Staithes Museum

Staithes Museum Free museum with a diverse collection of local historical items from Staithes group paintings to model boats to thousands of historic photographs. Free Entry

Run by a team of enthusiastic volunteers, donations are welcome!

The Tragic Origin of the "No White" Rule: The Story of the Knight Commander ⛵️🤍Did you know this taboo is rooted in one ...
03/06/2026

The Tragic Origin of the "No White" Rule: The Story of the Knight Commander ⛵️🤍
Did you know this taboo is rooted in one of the most heartbreaking tragedies in our village history?

The origin of this fear is connected to the coble Knight Commander (WY99). While most Staithes boats used sails treated with bark to turn them a traditional rusty red or brown, the Knight Commander was readily recognisable because she was the only one in the fleet with unbarked, white sails.

On the night of Saturday, 30th September 1899, the Unthank family—70-year-old Francis and his two sons, William and Francis Jr.—were returning from Hartlepool after landing a massive catch of herring. Old Francis was so heartened by their success that he told a fellow fisherman on the quay, "This will give us bread for the winter."

However, as they approached Staithes, a fierce storm overset the coble, and all three men were drowned in sight of the village. The tragedy was made even more bitter because Francis Jr. was due to be married the following Monday. In the Unthank home, the white tablecloth that had been spread for the wedding feast was instead used as a shroud for the father’s body, which was the only one recovered from the shore initially.

It was months before a sea-booted leg washed up, identified as one of the lost brothers by his initials stitched in red wool into the stocking—a specific Staithes custom used to identify those lost at sea. From that day on, white became a colour of foreboding for the Staithes fishing fleet, forever associated with the loss of the Knight Commander.

So, if you’re planning a trip out on the water, leave your white mugs at home and keep the "no white" rule in mind!

ATTENTION VISITORS:: Coming on a Coble? Don’t wear White! ⚓️🗓️Welcome back to the Staithes Superstition series! By now, ...
02/06/2026

ATTENTION VISITORS:: Coming on a Coble? Don’t wear White! ⚓️🗓️

Welcome back to the Staithes Superstition series! By now, you’re probably wondering if there’s anything you can safely do in our village. Well, today we’re talking about the calendar and the one colour that makes our local sailors see red! 🛑

The Superstition: "The Devil’s Day" In Staithes, Friday is firmly known as the "Devil’s Day". While the rest of the world is shouting "TGIF," our traditional fishermen are busy avoiding any new beginnings.

🚤 Think we’re joking? Recently, a pair of local fishermen had a brand-new coble built in Whitby. The sea trials were a success on a beautiful Thursday, but when told the boat was ready for collection, they flatly refused to bring it home until the weekend. Even with perfect weather staring them in the face, they wouldn't budge because "you can't bring her on a Friday."

Better to leave a shiny new boat at the docks than risk the Devil's luck!

The Superstition: The "White Wash" Taboo ⚪️ If you’re lucky enough to get an invite onto a coble, check your pockets! Historically, Staithes folk have a serious dislike of anything white aboard a boat. Even having a white pot for your tea is considered a jinx.

Wait, there's more! 😵‍💫 If that wasn’t enough to keep you on your toes, here are a few more things that would make an old Staithes fisherman turn his boat right back around:
Hearing any reference to nuns.
Dreaming about fish. (Yes, really! In our village, dreaming of the catch is actually unlucky.)
A stopped clock suddenly starting to strike.

So, if it's a Friday, leave your white mugs at home, don't mention any nuns, and for heaven's sake, don't have any fishy dreams! 🌊🐚

There’s a lot of shipbuilding history packed into this one object. 🚢This beautiful wooden model is what’s known as a bui...
01/06/2026

There’s a lot of shipbuilding history packed into this one object. 🚢

This beautiful wooden model is what’s known as a builder’s half-model — essentially a miniature version of a ship’s hull made before (and sometimes during) construction. Shipbuilders used models like this to show customers exactly what their new vessel would look like, and to help work out the complicated curves of the hull before everything was scaled up to full size. Before computers, this was serious engineering technology!

The inscriptions on this example give the full-scale dimensions of the vessel, while the other side tells us it was built by Craggs & Sons, Shipbuilders, Middlesbrough, 1897. R. Craggs & Sons were one of the many Teesside shipyards turning out vessels during the great age of North-East shipbuilding.

