Maritime Heritage
Fishing in Cullercoats
What we will do today
 Learn about fishing in Cullercoats.
 Become familiar with Cullercoats harbour by playing
an eye spy game
 Look at changes in Cullercoats harbour by comparing
what we see to today with old photographs.
Fishing in Cullercoats
 In 1749 Cullercoats was
described as the best
fish market in the north
if England.
 Every family member
had a job to do.
Fishing Families. The Women.
 Girls would be married
and have a child by 16
 They would marry
within the village.
 Their work was hard
and arduous.
Fishing Families.
 Once the men had
landed the fish the
women would pack it.
 They used Creels to
carry the fish.
 They use to attracted
attention by calling
“Caller herring, caller
herring”
Fishing Families – The Children
 Children collected the daily
water from age 5.
 At 10 they were considered
an adult.
 Sons helped on the boats
from age 14
 Girls sold fish from the age
of 12.
 They also had to knit
stockings and sew.
Fishing families – The Men.
 There were several original
fisher family names: Storey,
Armstrong Taylor, Lisle and
Brunton.
 The lives of the men were
one of toil and danger.
 They used a traditional
fishing boat called a coble.
Cobles
The Fish!
Herring
Cod
Salmon
Lobster
Edible Crab
The Houses.
 The cottages were small.
 There were often 3
generations living together.
 There was no inside toilet
or running water.
 Most have now been
demolished.
Winslow Homer’s
The Herring Net
Fisherman’s Fashions
 The men wore jumpers
or “gansys”
 The women wore
printed bodices, a blue
flannel skirt a
neckerchief, home
spun stockings and a
shawl.
Local Words
Cullercoats people had their own words for everyday things:
Stocker
Kneef
Gully
Puddick
The retley’s-in
Soomin
Nammie
a fish caught in a net
a fist
a bread knife
a frog
a minute
swimming
a large turnip.
The Watch House
A Coble
A cottage in Simpson Street