Photo: Neil Theasby, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Staithes Museum and Heritage Trust
The volunteer-led trust that runs Staithes Museum, a free museum of Captain Cook, fishing, mining and the Staithes Group of artists, in a restored chapel on the North Yorkshire coast.
Partner charity: signed an agreement with Voucher Magpie
About The Staithes Museum and Heritage Trust
The Staithes Museum and Heritage Trust runs Staithes Museum, an independent, volunteer-led museum in the fishing village of Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast. It is housed in a restored Grade II listed former Methodist chapel on the High Street, built in 1880, and it is free to visit, open every day from 10:30 to 16:30.
The museum began in 1993, when local historian Reg Firth and his wife, Anne, bought the chapel and turned it into a museum. After Reg died, a group of local residents led by David Linley formed the trust to keep his work going. With donations, grants and a benefactor who bought the building, the trust secured £110,000 to acquire the museum's collection.
The collection tells the story of Staithes and the villages around it, Port Mulgrave, Runswick Bay and Boulby: young James Cook's time in the village before he went to sea, the cobles and ganseys of its fishing families, alum, ironstone and potash mining, smuggling, shipwrecks and lifeboats, fossils and jet, and the Staithes Group of artists, with original works by Dame Laura Knight. It holds around 2,480 catalogued items and 600 photographs, and welcomed over 47,000 visitors in 2025.
Every time a supporter shops online through Voucher Magpie with the trust chosen, we donate 50% of the commission the shop pays us to The Staithes Museum and Heritage Trust, at no extra cost to the shopper.
What they do
- Runs Staithes Museum, free to visit and open every day from 10:30 to 16:30
- Cares for around 2,480 catalogued items and 600 photographs about Staithes, Port Mulgrave, Runswick Bay and Boulby
- Tells the stories of Captain Cook, fishing, mining, lifeboats and the Staithes Group of artists
- Run by volunteers, with short-term projects and work from home such as digitising and cataloguing the collection
- A shop selling the work of local crafters and makers
Information from The Staithes Museum and Heritage Trust and the Charity Commission register: www.staithes-museum.org.uk, www.staithes.org.uk, register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk.
How your shopping helps
Pick The Staithes Museum and Heritage Trust and shop as normal using codes and deals on Voucher Magpie. When a store pays us commission for your order, we donate 50% of it to The Staithes Museum and Heritage Trust. You pay the same price and still get the discount.
We pay each cause its confirmed commission every quarter (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct), once the shop has confirmed the sale, usually 30 to 90 days after the order.
Get the fundraising pack: your link and QR code, an A4 poster to print, and messages ready to send to supporters.