Welcome to The Heritage of Staithes
Tucked into a narrow cove on the North Yorkshire coast, Staithes is a village shaped by the sea, by industry, and by an extraordinary sense of community. For centuries, its people have fished dangerous waters, mined its cliffs, argued in its chapels, told its stories, and preserved traditions that have all but disappeared elsewhere in England.
This is a place where Viking words are still spoken in daily conversation, where bonnets and ganseys were worn into living memory, where smugglers hid beneath the High Street, and where a young shop assistant named James Cook first felt the pull of the sea.
At Staithes Museum these stories are not distant history. They are told through the objects, clothing, tools, photographs, and oral histories left behind by generations of villagers. The museum acts as a gateway into this remarkable past, helping visitors understand how such a small place came to hold such a rich and unusual heritage.
What follows is a journey through the people, events, and traditions that make Staithes unlike anywhere else on the coast.
The Gateway to Exploration
Captain Cook, Britain’s greatest explorer, first looked upon the sea through the windows of William Sanderson’s general store in Staithes. Legend has it his transition from landsman to sailor was sparked by a dispute over a "South Sea Shilling" he swapped from the till, an act for which he was accused of theft before heading to Whitby. Though the original shop was lost to the waves, its stones and original door—complete with the iron knocker Cook likely used—were saved and built into a cottage that still stands in Church Street.
Viking Blood and the "Harvest of the Sea"
Once England’s sixth biggest fishing port, Staithes was built by a "proud and insular race" with ancient Viking roots. The traditional wooden cobles still seen today are direct descendants of Nordic longships, designed with high bows to launch from shallow beaches into the violent North Sea. This was a village of total industry; while men took the great yawls as far as Aberdeen and Yarmouth, the women worked "harder than any slaves," walking miles to gather "flithers" (limpets) for bait and wading waist-deep into the surf to help launch the boats.
Heroism in the Surf
The local RNLI lifeboat has long been the village's beating heart. One enduring legend tells of the 1888 lifeboat disaster, where the crew of a passing steamer reportedly found the survivors in the dark after hearing them singing hymns across the waves. The village also boasts its own "Grace Darling the Second," Mary Verrill, who in 1900 took her father’s place on the rocket brigade and held a rescue line for three and a half hours with waves up to her chin to save a foundering ship.
The Cliffs of Industry and Illusion
The dramatic cliffs tell stories of more than just 160-million-year-old fossils like the Hildoceras, named for Whitby’s Abbess. They were home to "yellow fellows"—miners stained head-to-toe in ochre dust—and the alum industry, which famously earned the village the nickname "stinkin' Steeas" because of the huge quantities of urine collected in street barrels for use in the chemical process. Smugglers once thrived here too, using a labyrinth of hidden cellars and secret passages under the High Street to hide their "fair trade" goods.
A Canvas of Living Tradition
Staithes’ unique character captivated the Staithes Group of Artists, who traded city life for the village's "savagery and wildness". Dame Laura Knight and others immortalised the "Staithes Bonnet"—a practical, quilted piece of headwear designed to cushion the heavy fish baskets women carried on their heads. This tradition survived into the 1990s, making Staithes the last place in England where women consistently wore bonnets as daily workwear.
The Perils of War: U-Boats and Zeppelins
Staithes has faced threats from the sea that were not just meteorological but also military. In July 1916, three Staithes cobles—the Mary Ann, Success, and Richard—were intercepted by the German U-boat UB39. The commander, who reportedly spoke English, allowed the crews to board his submarine before sinking the Mary Anne and damaging the other vessels with hammers. He even took a photograph of the "Whitby fishermen" as a souvenir before letting them return to shore. During World War I, the village was also targeted by Zeppelins, leading residents to use the drift mining tunnels in the cliffs as makeshift air-raid shelters.
The Fabric of Life: Smock Jackets (Not Ganseys!)
The traditional clothing of Staithes was as practical as it was symbolic. Fishermen wore "smock jackets" (also known elsewhere as ganseys), which were hand-knitted by the women of the village using intricate patterns. These patterns were often unique to specific knitters, families or towns; in the tragic event of a drowning, the hand-embroidered name in the collar of the Staithes Smock Jacket was frequently the only way to identify a body recovered from the sea. The women also crafted "proddy" or "hookie" mats from old rags to keep the stone cottage floors warm, a craft that remains a cherished part of local folk art.
Community Spirit: Fairs and "Fairings"
The highlight of the village year was Staithes Fair, traditionally held in the week following Trinity Sunday. For weeks beforehand, the village would be a hive of activity: "mats washed at the beck, everything turned out, and baking done a week before". The fair itself featured roundabouts, swinging chairs, and "Bobby horses" on the sands of Seaton Garth. A unique tradition involved young men buying "fairings" (gifts from the stalls) for their sweethearts. This was also a time for settling local feuds and balancing the town's books.
A Town of Three Chapels
Staithes heritage is deeply rooted in Nonconformity, resulting in a spirited rivalry between the three village chapels: the Wesleyans, the Primitives (often called "Ranters"), and Bethel (the "High Chapel (highest up the hill)"). This rivalry extended to the Sunday School Anniversary, where children were dressed in their finest white frocks to "say a piece" and sing hymns on the doorsteps of the village. This tradition was so vital that Staithes yawls were often expected to return from distant fishing grounds specifically to attend.
Experience the Legacy: Staithes Then and Now
Staithes is not a place where history sits quietly in books. It is a place where the past still walks the streets, echoes in the dialect, and lives on in the skills, stories, and traditions of its people.
The old ways have never quite left. Lobster pots are still braided by hand. Local superstitions are still remembered (never say “pig” — always “curly-tail”). The stories of mermaids, miners, fishermen, and chapel rivalries are still told. And every year, Staithes Fair returns, just as it has for generations, with gifts for sweethearts, laughter on Seaton Garth, and the whole village turning out as it always did.
Today, these living traditions are celebrated through the Staithes Festival of Arts and Heritage — a programme of talks, walks, demonstrations, exhibitions, and workshops that bring the village’s extraordinary story to life.
At Staithes Museum, you can step directly into that story. See the stones of Captain Cook’s former workplace. Discover the bonnets, ganseys, smocks, and proddy mats that shaped daily life. Explore the fishing heritage, the alum works, the artists, the chapels, and the legends that make Staithes unlike anywhere else on the coast.
Join us during the festival — or at any time of year — to experience a place where history is not simply remembered, but still very much alive.
Rosie Barnes, Curator at Staithes Museum www.staithes-museum.org.uk
For their generous contribution to our heritage programmes of walks and talks, we'd like to thank Peter Appleton, Paul Bader, Andy Blackford, John Cole, Barbara Govan, Caroline Hawley, Dr Liam Herringshaw, Gordon Hetherington, Bill Hinchley, Rod Jewell, Al Milnes, Dr Robb Robinson, Stephen Sherlock, David Tindale, Jill Turton, Chris Toth, Mandy Wragg, and festival founder the late Grant McKee.