3-Minute Arts Visit Staithes Museum Archives

We were delighted to welcome Nicola Chalton and the team from 3-Minute Arts CIC to Staithes Museum recently, as part of their Moors & Coast creative writing series. The group spent time exploring our archive collections, gathering inspiration from the photographs, letters, and local histories that bring Staithes’ story to life. Local historian Bill Hinchley also generously offered to provide a walking tour of the village - exploring the atmosphere and history of the villave.

After their visit, we were pleased to share with them a selection of digitised, out-of-copyright resources — freely available online — to help extend their research and allow others to discover Staithes’ heritage from afar. These resources are wonderful tools for writers, researchers, and anyone curious about local dialect, folklore, or fishing traditions on the Yorkshire coast.

If you can’t visit the museum in person, you can still explore Staithes from your own desk through these public domain materials:

🪶 The Smuggler’s Daughter

A fascinating short book set in Staithes, full of the atmosphere of the coast and its smuggling past. This digital transcript in progress is being tidied up from a scanned copy in Google Books.📖 Read The Smuggler’s Daughter on Google Docs

⚓ Yorkshire at Work (1910)

This book includes a description of crab and lobster fishing in Staithes, and the dialect that went along with it offering insight into the daily rhythms and dangers of sea life a century ago.📖 Read Yorkshire at Work on the Internet Archive

🗣️ The Dialect of Staithes in the North Riding of Yorkshire

A linguistic treasure, this study records words, phrases, and expressions unique to Staithes and its fishing community. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in Yorkshire speech or regional identity.📖 Explore The Dialect of Staithes on the Internet Archive

Annie Weatherill Cole – “History of Staithes”

A handwritten account (typed transcript available) of village life in Staithes by Annie Weatherill Cole (née Crispin). This document offers first-hand descriptions of the fishing industry, boat-building, mining, smuggling, local customs and dialect in the early-20th century. A Handwritten history of Staithes by Annie Weatherill Cole 

📜 The North Riding of Yorkshire (Historic County Study)

A descriptive study of the North Riding, including detailed information on coastal settlements such as Staithes—excellent for historical geography, local industries and social history.📖 Access: https://archive.org/download/northridingofyor00westuoft/northridingofyor00westuoft.pdf Internet Archive

🏘️ A History of Whitby, and Streoneshalh Abbey (1817)

An early nineteenth‑century survey of the Whitby area (including Staithes’ hinterland) with rich period detail about the village, the coast and local trades.📖 Access: https://archive.org/details/historyofwhitbys01youn Internet Archive

📷 East Cleveland Image Archive – Staithes & Cowbar Collections

A public access image archive of historic photographs of Staithes and nearby Cowbar—an excellent visual resource for exhibitions, presentations or school projects exploring village life, fishing and local industry.🖼️ Access: https://www.image-archive.org.uk/?cat=112&paged=6 — (scroll/search for “Staithes”)

✨ The Dialect of Staithes in the North Riding of Yorkshire

A language‑study article documenting the dialect of Staithes and its fishing‑village expressions—ideal for creative writers, school projects and local‑voice interpretation.📖 Access: https://archive.org/details/the-dialect-of-staithes-in-the-north-riding-of-yorkshire_202507 Internet Archive

We can’t wait to see how their writers weave Staithes’ stories, dialect, and humour into new creative work.

You can find out more about their projects at 3-Minute Arts CIC and look out for the upcoming Esk Valley News Quarterly issue, which will feature Yorkshire humour and dialect — perhaps with a Staithes twist!