Explore Staithes with Bill Hinchley
Staithes has plenty of picturesque cottages, narrow lanes and lovely views — but look a little closer and almost every corner of the village has a story attached to it.
Bill Hinchley was born in Staithes and has spent his life collecting those stories. In this heritage walking tour, created by the North York Moors National Park, Bill takes us around the village, sharing memories, local history, old photographs in our minds, and quite a few entertaining tales along the way.
The film is available to watch online, and you can also watch it at Staithes Museum, where it plays throughout the day in our comfortable downstairs gallery.
Why not watch the tour first, then head out into the village and see how many of Bill's stops you can find?
Bill Hinchley's Staithes walking tour
1. The first and last
Bill starts at the entrance to the village, remembering the days when a visitor whose horse
had thrown a shoe could take it to the local blacksmith. While they waited, they might have crossed the road for a pint.
This was known as the first and last — the first pub into the village and the last one out.
2. Bethel Chapel
The Bethel Chapel was the first purpose-built chapel in Staithes. Bill explains why it became known as the “‘igh Chapel” — not because of its religion, but because of where it stood - highest on the bank.
3. The Jolly Sailor
Next door was the Jolly Sailor alehouse. Bill talks about the many pubs and alehouses that once existed in Staithes, and one former landlady, Indiana Truefitt.
4. Charles Morley
The large yellow house was once home to Charles Morley, a photographer and member of Staithes' artist community. Bill also reflects on the artistic tradition that still continues in the village today.
5. The Ranters Chapel — now Staithes Museum
Bill introduces the Primitive Methodist Chapel, known locally as the Ranters Chapel because of the particularly vocal praying and singing of its congregation. Built in 1881, it is now Staithes Museum. Bill also points out the much smaller chapel next door, built in 1837.
6. Bob Bell's Bank
Here Bill explains the name Bob Bell's Bank, and remembers that Bob Bell was a blacksmith who may have owned the blacksmith's shop mentioned at the start of the tour.
He also considers the name Ardbank — perhaps because it was hard work getting up it!
7. The old bridge
The surviving stonework marks the former support of a wooden bridge which crossed the Beck in the 1920s and 1930s. Bill tells the dramatic story of the bridge being washed away in a flood — with three young men on it. Two were rescued quickly, but the third was swept all the way down the Beck towards the lifeboat slip.
Bill remembers another consequence of the same great flood: buildings being washed down the Beck. His great-grandparents' house at Dale House was caught up in the flood, and Bill recalls that the house floated downstream with its hens still in it.
8. Silver Street
Most people know Staithes' High Street and Church Street, but Bill introduces Silver Street. He explains that the street was associated with the fish trade and fish dealers, and remembers how its name was linked to the huge numbers of herring scales left behind during the fishing season.
Bill points out the former Wesleyan Chapel as the tour continues through the old village.
9. The ford
This part of the route still has a ford across the Beck — and Bill remembers it being used by vehicles. He recalls the last time it was used, during heavy snowfall in 1963.
10. Frank's warehouse
Bill remembers an old local character called Ord Frank and the mysterious sacks found in his warehouse.
Eventually the mystery was solved: Frank had been preparing for the next collier to come ashore. When ships were wrecked along the coast, their cargo of coal could be salvaged — but only if you had something to put it in.
11. The fish-curing houses
Today it is easy to look across the Beck and see the buildings and open space beyond. Bill explains that this would have looked completely different in the nineteenth century. The banks were crowded with buildings used for curing fish, including salt houses and other working buildings. Hundreds of tons of fish were salted and dried in Staithes.
The last of these buildings disappeared in 1947.
12. The ghost of the bridge
Bill then turns to one of Staithes' ghost stories.
He tells the tale of a young girl who was killed by falling rock while collecting bait with her sister — and explains how her story later became part of a pantomime in Stockton.
According to local legend, her ghost may still appear on the bridge, carrying her own head.
13. Bank Doorstones and the old Midland Bank
Bill points out the area known as the Bank Dearstans, or Bank Door Stones, and the former Midland Bank, which came to Staithes twice a week. He also points out a manhole cover associated with one of Staithes' many smuggling stories — supposedly marking the beginning of a tunnel running up the bank.
14. The Royal George
The Royal George was one of several pubs in Staithes in the nineteenth century. Bill shares a story about a visitor staying at the pub who was particularly interested in watching the fashionable ladies of Staithes pass the window - at least, their lovely ankles.
15. The smuggler's victim
A narrow passageway is associated with another darker story.
Bill tells of a young smuggler who was murdered after talking to the wrong people — specifically, a customs officer. The man responsible later travelled north and was eventually hanged in York.
16. Garth Ends
Bill explains the meaning of Garr Ends and points out an area where houses once stood.
More than forty buildings are recorded as having been lost to the sea here, along with many individual houses destroyed in storms over the years.
17. Ryder's Yard
This is one of the most personal stops on Bill's tour.
The cottage where he was born stands in Ryder's Yard, and he remembers moving into the nearby cottage as a child.
He also recalls the old washing arrangements, with different families having particular days of the week for using their washing lines.
18. Slippery Hill
Bill remembers a stone leaning against a wall which he was told was a smuggler's sign.
He explains the local story that hidden compartments once existed beneath the paving stones here, where smugglers could conceal spirits, tobacco, tea and other goods.
19. The New Landing and the Cod and Lobster
Bill talks about the history of the landing and the different buildings which have occupied the site over the years. He remembers the damage caused by the great storm of 1953, when the building then standing here was badly damaged.
The slip takes its name from the Scandinavian word for stone. It's another reminder of Staithes' long connections with the North Sea and the communities who worked along this coast.
20. Gun Gutter
Bill remembers what this part of the village looked like before the tarmac arrived in the 1950s.
He also tells the wonderfully improbable story of a woman who slipped while cleaning a grid and fell beneath the paving stones — only to emerge safely when one of the stones shifted.
21. Dog Loup
At just 45cm wide, Dog Loup is one of the narrowest passages in the village.
Bill attempts to squeeze through it and asks the obvious question:
“I got through, but the question is, will you get through?”
Church Street was once a coffin road, used to carry coffins up towards the church at Hinderwell. Bill also points out the building which was once a school and later became St Peter's Mission Church.
The White Hoss was one of Staithes' many former pubs. Bill reflects on the number of pubs the village once had — there were as many as eight — and wonders how many could ever have been open at the same time.
22. Seaton Garth
The final stop brings the tour back to the sea and to one of the places where Staithes' sea soldiers, or “seafencibles”, once mustered.
Bill explains the meaning of the word “garth” and tells us that as many as 120 men could
muster here, armed with pikes and muskets.
Watch Bill's tour
Bill's walking tour is a wonderful way of discovering the village before you set off to explore it yourself. The film brings together local history, family memories, folklore, fishing, smuggling, storms and the everyday details of life in Staithes.
Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/xgChP-M9EsY?si=TcnYYnLYP-8TwJ6g
You can also watch it at Staithes Museum, where it plays throughout the day in our comfortable downstairs gallery. A big thank you to the North York Moors National Park for creating this incredible film, and helping us put it on display at the museum.
The museum is free to visit. If Bill's stories — and the museum's other collections — help you see Staithes a little differently, please consider leaving a donation. Your support helps us care for the collections and continue sharing the stories of the village with visitors for years to come.
Come for the stories. Then go and find them.
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