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WHITBY, a market and parish-town, in the wapentake of Whitby-Strand;

   (Whitby-Abbey, the seat of George Cholmley, Esq.) within half a mile of

   Whitby are the following; seats; Airy-Hill, Richard Moorsom, Esq. Meadow-

   Field, Henry Simpson, Esq. Field-House, Christopher Richardson, Esq. 20 miles

   from Scarborough, 21 from Pickering and Guisbrough, 22 from Redcar, 28 from

   Stokesley, 48 from York, 246 from London.  --Market, Saturday.  --Fairs,

   August 25, (St. Hilda's-day) and Martinmas-day, for pedlary-ware, &c.

   --Bankers, Messrs. Simpson, Chapman, & Co. draw-on Messrs. Barclay, Tritton,

   & Co. 54, Lombard-Street; Messrs, J. & J. Sanders, draw on Messrs. Masterman,

   Peters, & Co. 2, White-hart Court, Lombard-Street;  Messrs. Richardson, Bolt,

   & Co. draw on Messrs. Curtis, Roberts, & Co. 15, Lombard-Street.  --Principal

   Inns, Angel, Golden-Lion, and Kings-Head.  --Pop. 8,697.  The Church, a

   specimen of the early Norman architecture, which intervened between the Saxon

   and Gothic, is a perpetual curacy, dedicated to St. Mary, in the deanry of

   Cleveland, value, p.r. 50L.  Patron, the Archbishop of York.



       The opulent town of Whitby, anciently called Strenshall, or Streanshalle,

   owes its origin to a famous abbey, which was begun here in 657, for men and

   women of the Benedictine order, and endowed by Oswy, King of Northumberland,

   though the honour is generally given to St. Hilda, the first prioress, and

   dedicated to St. Peter.

           This abbey flourished till 867, when a party of Danes landed at

   Dunsley-Bay, the Dunus Sinus of Ptolemy, plundered the country around; and

   amongst other depredations, entirely destroyed the monastery, which laid in

   ruins till after the conquest; when William the Conqueror gave a large tract

   of land in the county to Hugh, Earl of Chester, who granted all or most of it

   to William de Percy, who re-edified and restored the priory; in which state

   it remained till the reign of Henry I. when it was advanced to the dignity of

   an abbey for Benedictine, monks.  --Bede, --Gulielm Malms, --Burton.

       In the 26th of Henry VIII. the yearly revenues of this house were

   estimated at 437L. 2s. 9d.  --Dugdale, and 505L. 9s. 1d.  --Speed.  The site

   was granted to John, Earl of Warwick, by whom, in 1551, it was sold to John

   York, and by him to Sir Richard Cholmley, Knight, ancestor of the present

   proprietor.  The situation is on a high cliffe, washed by the ocean, and the

   remains of this once magnificent abbey show it to have been, when complete, a

   large and magnificent structure.

       The abbey appears, says Grose " to have been built when the pointed

   arches were first introduced, and before the round ones were entirely left

   off."

           For an account of the legend of the murder of the Hermit of

   Eskedaleside, by some gentlemen hunting the wild boar, and the penance

   enjoined them.  --See The History of Whitby.

       The ammonitae, or quake stones, with many other petrifactions have been

   found here; the most remarkable on record are, a complete skeleton of a man,

   found by Mr. Berwick, about the year 1743.  In l758, the petrified bones of a

   crocodile were taken out of the cliff, which were sent to the Royal Society.

   Vide Philos. Transactions, Volume 50, part 2.  The petrified bones of a horse

   at the depth of 30 yards under ground, rent to the University of Aberdeen in

   1762.  -Charlton's History of Whitby.

       Whitby, in 1540, according to Charlton's account, contained not more than

   200 inhabitants; and during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, there does not

   appear to have been either ship or vessel belonging to this port, except

   fishing boats.  In a commercial point of view, Whitby now exhibits much

   importance.  In 1811, there were 211 ships belonging to this port, measuring

   36,988 tons; and the whole number of vessels built here from 1800 to 1816,

   appears to have been 331.  The success of its whale fishery, in which many

   large ships are employed, has been of immense benefit not only to the owners,

   but to the inhabitants at large.  In 1753, only two vessels employed in this

   lucrative trade sailed from this port for Greenland.  In some years since

   that time, from 20 to 25 ships have been fitted out for Greenland and Davis'

   Straits fisheries; and within the last 14 years, upwards of 1,440 whales have

   been obtained.  --For more minute account of this place, see Young's Hist. of

   Whitby.