Blackburn's Yard 4

Another view of Blackburn's Yard and the Wash House Pottery just off Church Street, which in this photo is straight ahead through the covered vennel.

Twice framed

The inviting Sanders Yard (formerly the Shepherd's Purse) café and restaurant on Church Street. There are two seating choices: cosy sofas and armchairs in one room, tables and chairs in the other.

Larger than life

She's looking at what you see reflected in this Church Street shop window on the east side of Whitby. 

Shepherd's Purse cottages

Delightful Whitby holiday accommodation in Sanders Yard, off Church Street on the east side of the River Esk. 

What goes up …

must come down, and here we are at the bottom of the 199 steps which lead to and from St Mary's Church and Whitby abbey. Church Street is straight ahead and immediately left; Henrietta Street, famous  for Fortune's kipper-smoking shed, is to the right. There are not too many tourists this early in the morning, but in a couple of hours it will be weaving rather than walking through the town.

Tea or toast?

Shop signs on Whitby's Church Street give you a choice of liquid refreshment. 

If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do

Christmas is coming,
the geese are getting fat;
please put a penny
in the old man's hat.
If you haven't got a penny
a ha'penny will do;
if you haven't got a ha'penny,
God bless you!

The Christmas rhyme is a little late, but the money and the hat are appropriate. This is an old, scanned photograph of a couple of musicians playing under the Old Town Hall between Church Street and the cobbled market. The town was much busier than it looks here, and there were more than pennies going into the (old man's?) hat.

This duo were eventually invited to play in the Shepherd's Purse (now Sanders Yard) restaurant opposite. With my inside knowledge, I can also tell you that the young woman is Swiss, and that she is now a mother and published children's writer.

Busking is very popular in the UK, and is not considered as begging. It is much less common in France, except during festivals and in high density tourist spots like Montmartre, Paris, or Sarlat in the Dordogne.

Where folk don't get on?

A pair of cottages in … Arguments Yard! This is off Church Street, on the side leading down to the harbour.

We've already visited Blackburn's Yard, further down the street towards the Old Town Hall, but that takes you steeply away from the river and up to the abbey via the Donkey Path.

There are many strange street-names, and even some of the ordinary-sounding ones have unexpected origins. Who would expect a Grape Lane in Whitby? We're a long way from Champagne or Provence, after all. There is another narrow street of the same name in York, and there's a clue: narrow! Grape in neither case has anything to do with the fruit of the vine, but I'm getting ahead of myself, as Grape Lane is a few hundred yards away.

Back to Arguments: quite simply the name of the builder of some of these cottages, so it should really be Argument's Yard. There are still Arguments in Whitby, and no doubt arguments too.

Strong knees needed!

If you saw yesterday's entry, you will have come up the steps from Blackburn's Yard and the pottery, taken a few pictures from the terrace overlooking the town, then come to this junction with the Donkey Path.

Ill-fated attempts by daft Donkey Path drivers to descend these cobbles by car show the power that technology too often has over reason. But we can be pretty stupid without the help of gadgets - and yes, my hand's up!

Turn right to climb to St. Mary's Parish Church and the abbey; left takes you down to Church Street. Amble along Henrietta Street first, where Fortune's smoke their kippers, and wander back along Tate Hill Beach. Hopefully you won't have to cope with these conditions, though a winter visit to a spot like this has some appeal.

Some of the famous 199 steps from Church Street to St. Mary's are just visible in this picture, the treader edges protruding over the top of this huge retaining wall, centre top of the picture. We'll climb them another time, perhaps when there's less risk of an accident. Mind how you go in the north of England today!

Saved from demolition

Day three is dedicated to our friend Catherine, from Compiègne, France, whose visit to Whitby this summer helped us re-live our own first encounters with this delightful seaside town 13 years ago.

It is difficult to believe today that this part of Blackburn's Yard was once scheduled for reconstruction, for which read demolition. A change of administration saved this lovely terrace which is now Grade II listed. The award-winning community garden shown here was once the site of other cottages which were beyond repair.

Blackburn's Yard serves as a quiet, though steep, alternative route to and from St. Mary's church and the abbey; Church Street and the 199 steps can be shoulder to shoulder in high season, which is why locals do their shopping early in the morning. The yard route leads to a terrace, giving good views over the town, and then to the steep cobbled path which will appear in tomorrow's entry.

Just out of view in this picture is the working pottery itself; there is usually a pretty display of its wares hanging on the walls and spread over the pavement, providing half the charm of the yard. For more (and better) pictures of the yard, go to:

Pottery Cottage

but be warned, it is a commercial site and you might be tempted to abandon Tenerife in favour of Whitby!

Wash House Pottery was created by Laureen Shaw in 1982 and features on the Brigantia website.

Wash House Pottery