Remember when a fundraiser saved Whitby’s famous 199 steps?

Looking back at the week of June 24-30, 20 years ago…

The world-famous 199 Whitby steps were saved after a major fundraising campaign reached its goal in just three months – 20 years ago this week.

Each of the stages featured in Bram Stoker’s classic horror story Dracula was sponsored with £1,000 and has been restored.

Read more: Appeal to prevent the construction of houses on northeast Roman sites

What began as a local campaign quickly captured the imagination of the country and then spread worldwide.

The steps that connect North Yorkshire’s old port with the 900-year-old parish church of St Mary and the ruins of the monastery are used by thousands of tourists and pilgrims every year.

Many of the weathered steps were restored generations ago to give them new life, but by 2004 a more extensive restoration was needed.

“We are now in the fortunate position that not only are all steps sponsored, but there is even a waiting list,” said church elder John Hemson.

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The names of the sponsors should be engraved on a commemorative plaque.

Step one was funded by the Co-operative Society, step 199 by St. Hilda’s Priory, Whitby.

The first step in the restoration work began with a survey costing £22,000.

“Almost all the work will have to be done by hand,” Mr Hemson said. “It will be a major operation.”

In Bram Stoker’s book, Dracula transforms into a dog, runs from the sunken boat Demeter to shore and up the steps to St. Mary’s Cemetery.

At the entrance to the church there is a sign indicating that Dracula’s grave is not in the churchyard.

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A half-ton statue stolen from a Yorkshire mansion and later found 4,000 miles away in Chicago was returned to its rightful pedestal in June 2004.

Sir Tatton Sykes commissioned a worldwide search for the life-sized harvest goddess after she disappeared from the grounds of Sledmere House near Driffield in December 2000.

After a long search, during which photos were sent to museums and police departments in 182 countries, a dealer from Chicago was able to identify the picture. It had been shipped to the USA by sea.