Tourists in Whitby on the steps up to St Mary's church and then Whitby Abbey on the east side of the harbour, north Yorkshire, England, UK.


The 199 steps leading up to St Mary’s church are also known as the Church Steps. The first record of the steps was in 1340, though it is believed the steps were made a long time before this, as some historians believe that St Hilda would use the steps to test the faith of her followers. The steps were made of wood until 1774 when those were replaced with Sneaton stone from the north York Moors village of that name. here has been a long running dispute on the actual number of steps - 198 and 200 being the most common alternative versions, although in 1761 John Wesley counted 191, and an 1800 guide books of Whitby stared 194.


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Photo credit: © John Worrall / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: 199, abbey, church, dracula, gothic, hill, hillside, houses, marys, north, port, sea, sneaton, st, steps, stone, summer, sunny, tourism, visitors, whitby