A family story, a shooting in the woods, a murder trial, a mysterious death – and four years of research in the archives of North Yorkshire One of the pleasures of working with an archive is discovering that the most interesting family history stories are the ones that start and end with questions that are left unanswered... Sometimes you get a photograph, a name, a date and a family story. Then you start pulling at the threads – and discover that the story is simultaneously

This February half term, we set ourselves a simple but meaningful challenge: how can we help people see Staithes not just as a picturesque seaside village, but as a place layered with stories — stories that live in its cottages, ginnels, harbour walls, and in the objects carefully preserved in the museum? This project was designed to connect local people with local history in a fresh and accessible way. By sharing selected objects from the museum’s collection alongside their

Welcome to the Staithes Museum blog! As you stand within our walls, you're not just in a building, but within a cornerstone of Staithes' vibrant social and religious history: the former Primitive Methodist Chapel [Staithes Now and Then, c.1990-95, p. 271-272]. Staithes, a village clinging to the North Yorkshire coast, has a rich and complex past, where fishing, industry, and faith were deeply intertwined. Religion, particularly Methodism, has played a pervasive role in shapin

Forget-me-not ring donated to Jane Harrison, donated to Jane Harrison by a Birmingham Jeweller, after the 1815 fishing disaster which claimed the lives of 29 fishermen, leaving 16 widows—seven of whom were pregnant—and 48 children fatherless. This Memorial Board display is shown each year during the Staithes Festival of Arts and Heritage. It was created by local historian Bill Hinchley to honour the memory of the Staithes fishermen who drowned at sea. The memorial board is th