Elizabeth Botham opened the bakery on Skinner Street one hundred and sixty years ago, walking the cobbles with a basket of bread and cakes until she could buy her own door. Five generations later, her great-grandchildren Jo and Nick Botham still run it, with the next generation already on the board.
Whitby Lemon Buns, baked to the same recipe for over a hundred years.
Every shop is supplied from the same Enterprise Way bakery, every morning, before any of the doors are unlocked. These three are the ones the postman takes nationwide.
Soft, lightly spiced and iced with a thick lemon glaze. The bake most associated with the town. Made to the same recipe for over a hundred years, slid out of the Skinner Street and Enterprise Way ovens every morning before the shops open.
Two thin hazelnut meringues sandwiched with buttercream, capped with a layer of dark chocolate. Known across Whitby simply as a Jap. Hand-piped on a marble slab at the back of the bakery and shipped to all five venues every morning.
Botham's own loose-leaf blend, named after HMS Resolution, the ship Captain James Cook sailed from Whitby Harbour in 1772. Served in the Baxtergate and Enterprise Way tearooms in a china pot, and tinned for the shelves.
Elizabeth Botham · founder, 1865
Elizabeth Botham set up the bakery in the ancient fishing port of Whitby in 1865. She began by selling bread and cakes from a basket at the local market and walking the harbour cobbles to the fishermen on their way home. In time she bought the premises on Skinner Street, which remain our flagship shop today.
Her sons took the business on after her, which is why the company is registered as E. Botham & Sons Ltd: the E. is for Elizabeth herself. We are now in the fifth generation of unbroken family ownership.
Jo Botham (Managing Director) and Nick Botham (Chairman) are Elizabeth's great-grandchildren. Sarah Jarman and Liz Roberts are on the board alongside them. The fifth generation, Kay Dickinson, Anita Marshall and Lois Borrett, are already directors. Mike Jarman consults.
"Slid out of the Skinner Street oven on the same recipe my great-great-grandmother baked, on the same cobbled street." The family, 2025
160 years on, the bakery is run by the family who carry her name. Some of you may have served them in your shop already.
Jo Botham
Managing Director
Nick Botham
Chairman
Sarah Jarman
Director
Liz Roberts
Director
Kay, Anita & Lois
Directors, fifth generation
The Enterprise Way ovens fire up before sunrise; vans leave for each shop with that morning's bake. The Skinner Street flagship is the door Elizabeth bought.
The original · since 1865
35/39 Skinner Street
Whitby YO21 3AH
Mon to Sat · 08:30 to 17:00
The premises Elizabeth bought after she stopped walking the harbour with the basket. Still the flagship.
Shop + cafe
30 Baxtergate
Whitby YO21 1BW
Shop Mon to Sat · 08:30 to 17:00 · Cafe 09:30 to 16:15
Afternoon tea booked through the switchboard, option 6. Two minutes from the swing bridge.
Bakery, head office, cafe
Enterprise Way
Whitby YO22 4NH
Mon to Sat · 08:30 to 16:30
The modern bakery and head office. The ovens that supply every shop fire up here before dawn. New cafe alongside.
A few miles up the Esk
73 Coach Road
Sleights YO22 5BT
Tue to Sat · 08:45 to 16:30 · closed Mon
The village shop a short drive west on the Whitby to Pickering road. Closed Mondays.
Shop + tearoom
8 Park Street
Pickering YO18 7AJ
Mon to Sat · 09:30 to 17:00
The North York Moors Railway terminus is a five-minute walk away. Afternoon tea, switchboard option 7.
The Whitby Lemon Bun, the Yorkshire Brack and the Plum Bread are baked to the recipes Elizabeth set down. The Japonaise is the same hazelnut meringue sandwich the second generation began making. We add to the book when something fits, the way Shah Ginger Biscuits joined in the 1980s and the Resolution Tea blend was added in the 2010s. We rarely take anything off.
Lemon buns travel well by next-day courier and arrive in the same week. Generations Fruit Cake is the family's wedding and Christmas cake, baked to the recipe Elizabeth's descendants have used for their own celebrations. Send the form, or ring the bakery directly.
Wedding tier orders: four weeks notice. Single round Generations Cake: two weeks. Boxed lemon buns: place by midday Wednesday for weekend arrival.
Botham's of Whitby
35-39 Skinner Street
Whitby YO21 3AH
01947 602823
The original 1865 premises Elizabeth bought, on the cobbled stretch of Skinner Street between the bandstand and the West Cliff. A two-minute walk from the Whitby Pavilion. The Upstairs Cafe is currently closed for essential restoration; the shop downstairs is open as usual Monday to Saturday.
Yes. The lemon buns travel well by next-day courier in our boxed packs of six or twelve, posted Monday to Wednesday so they arrive in the same working week. Order through the shop on this site and choose next-day delivery at checkout. For weekend arrival you will need to place the order before midday on Wednesday.
The Whitby Lemon Bun, the Yorkshire Brack and the Plum Bread are baked to the recipes Elizabeth set down. The Chocolate Japonaise is the same hazelnut meringue and buttercream sandwich the second generation began making. The Shah Ginger Biscuit and the Resolution Tea blend are newer (1980s and 2010s) but came in because they fit. We add to the recipe book, we rarely subtract.
Yes. Afternoon tea is served in the Baxtergate cafe in Whitby, the Enterprise Way cafe at the bakery, and the Pickering cafe. The Skinner Street Upstairs is currently closed for essential restoration. Booking is essential, particularly Saturdays in the summer and through August. Ring 01947 602823 and pick the option for the venue you want: Baxtergate is option 6, Enterprise Way is option 5, Pickering is option 7.
Yes. 35 and 39 Skinner Street is the original premises Elizabeth Botham acquired after she gave up the market basket. The shop on the ground floor has run continuously since. The Upstairs tearoom is currently closed while extensive restoration work is carried out on the historic building. The downstairs shop remains open Monday to Saturday throughout.
Yes. The Generations Fruit Cake is the family's celebration cake, the recipe Elizabeth's descendants have used for their own weddings and Christmases. We bake it to order in a range of sizes for weddings, christenings, birthdays and Christmas. Allow four weeks notice for a wedding tier and two weeks for a single round. Ring the bakery or use the form on this page.