLaws
  • Our Second Home
  • Buchannon And White
  • Richard, Helena And Juliet
  • Paul And Christine Bacon
  • Eric And Doris Thompson And Family
  • Brendan And Dillon Skillbeck
  • Ted Smith And Family Love Lane
  • Gabriel Wilson
  • Our Son Keith
  • Tony Norman 1931 – 2001
  • Keith Scanlon
  • Derek And Dorothy Steele
  • Whitby Art Society
  • Elizabeth Bothams And Son
  • Reginald And Emily Shaw
  • Joyce And Barry Turner
  • Fusco Ltd
  • Whitby Folk Week Community
  • Happy 50th Gregor 2004
  • W Watson ABS HMS Resolution
  • Gill and John Harris Ashbourne
  • Nellie And Albert Thomas
  • Jaqueline And Anne Burnett
  • Stephenson and Macey Families
  • Henry And Annie Hawkins
  • David Wright
  • Alan And Cath Griffin
  • The Davinson Sisters
  • Benson Stage Academy 1953

 

Did you sponsor one of the steps ? Have you got a story to tell ? Why did you sponsor a step ? What does Whitby mean to you ? Please use the comments section below to let us know your story as we would love to hear from as many people as possible.

Photography Of The 199 Steps At Whitby

Information and Photography tips for photographing the 199 steps will be here soon.

Further Reading On Whitby’s 199 Steps

199 Steps At Whitby Gallery