NATALYA WILSON takes a trip back in time through the pages of a new book about Whitby’s yards

WE may be firmly in the 21st century, but pop into some of Whitby’s yards and it really is like stepping back to times long past.

Many of the yards in this seaside town have hardly changed since the Middle Ages, and these little hidden places – tucked away on both sides of the town – are where one can still meet old Whitby, secret Whitby, unspoilt and untroubled by modern times and the hordes of holidaymakers.

These yards, alleyways and ‘ghauts’ – as they are known locally – are explored in Alan Whitworth’s latest book, Whitby Yards Through Time (Amberley Publishing, £14.99).

Some are open to the intrepid visitor, others are privately owned and occupied and some are short-cuts from one street to another. But there are enough remaining to catch a glimpse of what this small port must have been like 200 or so years ago.

These days, more than 80 named yards exist, out of more than 100 original examples. There are another 30 or so places of similar character, though these may be known as ‘steps’, ‘lane’, ‘square’ or ‘place’.

Their origins lie in Whitby’s medieval days.

“The first parcels of land created and sold off, or leased, by the lord of the manor were formed of long, narrow strips known as ‘burgages’, with a narrow side fronting onto the street,” notes Alan in his introduction.

“The main house was erected facing onto the highway, with the long garden or garth stretched out behind. Through successive generations, the garden was developed, perhaps firstly by sons eager to raise money from a new inheritance who then sold off a plot of land for building, usually at the furthest end of the garden away from the family home.

“Later, as more land was sold to raise revenue, more and more building took place, infilling from the back towards the main house.”

Access was needed to these new properties and so a path was created from the highway down to the last property, creating these wellloved yards and alleyways.

Now many of them are well-kept areas, in times past these yards were dirty, dingy, often over-crowded areas with as many as 30 or 40 families living in abject poverty. Some were demolished during the 20th century.

Arguments Yard, for example, is perhaps one of the best known in the town. At one time there were two yards of the same name, from the family name Argument. The yard pictured – off Church Street – is one of the best known and loved in the town; the other, off the Cragg, was demolished in 1956-60.

Bakehouse Yard, off Haggersgate – of which there were once nine in Whitby – was the home of famous Whitby lifeboat coxswain Henry Freeman, the sole survivor of a lifeboat disaster in February 1861, when the sea took 12 of the 13 crew members.

Henry was awarded a medal for his bravery and was a well-known character in the town, not the only one to inhabit these yards.

The book is brought to life by the author’s knowledge of the town and the wonderful illustrations, including photographs by Whitby’s well-known Victorian photographer and chronicler of life in the town, Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, and in it we learn much about the past uses of these yards, the people who lived there and gave their names to them, and even some of the industries that did – and still do – exist there.