Fishing Gallery

Fish wharf at Billingsgate Market CC72_01834

BILLINGSGATE MARKET, Lower Thames Street, City of London. Looking from London Bridge down the Thames with the Tower of London in the distance, and the old Billingsgate Market in the foreground to the left. For centuries this was the main wharf for fishing vessels to unload and moor, with the Custom House next door. Photographed by Henry Taunt in 1880

© Historic England

Netting sheds, Lowestoft AA98_12838

Lowestoft, Suffolk. Interior view of stored nets in netting sheds at Shoals Yard. Fishing nets were an essential tool for the fisherman and required considerable maintenance. After each fishing trip, nets had to be laid out to dry and any tears mended. They also had to be washed regularly using a solution traditionally made of oak or birch bark to reduce damage from sea salt. They were then stored in special netting sheds. Photographed by Hallam Ashley in September 1968

© Historic England

Herring Girls, Great Yarmouth AA98_17150

Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. A group of women, possibly Scottish herring girls, on the quay with herring boats beyond. Although the herring trade began to decline in the 1930s due to increased competition from a wider range of tinned foods, the herring girls continued to follow the migrating shoals in the early post-War years. Photographed by Hallam Ashley in November 1947

© Historic England