Abbey House, Whitby
Mel Morris Conservation was appointed by John Cunnington Architects in 2004 to write a Conservation Management Plan as part of lottery-funded development work to create a 100-bed flagship youth hostel for the YHA.
Abbey House is a Grade I listed building, a prominent landmark on the headland, surrounded by a registered park and garden and part of the historic site of Whitby Abbey. It was once part of the range of ancillary buildings and gardens that served the abbey, but became a private dwelling following the dissolution of the monasteries.
The building had been used as a holiday retreat by the Co-operative Holidays Association since 1897 but was vacated in 2000. It had suffered extensive internal alterations and unsympathetic and damaging repairs. The approach to the Conservation Management Plan addressed these interventions; alterations were listed, identified where they damaged significance and actions were prioritised against each alteration. This initiative helped to inform the development & repair of the building. The Plan also identified opportunities for enhancing the interpretation of the buildings and gardens. The building opened fully refurbished as a youth hostel in 2007.
