From Leprosy to Ropewalks: The Forgotten History of Spital Beck

A tired old fishing boat, its hull a faded patchwork of blue and white, sits abandoned on the shingles at Whitby harbour, marooned by the tide and neglect. It has not tasted the sea in years. This sad tableau, no doubt, repeats itself in harbours all around our coast. In the background, a jumble of red-tiled buildings line the shore, framed by a stone bridge spanning Spital Beck, a stream with a past more compelling than the boat’s sorry present.

‘Spital,’ a North Country word for hospital, likely gives the beck its name¹BROCKETT, JOHN TROTTER. “A GLOSSARY OF North Country Words IN USE; WITH THEIR ETYMOLOGY, AND AFFINITY TO OTHER LANGUAGES; AND OCCASIONAL NOTICES OF LOCAL CUSTOMS AND POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS” 1829. For here there was indeed a hospital, managed by Whitby Abbey yet almost an independent entity. Documents in the Whitby Chartulary detail it’s origins. In 1109, a leper named Orm was granted shelter, food, and drink near the monastery—a humble beginning for what became known as Spitylbrydg or Bridge Hospital²Page, William. The Victoria history of the county of York. Page 334. 1907. A. Constable and company, limited..

This hospital eventually extended its care beyond lepers to anyone in need, though entry was controlled by the abbot, whose purse had initially funded the place. A monk served as overseer, a chaplain tended to spiritual matters, and when inmates died, monks carried their bodies to the abbey for burial. Geoffrey Mansell, a monk suspected of leprosy, spent his final years here cultivating land that became Spittal Vale. A commendable legacy.

That sandstone building to the right the bridge? It might stand where this hospital dedicated to St John the Baptist once did. Early Ordnance Survey maps suggest so, though the Heritage Gateway says nothing on the matter. Built in the early 19th century as a sail loft, this building later enjoyed a stint, so I have read, as a nightclub before settling into its current, far less romantic, role as apartments.

Up the vale, a straight path known as the Ropewalk once led the way. It was likely covered, its name revealing its purpose: the manufacture of ships’ ropes. This ropery also served as a hideout for sailors dodging the Press Gang, that charming enterprise dedicated to conscripting seafarers by force. The gang’s tyranny provoked a riot in 1793 when Whitby sailors revolted, demolishing their oppressors’ meeting place in Haggersgate and chasing them off entirely. One might call it a local triumph, though the authorities begged to differ; an old man seen egging on the rioters was hanged for his troubles. A small price to pay, apparently, for defying oppression³Jeffrey, Percy Shaw. “Whitby Lore and Legend.” Page 168. Reprinted 1991. Caedmon of Whitby..

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  BROCKETT, JOHN TROTTER. “A GLOSSARY OF North Country Words IN USE; WITH THEIR ETYMOLOGY, AND AFFINITY TO OTHER LANGUAGES; AND OCCASIONAL NOTICES OF LOCAL CUSTOMS AND POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS” 1829
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  Page, William. The Victoria history of the county of York. Page 334. 1907. A. Constable and company, limited.
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  Jeffrey, Percy Shaw. “Whitby Lore and Legend.” Page 168. Reprinted 1991. Caedmon of Whitby.