Meet the remarkable mechanism at Staithes Museum that celebrates John Harrison’s quest to solve one of the great challenges of seafaring: how do you know exactly where you are when all you can see is sea? There is something wonderfully satisfying about the Devon Sea Clock at Staithes Museum. With its brass gears, swinging arms, intricate framework and three separate dials, it looks as though somebody has taken a clock apart and then decided to leave all the interesting bits o

Walk around a museum and you'll find thousands of objects. A fishing hook. A pair of clogs. A sailor's compass. A child's toy. A faded photograph. Each one has a story, but museums don't always know every part of it. Who held it last?What was happening on the day it was used?What hopes did it carry? What arguments did it overhear? What adventures did it survive? Sometimes history leaves us facts. Sometimes it leaves us questions. Poetry has a wonderful way of filling the spac

Staithes Museum is a small, independent museum rooted in the history of a North Yorkshire fishing village – but what we offer for learning is surprisingly broad. Our collections, archives and stories span hundreds of years and touch on themes that work across history, geography, science, art, literacy and citizenship. This page is designed as a practical guide for teachers and educators. It explains what’s in our collection, what we’ve done before, and – most importantly – ho