Housed in a 1930s building in Whitby’s main park, the Whitby Museum is stuffed to the gunnels with so many interesting objects that we’ve visited three times and still not seen everything.
Set up originally as a showcase for fossils, since Whitby lies at the heart of the Fossil Coast, it certainly has an impressive collection of beautiful and gigantic marine reptiles.
It also has a Captain Cook room with objects collected on the voyages of the Resolution and Discovery. The notebooks of William Scoresby, Artic explorer and artist filled with his exquisite drawings of hundreds of snowflakes done using a hand magnifying glass. An entire room devoted to ships in bottles. Collections of butterflies, birds eggs and nests hidden in glass cases under felt cloths to keep the colours bright. A case filled with brightly coloured replica corals. More than 500 pieces of jewellery and curiosities made out of jet (fossilised monkey puzzle trees which grew along the coast of Yorkshire) including a gibbet complete with noose, mourning jewellery and chess sets. A model Noah’s Ark, painstakingly carved and painted by Napleonic prisoners of war. Dolls, a Witch post, china, mummies, coins, pressed flowers, clocks, costumes, domestic objects like gingerbread moulds and corn dollies – the list goes on and on.

The museum is staffed entirely by friendly volunteers from the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society (established in 1823) who set up the museum to avoid the giant fossils being “lost” to the town.

It even has a charmingly clunky website www.whitbymuseum.org.uk

Pannett Park, Whitby
01947 602908
www.whitbymuseum.org.uk
Google map: tinyurl.com/3a6txf9

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