What we love about this object is that it sits somewhere between art, advertising, and engineering. To us today it looks like a sleek bit of maritime sculpture — but in 1897 it was a practical working tool. Somewhere, over 125 years ago, somebody probably stood in an office pointing at this very model saying: “Yes… I want this... but bigger!”

And honestly? The lines of the hull still look modern today.

ATTENTION VISITORS: Some Furry Friends are Taboo Fellows! 🦊🐰Welcome back to our Staithes Superstition series! By now, yo...
31/05/2026

ATTENTION VISITORS: Some Furry Friends are Taboo Fellows! 🦊🐰

Welcome back to our Staithes Superstition series! By now, you know to avoid P-I-Gs and egg water, but today we’re heading back to dry land to talk about some furry land-dwellers that are strictly "off-limits" in conversation. ⚓️

The Superstition: The Fox and the Rabbit In a village that lives by the sea, land animals are often viewed with a side-eye. According to old Staithes lore, simply hearing a reference to a fox or a rabbit (or a hare!) is considered incredibly unlucky for a fisherman.

"Tak Thi Hook!" 🎣 Whatever you do, never—and we mean never—try to sell land game to a man who is busy preparing for sea.

The Incident: There’s a famous story about a local game dealer who walked into a fisherman’s cottage while the man was busy baiting his lines.He asked if the fisherman wanted to buy a rabbit. The fisherman gave him a flat "Neea." Undeterred, the salesman asked if he’d like a hare instead. And that was it! The fisherman flew into a rage and shouted, "Noo thoo's gan far eneeaf, tak thi hook!" (which is Staithes-speak for "get lost!")

Pro-Tip for Visitors & Hawkers: 🛍️ Historically, if you were a travelling salesman in Staithes, you learned to be very careful. Before even stepping over a doorstep, you’d have to ask: "Are you baiting lines?" If the answer was yes, you kept your mouth shut about rabbits and foxes and moved on to the next house!

What to say instead: If you see a fox or a rabbit and just have to tell someone, use these safe Staithes workarounds:
"The Red Fellow" (for the fox)
"The Red Creature"
“Old Charity”
"Old Long-Ears" (for our jumping friends)
“Renny”

So, if you’re planning on selling some game this weekend, maybe skip the houses with fishing nets in the yard. We wouldn't want you to be told to "tak thi hook!" 🌊🛶

What *did* people in Staithes believe in during the 1970s? Chapel? Superstitions? Both?We’ve just published a blog post ...
30/05/2026

What *did* people in Staithes believe in during the 1970s? Chapel? Superstitions? Both?

We’ve just published a blog post about reasons to read David Clark’s fascinating book *Between Pulpit and Pew* — a deep dive into the “folk religion” of Staithes, where Methodist chapel life mixed seamlessly with fishing superstitions, family traditions, and village humour.

It includes:

⛪ Fierce rivalries between the Wesleyans and the Primitives
🐷 The taboo against saying the word “pig” while fishing
⚓ Stories of fishermen, shipwrecks, and Sunday Sabbaths
🫏 The legendary Catholic priest supposedly riding a donkey around the church at Midnight Mass
🔨 The famous “Wesleyan hammer” joke

One of my favourite stories is about two boats lost in the fog. Hearing another nearby, one crew shouted for help — only to be asked first: “Is thee Prims or sthee Wesleyans?”

It’s funny, but it also says a lot about how deeply chapel identity shaped village life.

https://www.staithes-museum.org.uk/post/methodists-superstitions-and-the-wesleyan-hammer-inside-1970s-staithes

The book can be very academic in places, but underneath it there’s an amazing collection of living memories, jokes, fears, habits, and traditions that might otherwise have vanished completely.

If you enjoy Staithes history, folklore, or just wonderfully odd local stories, this one’s well worth a read.

🏫 Royal Oak Day: A Staithes School Strike from the 1800s! 🏫Bill Hinchley recently shared with me a memory his mother tol...
29/05/2026

🏫 Royal Oak Day: A Staithes School Strike from the 1800s! 🏫

Bill Hinchley recently shared with me a memory his mother told him of a rhyme children used to sing in the village for Royal Oak Day (29 May), and it is a fascinating piece of local history!

The rhyme goes: "Royal-oak day, twenty-ninth o' May; If ya deean't give us halliday we'll all run away Where will you run to? Up Hinderwell lane and old Tommy Sadler will chase us with a cane"

The first two lines of this rhyme are almost identical to those recorded by the famous folklorist Richard Blakeborough in his 1898 book, Wit, Character, Folklore and Customs of the North Riding. This shows that the tradition of Staithes children demanding a holiday is at least 130 years old!

