Cowbar is a few houses on the western side of Staithes beck and is approached by a narrow road near the cliff edge.
The road need moving back every few years for obvious reasons!
The cliffs are rather easily eroded shale at the base, the upper layer is some kind of glacial deposit I think - a red clay with round stones from small pebbles to boulders.
This looks similar to the soft material at the more well known heavy erosion on Holderness further south.

Here it is much more sporadic with several years when not much happens, then a section will fall and it takes a while for things to settle again.
Cowbar itself is built under a promontory of the same cliff and will undoubtedly eventually itself be at risk from a sudden slip.


http://s6.postimg.org/awofgx9fl/IMG_1510.jpg


http://s6.postimg.org/kfy4adwxt/IMG_1516.jpg
 
Staithes itself is on the other side of the stream and can be approached by a different road (although tourists are supposed to park at the top and walk down)
Looking inland, Cowbar is on the right.


http://s6.postimg.org/xnxi3bugx/IMG_1502.jpg 

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Staithes was on Countryfile the other week, I thought what a lovely place to live

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That steep road on the right in the lowest pic looks rather precarious! In fact looking at the whole area on Google Maps I wonder if they manage to get insurance on their houses.

http://goo.gl/maps/K3kXd 

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Yes that short Terrace at the top of Cowbar Bank is suddenbly going to be so close to the edge it will likley need the first one or two at least demolishing.
When you go past, because you can't see the drop just yards away it does not feel that alarming until you see it from a different angle.

http://s6.postimg.org/ys9n944ch/IMG_1496.jpg 

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Some competition from the south coast for most threatened village

http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~imw/barteros.htm

http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~imw/Barton-Erosion-History.htm

Until the coast defences were put in place the cliff was receding about a yard a year. My mother's house was about 200 yards from the cliff, so it saw her out. Even with the defences, regular cliff falls are a feature of the area.

 

Note; this website is one of an excellent series on the geology of the south coast from Hampshire to Dorset

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My wife's grandmother lives in Barton, you can see her house in the top aerial pic on that page but it is one road back from the sea so should be OK for a while yet. But yes, every time I go there it seems like a few more feet have tipped over the edge. The path you used to be able to walk down to the beach has been closed for a while (although you can still scramble over it if you're not in your 90s!)

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