Church of Saint Mary, Whitby

St Mary’s Church stands on Whitby’s east cliff, overlooking the River Esk’s mouth and the town below. The church was founded around 1110, though most of its interior dates from the late 18th century. It is a Grade I listed building and sits close to the ruins of Whitby Abbey. The Church Steps, a flight of 199 steps, lead up the hill to the church from the streets below. The church graveyard appears in Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. The church’s architecture mixes Norman, 12th- and 13th-century elements. The square crenellated tower and quire with round-headed windows survive from earlier centuries. In 1818 the nave was enlarged, new windows were added, and porches were built. The west tower has eight bells, six inscribed from 1762 and two added in 1897. A squint connects the south transept to the quire. Inside, the nave and transept have 19th-century galleries and a three-decker pulpit installed in 1778. Box pews, some marked for strangers, and a Jacobean pew remain. Monuments include one to Sir Richard Cholmley, who died in 1631, and another to Lieutenant-General Peregrine Lascelles. The graveyard’s cliff-top setting once framed a dramatic scene in Dracula.