Attractions - Captain Cook Museum
Captain Cook Museum
Captain Cook’s training as a seaman began in Whitby. He was born on 27 October 1728 at Marton-in-Cleveland. His father, originally from Scotland, was also called James and married Grace Pace from Cleveland. They had eight children, though several died young. When James was still a child, his father moved to Great Ayton, a few miles away near the Cleveland Hills, and became the foreman at Aireyholme Farm.
Here the young James received the rudiments of education at the village school and assisted his father on the farm. In 1745, he began work in a grocer’s shop at Staithes, a fishing village only a short distance from the busy port of Whitby.
After eighteen months, he determined to go to sea, and was introduced to the Walker family. John Walker and his brother Henry were Quaker shipowners engaged in the coal trade between the North-East and London. The Quakers, or Society of Friends, were upright, hospitable people known for their simplicity of manners and public spirit.
The young Cook could not have come to a better environment. The Walkers’ ships were workaday ‘cats’, trading to London and across the North Sea. Cook began the life of a sailor on the Freelove in February 1747, carrying a cargo of coal to London.
This White Rose Award Winning Museum has In the past three years, been visited by people from over 50 different countries. We hope you will join them.
Visitor Information
Please visit the Museum's website (click below) for details of opening times, admission prices and special exhibitions. The Museum is open at half term weekends in February, and then daily from the beginning of March to the end of October.
We welcome groups
Accompanying teachers and coach drivers free.
Ring us to pre-book your party:
Tel: 01947 601 900
Visa, Delta, Maestro and Mastercard accepted
For more information click here Multimap