Staithes, a picturesque fishing village on the border of North Yorkshire and Teesside, often leaves visitors confused – and locals frustrated. The question everyone asks is simple: “Are you from Yorkshire?” But the answer isn’t so straightforward. With a TS postcode typically associated with Teesside, yet a clear Yorkshire heritage, residents find themselves repeatedly explaining their town’s ambiguous identity. It’s this clash between postal boundaries and historic allegiance that leaves locals both amused and annoyed.
Local Simon Carter, proprietor of Coastal Kitchen café for the past five years, described the confusion well. Insisting that he’s a Yorkshireman, he acknowledged the ambiguity surrounding the Tees-Yorkshire borders.
He told Yorkshire Live: “I would consider myself North Yorkshire but the postcode is Teesside. Lockdown proved that the boundaries are not the same as North Yorkshire could go to the bar but Crowbar, Redcar and Cleveland couldn’t. Staithes is weird as the official address is Saltburn but I’ve noticed a lot of people put North Yorkshire on things to sound better to save money as insurance drops.”
A colleague of Simon’s added: “Our services are weird too. If we need the emergency services, we have got to ring North Yorkshire (Council) not Cleveland – even though Cleveland is closest.”
Rosie Barnes, curator and manager at Staithes Museum, believes she has an answer but acknowledges that the Covid pandemic highlighted the unresolved issue. “I always believe that Staithes is in North Yorkshire,” the 33 year old said.
“There is a river boundary that divides the North Yorkshire and Cleveland area and the stepping stones that are in between us are in between. They used to be called ‘battle stones’ because the different parishes disagreed on whose responsibility it was to maintain it.
“Even during Covid there was confusion as people were stopped from crossing the stones into Cleveland from Staithes. There were even signs at the bridge near the stones saying that people were not welcome because they were under different lockdown restrictions.
“Even though we are only across the small river – Cleveland have different emergency services and bin men to us. But for the museum, we got help from Scarborough Council as well as Redcar and Cleveland – so it is confusing. This question is always a popular for tourists to ask.”
Conversations with local residents suggest that the town has wholeheartedly embraced its Yorkshire heritage, along with the benefits that come with it.
One example of this is that the village’s water supply comes from Yorkshire Water, meaning residents, like the rest of Yorkshire, are subject to the same hosepipe bans.
