Whitby Abbey Visitor Centre

The Whitby Abbey Visitor Centre projects a strong image of modern Whitby by incorporating high-quality contemporary design within the frame of a seventeenth century building. Designed by Stanton Williams.

The medieval Whitby Abbey stands on the Southern headland above the popular harbour town of Whitby. The abbey ruins were handed into the care of the Ministry of Works in 1936 and are now the responsibility of English Heritage. The creation of a new visitor centre formed part of the Whitby Abbey Headland Project, a programme of archaeological research, evaluation and excavation work, undertaken by English Heritage during the 1990s.

After considering a number of potential options for a new centre on the site, including a new building, it was proposed that it should be created within the nearby Banqueting House, built between 1669-72 by Sir Hugh Cholmley as an embellishment to the Cholmley family home.

The building lost its roof in a storm in 1790 and has stood empty ever since. The project, which included a new ticket office and car park on the south side of the Abbey as well as a major reassessment of the site and its environs, was a joint initiative of English Heritage, Scarborough Borough Council and the present owners of the House, the Strickland Estate.

Major funding came from the European Regional Development Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund.