Staithes Festival of Arts and Heritage 2025

Heritage talks will be at Staithes Village Hall, Cliff Road, Staithes, TS13 5AD - located just before the Captain Cook Inn. You can pick up our free taxi at Chapel Yard to go up the hill.
Booking highly recommended!

For workshops scroll to the bottom of the page - booking essential!

TICKETS for Saturday talks still available on the door at the Village Hall or from HQ2 opposite the Art Gallery by the Royal George pub.

Sunday 14th September: Village Hall, Cliff Road, Staithes

10.30am-11.20am: Discover the Staithes Mermaids Legend by Sarah Peverley £4

Join mermaid expert and cultural historian Professor Sarah Peverley for an illustrated talk about the famous Mermaids of Staithes, Yorkshire’s only mermaid myth which was recently featured on the BBC. Discover the earliest known versions of the legend and learn about its connections with other mermaid stories from around the British Isles. With witches, superstitions, folklore, and the sea, there is something for everyone in the intriguing history behind the legend.

11.30am-12.30pm: Every Now and Then: a fascinating look at the work of Victorian photographer Frank Meadow Sutcliffe by Mike Shaw, former owner of the Sutcliffe Gallery £4

Frank Meadow Sutcliffe (1853 -1941) made a living in Whitby taking portrait photographs of Victorian holiday makers in his studio during the late 1800s, but became famous for his more atmospheric and artistic images of the town and surrounding villages. He also photographed everyday working people, illustrating the rigours of Victorian life of the times. Mike Shaw has worked with the collection all his life and will be showing a selection of Staithes photographs, some of which have never been seen before, and others from late 1800s fading into the same scene today.

12.40pm-1.40pm:  Lost Tales of Staithes - Stories and Photographs by 1950s photojournalist John Tindale £4

An amusing and interesting look at tall stories and tales of Staithes from a generation ago. John Tindale was a senior photographer at the Whitby Gazette and a leading post-war photo-journalist. His son David Tindale presents this amusing talk and film show.

1.50pm-2.50pm: Mined Over Matter by Chris Toth £4

Chris Toth from the Boulby Underground Laboratory is again back by public demand and ready to illuminate the mysterious world of the ever-elusive Dark Matter. He’ll report on the experiments conducted 1.1km beneath our feet in a light-hearted physics lecture for all ages. No prior physics knowledge required!

FREE Event - no tickets required but a donation appreciated for the the Great North Air Ambulance

3pm-4pm: Staithes Stories – John Cole, Colin Harrison and Bill Hinchley in conversation with Mandy Wragg 

Join long-time Staithes residents, hailing from three of Staithes’ oldest families - fisherman John Cole, Colin Harrison the fourth of five family generations to serve in the RNLI, and village historian Bill Hinchley as they discuss the life, traditions and characters of Staithes as they knew them, and beyond
£donations in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance