A corner of yorkshire

FISHBURN’S SHIPYARD, WHITBY

Shipbuilding on the River Esk at Whitby began in 14th century, and by the 1700s the town was said to be Britain’s third largest ship and boat building centre. Of more than 20 yards, the most famous was Fishburn’s, which built the so-called Whitby Cats for transporting coal up and down the east coast. Their flat bottoms allowed them to load and unload on beaches.

Three of these Cats – the Earl of Pembroke, Marquis of Granby and Marquis of Rockingham – were renamed the Endeavour, Resolution and Adventure respectively and used by Captain James Cook for his three voyages of discovery to

Australia, the Pacific and North America between 1768 and 1779.

Fishburn’s merged with another shipbuilder but closed in 1822 and the yard’s location is now a marina. Whitby’s shipbuilding heritage is commemorated by a carved timber sculpture (pictured) on the site of Fishburn’s by Mike Williams.