Captain James Cook Memorial Museum

I visited the Captain Cook Memorial Museum.

This fascinating museum is housed in the property on Grape Lane which was owned by Captain John Walker and which was where James Cook lived during his seven-year apprenticeship as a merchant seaman.

The house is a good example of an eighteenth-century Whitby shipowner's dwelling. It was both a home and the headquarters of the family shipping business. It was comfortably if plainly, furnished with good-quality Quaker furniture which was designed to last.

Today, the house is considered to be nationally important and is Grade 1 listed.

The museum has rich collections of original material relating to Captain James Cook's life in Whitby, as well as to his voyages. Ship plans and documents provide fascinating insights into life on board ship, including problems of accommodation and personality clashes between crew members. Sketches, watercolours, prints, and paintings give graphic illustrations of lush tropical islands and the seemingly idyllic lives of the inhabitants of the South Seas. The letters Cook wrote to John Walker include descriptions of the voyages in his own words and show his enduring affection for his old master.

The highlight of the museum for me is the attic where the young James Cook slept with the other apprentices John Walker wanted to retain when ashore. As I mentioned above, James was keen to study navigation, maths, and astronomy, the subjects which would advance him in his chosen profession. He was a favourite of the housekeeper, Mary Proud. She would give him extra pieces of candle so that he could read on dark evenings.Read more