Staithes Museum celebrates national recognition after 'huge amount of work behind scenes'
A tiny museum in Staithes has achieved a major national milestone which has been hailed as a “huge achievement” for everyone who has helped keep the village history alive.
Staithes Museum and Heritage Trust has successfully achieved Museum Accreditation, the national quality standard for museums in the UK.
The award recognises the museum’s work to properly care for its collections, improve its documentation and policies, and make sure the history of Staithes is preserved for future generations.
For the small independent museum, which operates from a former Primitive Methodist Chapel on Staithes High Street, achieving Accreditation has been a major undertaking.
It comes just a few years after the future of Staithes Museum was uncertain following the death of its founder, local historian Reg Firth.
Reg and his wife Anne founded the museum in 1993, transforming the Grade II-listed Methodist Chapel on Staithes High Street into a museum and spending decades building a remarkable collection documenting the history of the village and its people.
When Reg died in 2018, there was a very real possibility that the museum and its collection could be lost to Staithes.
Local people rallied. Led by David Linley, a group of residents came together to establish the Staithes Museum and Heritage Trust and raise the funds needed to keep Reg's collection together and accessible to the public.
With donations, grants and the support of a benefactor who purchased the museum building, the Trust raised £110,000 to acquire the collection.
Today, that community rescue has developed into a thriving independent museum.
Curator Rosie Barnes said the achievement was “a really proud moment” for the museum.
“We’re absolutely thrilled,” she said.
"Accreditation is a national standard, so for a small independent museum like ours to achieve it is a really big deal.
“There’s been a huge amount of work behind the scenes.
"Visitors see the exhibitions, the objects and the stories, but they don’t necessarily see the planning, research and teamwork that make all of that possible.”
Rosie said the recognition belonged to far more people than just the museum team: “This really is a team achievement.
"Our trustees, volunteers, staff and supporters have all played a part, and so has the wider Staithes community.
“People have donated objects, photographs and stories to this museum.
"We have a responsibility to look after those things properly, because they aren’t just museum objects — they are pieces of people’s lives and pieces of Staithes’ story.
“Accreditation means we can say that we’re meeting those national standards of care.
"That’s something we can all be proud of.”
Staithes Museum’s collections tell the story of the village and its people, from fishing and maritime life to mining, the railway, Methodism and the Staithes Group of Artists.
The museum also holds material relating to Captain James Cook, who once worked as an apprentice in the village shop.
“That's what makes this museum special,” said Rosie.
“It's about ordinary people who lived here.
“People still come through the door and say, ‘That's my grandmother,’ or ‘I remember that carnival,’ or bring us a photograph they've found in a drawer at home.
“The museum belongs to Staithes in a very real sense.”
The museum welcomes tens of thousands of visitors every year but remains a small independent charity, relying on donations, shop sales, grants and volunteers to keep its doors open.