Strong Women and the Silver Darlings

By Susan Beanland

Just as the Ituri people of the Congo migrated for food, following the patterns and rhythms of nature, so fleets of boats travelled with the herring as it migrated down the East Coast of Britain from Shetland to East Anglia.

Following this fleet came the Herring Lasses (never referred to as women), an independent band of women of all ages, strong of body and mind. Dressed in colourful clothing and renowned for their cheerful personalities, they were a popular sight as their swift and deft hands prepared the catch of ‘silver darlings’.

Herring was an important part of the Scarborough economy up to 1914 and the main port for landing the catch due to its large and deep harbour. The Cistercians of Rievaulx Abbey had a herring house in King Street from the 12C. By the 15C local trade was in decline, the small cobles unable to compete with the larger and faster vessels of ‘strangers and foreigners’, the Dutch, Flemings, Danes and Scots. The latter would come to dominate the industry.

The coming of the railway in 1845 led to expansion in the herring trade with boats from far afield following the shoals, the catch now easily transported from the ports. The railways also meant ease of travel for the workforce necessary to the successful landing and processing of the catch, the Herring Lasses.

With little alternative employment in the Highlands and Shetlands, women were traditionally involved in fishing. As the Scots fleets began to dominate the industry, due to their refined method (the Scotch Cure), they set on ‘crews’ of highly skilled local women from fishing communities along the coastline of Scotland. Ranging in age from 15 years to septuagenarians, women with physical strength and intelligence were favoured.

Working in crews of three – Gaelic speaking, confident, talkative, with a love of singing as they worked, the ‘lasses’ were a popular attraction at the ports where they passed through. Hair covered to keep out the fish muck; they wore oilskin aprons over old clothing, saving their brightly coloured dresses, packed away in their kists, for Sundays when they would gather to dance, sing and knit to the entertainment of locals and visitors.

A skilled ‘gyper’ could gut 60 fish a minute. The work was hard; 18 hour days without breaks were common. The farlanes (troughs) at which they worked, gutting and splitting the herring, were low to the ground making for back breaking work. The salt covering the herring, to help in gripping the fish and as part of the curing process, added to the pain caused by cuts and nicks from sharp futtles (gutting knives) to already chapped hands. The work was done outside in all weathers. Left handers were not employed as gutters due to the risk of cutting the hands of co-workers and were set to packing barrels – a task which also fell to the tallest in the crew.

The Red Cross and Women’s Organisation offered first aid. The women would bind their fingers each morning with ‘clooties’ – strips of cotton from flour bags. A common wakeup call being, ‘get up an tie yer fingers!’

Blood poisoning was common and serious, leading to the end of the season and considerable loss of income. Fishermen’s Missions would offer free dressings and a warm place to read, rest and knit – an activity the women were famed for. On a Sunday they could be seen walking, talking, singing and knitting, their needles working as swiftly as their futtles. They would stay in local guest houses out of season where landladies would strip out the rooms and line the walls with brown paper as protection against fish guts and the resulting smell!

The Herring Girls were well paid for their labour. A fee (arles) was paid to secure their services for the season. Pay was received, per barrel, at the end of the season plus a generous weekly allowance for food and lodgings. Annie Watt, a herring girl in her youth, was paid 8s per week and 8d per barrel (900-1200 herring) to be shared between the crew. Women in service, by comparison, received 2s and 6d.

About the Author

Susan Beanland - is semi-retired having worked in education and the heritage sector for most of her life. She now enjoys volunteering at the museums service, spending time with her grandsons, knitting and indulging her passion for genealogy and social history.

References

1. Butcher, D. (1987) Following the Fishing

2. Frank, P. (2002) Yorkshire Fisher Folk

3. Binns, J. (2001) The History of Scarborough, North Yorkshire

4. www.thescotfishmuseum.org

5. Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of the Herring www.herripedia.com