Staithes Museum

Hello, all! Please find linked here the latest Staithes Museum newsletter. A text-only version is below this message. This month's edition includes updates on our rolling ball clock, a new family activity sheet inspired by Staithes smugglers, reflections from a museum symposium in Plymouth, an update on our social media experiments, and news of a rather unusual upcoming visit from some ghost hunters. There's also a look at what we're tentatively calling "The Bill Hinchley Effect" and the...

For over a century after 1720, the village of Staithes was a major hub for the "Free Trade" - better known as smuggling. While official industries like fishing and ironstone production were important, smuggling formed a vital "hidden economy" that supplemented the income of almost every resident. The unique architecture of the town, with its labyrinthine network of passages, attic hatches, and hidden cellars, made it the perfect haunt for evading the law. Smuggling was a true community...

David Clark’s book, Between Pulpit and Pew, is a study of how religion actually worked in Staithes during the mid-1970s. Instead of just looking at what ministers preached, Clark looked at the "folk religion"—the local traditions, superstitions, and habits that really mattered to the villagers Here are the main ideas he discusses: 1. Official Religion vs. Folk Religion Official Religion: This is the formal stuff—the rules of the Methodist or Anglican church and what the ministers say from the...