Captain Cook Memorial Museum

Before you go: the practical facts

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Address

Grape Lane, Whitby, YO22 4BA. Phone 01947 601900. From the town side, cross the swing bridge, turn right into Grape Lane and the museum is on the right at the end.

Who runs it

the Cook Museum Trust, a registered charity. It is an Accredited Museum.

Admission

adults £11. Accompanied children up to 16 go free.

Opening

the 2026 main season runs daily, 10am to 5pm, until Sunday 1 November. In November 2026 the museum opens on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11am to 3pm. The museum closes for winter from December until the February half term; check its website for the exact 2027 reopening date.

Dogs

registered assistance dogs are welcome inside. Other dogs must wait in the courtyard on a lead.

Toilets

two WCs, one of them accessible.

Shop

postcards, books, prints and replica instruments.

Accessibility

the house is Grade I listed, built in 1688 over four floors with many small rooms. Short ramps link the street entrance, courtyard and ground floor rooms. A lift from reception takes one wheelchair and a carer at a time to the first floor. A film of the second floor and attic plays on the ground floor. Wheelchair users can be set down at the loading bay at the Grape Lane entrance.

Car parks

the museum has none of its own. The nearest is the council's Church Street car park (YO22 4AS), about 100 yards away, with 95 spaces including three disabled bays. See /plan/parking.

Public transport

Esk Valley line trains and North Yorkshire Moors Railway steam trains both run into Whitby station.

What you will see

You enter from a courtyard garden overlooking the harbour. The ground floor rooms are furnished from an inventory made in the early 1750s. The Blue Room is plain and handsome, in keeping with Quaker principles. Upstairs, the first and second floors follow Cook's life and career, with original voyage artwork: watercolours, pencil drawings and sketches made on his expeditions. At the top of the house is the attic, with beams partly reused from old ships, where the young Cook would have slept. It hosts the annual special exhibition; in 2026 that was "Imagined Geographies and First Encounters", on Cook's meetings with Pacific peoples.

A short history

James Cook was born on 27 October 1728 at Marton-in-Cleveland. His family moved to Great Ayton (/places/great-ayton), where his father was foreman at Aireyholme Farm. In 1745 he went to work in a shop in Staithes (/places/staithes). The Grape Lane house was built in 1688. It passed to the Walker family in 1729; the Walkers were Quaker shipowners in the coal trade between the North East and London. In 1746 Cook, then seventeen, came to be apprenticed to John Walker, and Whitby tradition has long held that he lodged here. He first went to sea on the Walkers' collier Freelove in February 1747, became mate of the Friendship in 1752, and in June 1755 volunteered for the Royal Navy. The Endeavour, the ship of his first great voyage, was a Whitby-built collier. The Cook Museum Trust bought the house in 1985, and the museum opened in 1987.

Tips and timing

• In November, plan your Whitby day around a Tuesday or Thursday visit. Combine it with the walk up to the abbey on the same side of the harbour.

Nearby

• Whitby
• Things to do in Whitby
• Whitby Abbey
• Whitby 199 Steps
• Great Ayton
• Staithes

Captain Cook Memorial Museum FAQs

Is the Captain Cook Memorial Museum open in winter?

In November 2026 it opens on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11am to 3pm. The museum closes for winter from December until the February half term; check its website for the exact 2027 reopening date.

How much does the Captain Cook Memorial Museum cost?

Adult admission is £11, and accompanied children up to 16 go free.

Did Captain Cook live in Whitby?

Yes. In 1746, aged seventeen, he was apprenticed to the shipowner John Walker, and tradition holds that he lodged in this house.

Can you take dogs into the Captain Cook Memorial Museum?

Only registered assistance dogs. Other dogs can wait in the courtyard on a lead.

Is the Captain Cook Memorial Museum wheelchair accessible?

The ground and first floors are, using ramps and a lift. The second floor and attic are shown on film downstairs.

Where do you park for the Captain Cook Memorial Museum?

The nearest car park is the council's Church Street car park (YO22 4AS), about 100 yards away.

Sources checked 29 October 2026: Museum opening times and admission; Museum house history; Museum parking and accessibility; Museum finding us; Cook in Whitby; Museum special exhibition 2026; Historic England 1148246; Captain Cook Society; North Yorkshire Council Church Street car park.