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Abbey House Youth Hostel Whitby

A new Youth Hostel is to be developed next to the historic Whitby Abbey thanks to funding of over £2million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. 

Abbey House, a Grade 1 listed landmark building with a fascinating history is situated next door to the Abbey and will be restored to its former glory by the Youth Hostels Association, creating a 100 bed flagship Youth Hostel in the building, which overlooks the historic town.   The surrounding Grade 2 listed gardens will also be restored, ensuring that visitors will have a truly unique place to visit and stay in Whitby.

The new Youth Hostel will provide high standard accommodation including twin rooms, many with ensuite facilities.  Views from the rooms across the ruins of the Abbey and the town will be spectacular.   There will be a restaurant, licensed bar, meeting and conference facilities, and the Abbey House Tea Rooms will continue to run for both guests, visitors and the local community. 

YHA have long been looking to move to a larger site in Whitby and following grants of just under £1.5m from HLF, £750,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and £100,000 from the Strickland-Constable Estate, work can now go ahead.   The new hostel will double the capacity of the existing site, achieving an anticipated 18,000 overnights per annum which will make it the second busiest hostel in the Yorkshire network.  The new development will accommodate 10 existing jobs and
create 55 new jobs.   Efforts will be made to recruit locally.  Once up and running the new Youth Hostel is estimated to be worth an extra £1m to the Whitby economy. 

Simon Ainley, YHA Regional Manager for Yorkshire and the North East said:

“We’re really excited to be establishing a flagship Youth Hostel in a building of such historic significance, and we are very grateful to the HLF and the European Regional Development Fund for their support in making our plans a reality. 

A stay at Abbey House will be a truly unique experience and will add to our already diverse network of properties in North Yorkshire.  It will also add to the range of accommodation available on the Heritage Coast.

The anticipated number of visitors to the new Youth Hostel will provide a significant boost to the local economy, providing employment opportunities and increased spending in the local community.”

Fiona Spiers, Heritage Lottery Fund Regional Manager for Yorkshire and the Humber added:

“It is great to see that such an historic building will be restored and once again full of life with its proud heritage opened up for everyone to see.

This is another example of how heritage continues to play an important role in our lives and is still so popular.  HLF is very happy to be supporting this fantastic project, which is just part of our investment of over £240m in the region.”

Alison Biddulph, Director of the European Secretariat of the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber which administrates the EU’s Objective 2 programme in the region said:

“This is an exciting new development which will boost the local economy by creating an important new resource that will put the area even more firmly on the map when it comes to tourism and heritage.  The EU’s Objective 2 funding is dedicated to promoting such economic development, supporting business growth and connecting people to opportunities, with £350m being invested across the region over a six year period.”

Work on the new Youth Hostel began in 2005 and the hostel will be opening its doors in autumn 2006.