The main West and East piers in the town were built to provide shelter from the currents and storms of the North Sea, and in the 18th and 19th centuries, any ships seeking refuge in the harbour were charged a levy for use of Whitby's safe haven.

It has been recognised that Whitby Harbour has been an important maritime centre that dates back possibly to Roman times.

Both piers were extended in the early 20th century in an effort to control low water flow and a whirlpool at the harbour entrance.

[6] Sir Hugh Cholmeley built a pier on the west side of the mouth of the Esk estuary in the 17th century to protect his coal staithes.

[9][10] Parliament was petitioned several times in the 17th century, with one example being from 1696 stating that Whitby Harbour was "...one of the most commodious in the North of England, being able to take 500 ships of sail...but the ancient piers being much decayed the mouth of the harbour was almost choked up.."[11] An Act of Parliament in 1702 provided the necessary funds to build two piers from stone.

[12] Collier ships seeking refuge in Whitby were charged a toll "one halfpenny per Newcastle Chaldron[note 1] on all coals shipped at Newcastle, Sunderland and parts north, passing to the south..." However, all commodities were taxed on entering the harbour,[14] and in 1720, a third act of parliament was granted whereby chaldrons of coal were charged at one farthing.

[17] Between 1702 and 1908, at least twelve Acts of Parliament were passed which related directly to the upkeep, extension, renovation or building of piers at Whitby.

[20] These had been repaired and extended in 1734 to 1749, and rocks in the channel between had been removed in an effort to stop sand gathering at the river mouth and forming sandbanks which were prohibitive to harbour traffic.

The original end of the stone West Pier was rounded so that it allowed the current to flow into the river mouth.

[33] In 1734, the base of the West Pier at Scotch Head was furnished with a stone crescent which contained ammunition stores and cannon which pointed out to sea.

[36] The pier maintenance was kept up after their renovations, and a bill of 1837 from the harbour engineer (Francis Pickernell), shows that he purchased coal-tar, treenails, oakum, deck nails and 1 imperial gallon (4.5 L; 1.2 US gal) of whale oil.

[38] This was agreed on by Whitby Urban District Council in 1908, which decided on an extension of both piers almost doubling their size, and each with a lighthouse at the end.

[38] The poor flow of the River Esk due to mills upstream, the low tides and the unbalanced pier lengths, all combined to make a whirlpool at the harbour mouth which was dangerous to shipping.

The Admiralty recommended lengthening the piers, among other measures, to prevent the whirlpool forming, and also the sanding up of the harbour mouth.

However, at low water, the combination of a shallow flow (about 2 feet (0.61 m)), and the whirlpool made it prohibitive for heavier ships to be able to get into the harbour, which in hot weather was ruining the fish catch that had yet to be landed.

[42] The pier extensions were made using a "walking man" crane, that moved forward slowly on a wooden frame, placing items upon the sea-bed below it to allow for progressive building.

[47][48] Both piers still retain capstans, mooring posts and pulleys, which demonstrate their commercial history besides that of preventing flooding.

[49][31] In 2006, local author Malcolm Barker stated that the two piers were "lengthened in the early 20th century and now reach out to sea like the mandibles of some great insect.

[58] At the end of Tate Hill Pier is a large black anchor, which was caught in the nets of the MV Ocean venture in November 1991.

[76] Fish Pier was built sometime between 1780 and 1790,[77] and extends some 65 yards (59 m) into the harbour at a 90 degree angle to the outward flow of the river.

This was before the gap in the cliff was developed as the Khyber Pass[note 2] in 1848 by George Hudson in his desire to turn Whitby into a resort for his railway empire.