Blakeborough records that children in Staithes and surrounding areas didn’t just sing; they took action! On 29 May, it was a common custom for scholars to lock the schoolmaster out of the building, refusing him entry until he officially granted them a "halliday". Our records show that May 29th was indeed listed as an official school holiday in Staithes for many years.

Bill's addition of Tommy Sadler and Hinderwell Lane is a brilliant example of how local folk history evolves, and how local stories can be remembered a hundred years later in song!

And one more thing about Royal Oak day - watch out for "Patching"! If you were around Staithes on Royal Oak Day in the old days, you’d better have been wearing a twig of oak in your hat or jacket. Anyone caught "oakless" would be called a "Papish" and subjected to "patching"—which meant being stung over the hands with nettles!

Do you remember any other verses to this rhyme? Let us know in the comments! 👇

For Week 8, we are turning to the most dramatic and debated chapter in Captain Cook’s story: his final days at Kealakeku...
28/05/2026

For Week 8, we are turning to the most dramatic and debated chapter in Captain Cook’s story: his final days at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii. In the museum, "How did Cook die?" is one of our most frequently asked questions. 🌊

The Calm Before the Storm: Webber’s print, "A View of Karakakooa in Owhyhee," depicts the bay during the "halcyon days" of the first visit. In the water, you can see a local man surfboarding, a sport the British were witnessing for the first time. At this moment, Cook was being celebrated as the returning god Lono, and the ships were seen as "floating islands".

The Weapons of the "Fatal Impact": Next, we have the print of "Various Articles at the Sandwich Islands." This plate includes a pahoa (iron dagger). There is a tragic irony here: these daggers were often fashioned by the ship’s own blacksmiths from British iron and traded to the Hawaiians. On February 14, 1779, it was one of these very daggers—wielded by a chief named Nu‘a—that delivered a fatal blow to Cook at the water's edge.

Today, the white obelisk at the bay remains contested ground, a reminder of the "fatal impact" that followed these first encounters.

If you’ve visited the museum recently, you might have noticed a little gap where our famous rolling ball clock usually s...
27/05/2026

If you’ve visited the museum recently, you might have noticed a little gap where our famous rolling ball clock usually sits… don’t worry — it hasn’t gone far!

When we first took charge of the collection, the clock wasn’t running at all. One local hero (and devoted museum volunteer) carefully lifted it into the boot of his car, drove it up the bank to his workshop, worked a bit of behind-the-scenes magic, and brought it back ticking away beautifully once more.

Afterwards, he jokingly warned us:
“If you break it again, I’m not fixing it again!”

Well… this week, the rolling ball clock has made the journey up the bank once more. With some extra help from the Staithes Men's Shed, it’s getting some proper TLC to make sure it keeps rolling, ticking, and fascinating visitors for many years to come.

We’re looking forward to welcoming it back home soon — fully repaired and ready for the next generation of visitors to stand and watch it for far longer than they intended to!

It's so lovely to have a community of crafters who support the museum and have such unique, local stuff!
26/05/2026

It's so lovely to have a community of crafters who support the museum and have such unique, local stuff!

Why did Captain Cook leave Staithes?This replica sign — now hanging inside the museum — hung outside Captain Cook’s Cott...
26/05/2026

Why did Captain Cook leave Staithes?

This replica sign — now hanging inside the museum — hung outside Captain Cook’s Cottage in Staithes, telling visitors the famous story:

“He learnt to like the sea… deserted this old shop… took a ship and sailed away.”

But was it really that simple?

Some versions of the story say young James Cook grew bored of shopkeeping and longed for adventure. Others say he hated the job entirely. Some locals claimed he ran away to sea after a disagreement with his employer over a silver shilling. Another story says he was caught climbing out of the shop window to watch the fishing boats instead of working…

And then there’s the question of Staithes itself. Living in a fishing village in the 1740s, surrounded by sailors, storms, stories and smuggling rumours, perhaps the sea was always going to pull him away eventually.

Which version of the story were you told about why Cook left Staithes?

Address

High Street
Staithes
TS135BQ

Opening Hours

Monday 10:30am - 4:15pm
Tuesday 10:30am - 4:15pm
Wednesday 10:30am - 4:15pm
Thursday 10:30am - 4:15pm
Friday 10:30am - 4:15pm
Saturday 10:30am - 4:15pm
Sunday 10:30am - 4:15pm

Telephone

+441947841454

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