Whitby Museum

Whitby Museum is an independent Museum founded in 1823 and run by Whitby Literary & Philosophical Society. The main hall retains the atmosphere of a Victorian/Edwardian Museum and has sometimes been called a 'Museum within a Museum'. It is also remarkable for the variety of its collections.

Explore an amazing collection of local fossils, natural history, model ships, carved jet, toys, costumes and social history. There are relics of the Scoresbys - famous whalers - and Captain Cook. Ships captains of the past brought back to the Museum unusual things from all the seven seas.

The Library and Archives:
Contains books and other resources on the history of the Whitby area. Members of the public are welcome Tuesdays to Fridays 10am to 1pm and the first Sunday afternoon of each month 2pm-4pm.

The fossil collection with the wall mounted saurians and the jet collection are of international importance. Other very important collections are the Samplers, Ethnography, Ship Models and the Scoresby (2 whaling captains). If you are interested in natural history, James Cook, archaeology, ceramics, paintings, bygones, Whitby Abbey, toys and dolls or militaria you are bound to find something of interest. Whitby Museum is the home of the 'Hand of Glory' and the 'Tempest Prognosticator'.

The Society also runs a library, an archives and lectures. A new wing has been recently added to the Museum and contains temporary exhibitions and costume galleries as well as displays on ship building, herbaria and the Growth of Whitby.