Staithes

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About Staithes

Staithes is a narrow, steep-sided fishing village on the North Yorkshire coast, its red-roofed cottages packed into a ravine that opens onto a small harbour. Once one of the largest fishing ports on the north-east coast, it is now a quiet artists' village with a smugglers' history.

The story of Staithes

Staithes was one of the largest fishing ports on the north-east coast of England, with over 80 cobles working the cod and herring grounds in the early 19th century and a large community of fisherfolk packed into the 'High Street' that runs down the bank to the harbour. Captain James Cook worked as a shop assistant in Staithes in 1746, aged 16, at William Sanderson's draper and grocer shop, before moving to Whitby and the sea; it is said his first sight of ships in the harbour fired his ambition. The village was also a smuggling centre, with brandy and tea landed through the caves and the narrow 'ginnels' that link the cottages. As the fishing declined after the 19th century, Staithes became an artists' colony, the 'Staithes Group' of painters working there in the early 1900s.

Visiting with care

Park at the top of the bank and walk down the steep cobbled street to the harbour and the beach. The Cook connection and the artists' history are told in the Staithes Heritage Centre, and the cliff path leads to Port Mulgrave and Runswick Bay.

Interesting facts

• Captain James Cook worked as a shop assistant in Staithes in 1746 before going to sea from Whitby.
• In the early 19th century over 80 cobles fished from Staithes, making it one of the largest ports on the NE coast.
• The Staithes Group of artists painted in the village in the early 1900s.
• The narrow lanes between cottages, known as 'ginnels', were used by smugglers to move contraband.