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

In 1889, the antiquarian journal Old Yorkshire published “A Ramble in North Yorkshire,” a vivid account of Staithes and the surrounding coast. Part travel writing, part folklore collection, and part social commentary, it captures how Victorian visitors viewed the village and its people. Some of the descriptions are wonderfully observant. Others are deeply patronising by modern standards. The anonymous author was fascinated by what they saw as the “quaintness” and superstition