Bram Stoker memorial seat

transcript

This Victorian-style seat was erected in April

1980 to commemorate the link between the author and the town an the

inspiration he derived from it while writing chapters 6-8 of

Dracula.

“Right over the town is the ruin of

Whitby Abbey, which was sacked by the Danes, and which is the scene of part of ‘Marmion‘, where the girl was built up in the wall. It is a most noble ruin, of immense size, and full of beautiful and romantic bits.“

(p.53)

The seats look directly across the harbour to

East Cliff – both cliffs provide settings for

episodes in the story and from it

you can see almost every feature of the

town mentioned in the novel.

East Crescent

Originally called “The Crescent“ this building is the Royal Hotel

nowadays.

The Royal Hotel

“This Portrait was presented to the management of the Royal Hotel on the occasion of the Dracula Society’s visit to Whitby on April 29th, 30th & May 1st1977 to walk the ‘sites’ of the ‘Dracula’ Story. As it was in Whitby that the Vampire Count came ashore in the shape of an ‘immense dog’ from the wreck of the ‘Demeter August 8’ Whitby can truly be named Dracula country.”

The Crescent

In one of the nine small

houses in The Crescent Mina and her friend

Lucy are spending their

summer holidays.

At No. 7 lives the lawyer by

Count Dracula to handle the import of his strange cargo from

Transylvania to Whitby.

St. Mary’s Church

“At the edge of the West Cliff above the pier i looked across the harbour to the East cliff, in the hope or fear of seeing Lucy in our favourite seat.“ (p.76)

The Railway Station

On the station Mina arrived at Whitby in Chapter 6 and from here Count Dracula

leaves Whitby for London after a stay of ten days in one of his

fifty coffins by the 9:30 goods train to Kings

Cross.

The Railway Station

Chapter 6 Mina Murray‘s Journal: 24 July. Whitby. – “Lucy met me at the station,

looking sweeter and lovelier than ever, and we drove up to the house at the Crescent, in which they have rooms.“ (p.53)

The Railway Station

“The goods leave by the train at 9:30 tonight, and will be due at King‘s Cross at 4:30 tomorrow

afternoon.“ (p.81)

The Bridge

Referred to “The Drawbridge“ in the book. Mina

has to run across it to the east side of the

harbour in order to reach the churchyard.

The Bridge

Church Street

To reach the churchyard Mina has to run through this street.

Tate Hill Pier

“The only sail

noticeable was a foreign schooner with all sails set, which was seemingly going

westwards.” (p.65)

“...leaping from wave to wave as it rushed at headlong

speed, swept the strange schooner before the blast and gained the

safety of the harbour.“

(p. 66)

Harbour Entrance

“Between the two piers there is a narrow opening into the harbour, which then suddenly

widens.“ (p.54)

Church Stairs

“The steps are a great feature of the place. They lead from the town

up to the church, there are hundreds of them – I do not know how many – and they wind up in a

delicate curve.“ (p.55)

There are 199 of these stone steps, with landings at intervals and in her frantic dash to rescue Lucy, Mina has raced up every one of them.

“I toiled up the endless steps to the Abbey.“ (p.76)

St. Mary’s Church

On the top step of the Church Stairs you can see the south side of the

picturesque and unique parish church of St.

Mary‘s.

St. Mary’s Church

“Between {the abbey] and the town there is another church, the parish one, round which is

a big graveyard, all

full of tombstones.“

(p.53f)

The Graveyard

“‘Sacred to the memory of George

Cannon, who died, in the hope of a

glorious resurrection, on July 29, 1873, falling from the rocks at

Kettleness. This tomb is erected by his sorrowing

mother to her dearly beloved son.‘“ (p.

The Graveyard

“Whatever my expectation was,

it was not disappointed, for there, on our favourite

seat, the silver light of the moon struck al half-reclining figure, snowy white.“ (p.76)

The Crescent

“This is, to my mind, the nicest

spot in Whitby, for it lies right over the town and has a full view of the harbour and all up the bay where the headland called

Kettleness stretches out into the sea.“ (p.54)

End of Trail…

Presentation by

Christina Georg, Nina Keil and Katrin Luckenbach

Bram Stoker memorial seat

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