St Ninian's Church, Whitby: The curious case of the Grade II-listed Yorkshire building with links to Captain Cook that has no active owners or money

Only one person now has the key to St Ninian’s Church on Baxtergate, which dates back to 1778 and was built by 30 of the town’s wealthy residents, including the owner of Captain James Cook’s famous vessel HMS Endeavour and other shipbuilders who supplied his voyages.

Although it was part of the Church of England, it was always, quirkily, owned by the original 30 contributors – who later became proprietors – and their descendants or those they legally bequeathed their shares to.

For centuries, the small church thrived – few major alterations were made and its Georgian interiors are relatively unchanged, down to the privy and a cupboard that in the 1980s was found to contain documents written back in 1778. A major bump in the road came in 1998, when the Church, with concerns about dwindling congregations and upkeep costs, withdrew their licence and St Ninians’ proprietors decided to join the Anglican Catholic Church instead.

A priest appointed in the early 2000s was later exposed as belonging to a religious sect, and in 2020 he declared the church unviable and tried to sell the building, claiming ownership. The people of Whitby finally sprung into action, and helped to stop the sale and remove the building from the Land Registry.

Now, a month after the deregistration was confirmed, Margaret Hirst finds herself as one of the few custodians of a church which no longer holds services, has no money in its bank accounts and 30 ‘proprietors’ whose ownership rights have become lost to the mists of time, many of whom had no idea they held a share. A nominal caretaker, now in his 80s, has the only key.

It is, she admits, a ‘surreal’ situation. She is now acting as proxy for the 30 shareholders for six months, with the aim of getting St Ninian’s back on a sound financial footing and assessing its future uses now that worship is unlikely to return. Although she was never involved with St Ninian’s before its troubles began, she has a keen interest in local history and helped members of a loose Friends group trace the descendants of the proprietors.

It was Margaret who found a copy of the original deeds and proof of ownership in the county records office, after those issued in 1778 were damaged while being stored in a tin box in a Whitby solicitor’s office, and later disappeared entirely. She then set about contacting the shareholders.

"Many didn’t realise they had a share. Others I had to tell they didn’t actually own one, as it hadn’t been passed down legally. Many people had no idea and there was some surprise. They are scattered all over the place now and few live in Whitby. They were happy to give me proxy and to support us, though a few, who are elderly, intend to keep theirs until death.”

"I’ve had meetings with groups like the Civic Society and been given some good advice. The Friends group was never formally organised, and over the last couple of years people have drifted away. I have had to open a new bank account and raise some funds to insure the building.

"I don’t think it will be viable as a church again – others in Whitby are closing. But it could have many other uses, and hold exhibitions and shows about the shipbuilding history. We need to make it useful again and rent out the space.

"It’s on a busy thoroughfare and it could be a real community asset. It has huge footfall potential. But it’s never going to become something like an amusement arcade – that wouldn’t be fair to the building."

Margaret is also in touch with North Yorkshire Council’s listings and conservation officers, as Scarborough Council has previously refused to adopt the church. In the meantime, she has been cataloguing the church’s papers, held at the town museum.

"They are an amazing archive – nothing was ever thrown away. A cupboard found in the 1980s was full of original documents. As a church, it is functional rather than pretty, but upstairs it could still be 1778. Everything is still there, even down to the privy. It is really atmospheric, and could almost be a film set.”

Anyone who wishes to make a donation to St Ninian’s should send a cheque to made payable to The Proprietors and Friends of St Ninian's,

St Ninian's Church, Baxtergate, Whitby YO21 1BL. Alternatively, Margaret has set up a Gofundme page here.