Hunt for ‘natural’ replacement of Whitby Whale Bone Arch exhausted

​The feature, which is one of the town’s “most enjoyed landmarks”, has stood at the top of West Cliff for more than 170 years, but despite being replaced in 2002 the structure is deteriorating.

​A plan to find genuine replacement bones has been abandoned, however, after “all realistic avenues for sourcing replacement natural whalebones have now been exhausted”.

​“In light of this, the only viable option available is to commission high-quality replicas,” a report by Whitby Town Council states.

​The Mayor of Whitby, Cllr Sandra Turner, said: “North Yorkshire Council has looked at all the avenues, which we knew were remote and difficult, to say the least, and there isn’t a set of whale bones available.

​“Obviously, we would never condone any whales being killed so that we could have a set of whale bones, that’s always been the stance from day one.”

​“The position is now to go out and look for what would be the best replica set that can be obtained.

“North Yorkshire Council is fully on board with replacing them, and it will be a question of what is going to be the best substitute,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

​The last replacement bones came from Whitby’s twin town of Barrow in Alaska after a worldwide appeal, from a whale that was killed legally by native Inuit in 1996.

It is understood that Alaskan authorities had been “trying to speak to those involved previously at North Slope Borough (Barrow).”

​North Yorkshire Council (NYC) is now in the process of seeking quotations for a range of replica options, including consideration of materials, durability, cost, and long-term maintenance implications.

​Speaking to the LDRS, Mayor Turner praised NYC for its support and assistance with the project.

​“We’re going to wait now and see what comes back on costings and what possibility there is for a replica set, and then the decision will be taken.

​“I know what I would rather have, but it isn’t up to me, it’s up to everyone else.”

​Asked what the timeline was for sourcing the replacement, the mayor of Whitby said she hoped “things can move along swiftly enough that we would have a replacement set by the end of the summer at the latest, but I can’t say that’s written in stone”.

​North Yorkshire Council will pay for the replacement replica, Cllr Turner said.

​She added: “North Yorkshire Council has been absolutely brilliant and we’ll be getting an updated report very soon, and then we’ll see what the situation is for the replicas.”