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Time for tea

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Catherine Deshayes

One of England's most famous houses has been put up for sale - Beckside in Staithes, near Whitby has featured on the Yorkshire Tea box, as well as on postcards, calendars and souvenirs - and you could buy a little piece of history for just £295,000...

The village of Staithes was made famous when Captain James Cook worked there as a boy in 1744 and has been immortalized in the form of the Yorkshire Tea box for years.

The area is one of the most photographed places in the UK and it's easy to see why - from the quayside to the rolling hills and lifeboat station overlooking Roxby Beck.

The house - Beckside - dates back 250 years and started life as a fishermen's cottage when Staithes was one of the busiest fishing ports on the east coast. It later became the home of the lifeboat coxswain.

It is a holiday cottage and has been owned by property investment company Hall White for the last 10 years.

Andrew Revitt, who owns the home with business partners Clare Revitt and Chris and Fran Peace, said, "A friend saw it and picked up the brochure for us.

"When we saw it we fell in love with it and bought it.

"It was a bit tired so we renovated it but we really tried to keep its character because we didn't want to spoil it at all."

"This area of the village is one of the UK's most photographed places, so the cottage features on everything from postcards to the Millennium calendar and on brochures and adverts promoting the east coast, and, of course, on the Yorkshire Tea box.

"I've lost count of the number of people who have said, ‘We've seen your cottage on a chocolate box, tea tray, tea box and so on," he added.

Beckside is always fully booked thanks to the village's popularity and Staithes has even been named "Leeds on Sea" because so many wealthy city dwellers have bought second homes there.

Not sure if that's a positive though...

The house has a large sitting room, kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor and three bedrooms.

It also comes with its own parking space - essential in a village with exceptionally narrow streets.

If you fancy a cottage that's not so much chocolate box as tea box, contact Carter Jonas's York office on 01904 558200.