Whale Bone Arch

Up on West Cliff, Whitby, if you choose to walk up the Kyber Pass, you will come to a set of whale jawbones. They frame the view over to St Mary's and Whitby Abbey and remind you that once Whitby was a hive of activity due to whaling. Can you imagine that odious aroma hanging over the town?

Whaling is centuries old, unfortunately, I guess, because these majestic beasts represented a big payday. In Whitby, whaling as an industry began in the mid-18th century with two ships, and by its peak, the number had increased to 55. The crew on the boats would boast about their catch and place the jawbones on the spars. The last whaling ship was decommissioned in 1837. Whaling continued in other parts of the UK.

This industry brought prosperity to the town. There is a likelihood that many whaling ships were built here, and the products from the whale were processed here and exported. It was mainly Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) that were harpooned and brought to Whitby. They have the largest mouth of any animal, so their jawbones are huge. They may be the longest living animal at 200 years, and they have a diet of Krill, which are small shrimp-like marine crustaceans. The Bowhead has a structure called baleen attached to its mouth. It is like bristles and consists of keratin, which filters the Krill.

William Scoresby (1760 to 1829) was the town's most successful Whaler, spending 50 years in the business, capturing over 2000 whales. There are some details on the post Crows Nest, which he improved.

This is how the whale was processed. Its intestines and other fatty tissues were boiled to extract oil used for lighting lamps, making soap and as a lubricant for machinery that the Industrial Revolution had just created. Fatty by-products called fenks were used for fertiliser, Prussian Blue pigment (blue was a sort-after colour and hard to produce) and ammonia from the decomposing parts. Skirt hoops, corsets, buggy whips, parasols and fishing rods were made from the bones and baleen.

Arhh! The stench of boiling blubber!

Other mammals were also caught in the Arctic region during this period too including 25,000 seals and 55 polar bears. The population of Bowhead Whales declined before 1966 when they became a protected species. Whaling from Whitby was non-existent and eventually banned in the UK in 1986.

The whale bones first appeared in 1853, possibly as a result of a false, affected bias. They were replaced in 1963 with a pair gifted by Norway and in 2003 from native Alaskan Inuit's who legally hunt. These are showing wear so let us hope that the next set is repurposed plastic.

The arrow atop the arch points north. How do you know? Well, the nearby statue of Captain James Cook has the points of the compass around its base.

Would you now like to know about Captain James Cook? Have a look at the link, or maybe something else in the area.

You may enjoy a preamble down/up to the colourful beach huts and Whitby Pavilion (café and free toilets).