A tale of grit and guts

THE women stand huddled together against the cold, a biting wind whipping their clothes, as they anxiously watch and wait. In the sea below them are fishing cobles manned by their husbands and sons, the wooden vessels being tossed on the merciless waves. The women can only avert their eyes, clinging to each other in wrenching heartbreak, as the realisation dawns of what is happening: the boats are being wrecked on the rocks and their loved ones perishing in the angry squalls.

This is what happened in Eyemouth, in the Scottish Borders, in 1881, in what was the worst fishing disaster in British history. The men, of whom 189 lost their lives, were ordinary, working class people, trying to scratch a living following the herring shoals down the East coast and the women, similarly, workers whose lives were inextricably linked with the sea. While the men followed the herring, the women followed the men, waiting at each port to gut and pack the fish, in a tradition that spanned generations.

It was messy and undignified work – the women were often segregated in guesthouses due to the stench of their clothes – but among the “herring lassies”, some as young as 14, there was intense kinship. As folklore has it, when gutting the herring, they would often cut themselves, so would have to tie their fingers with cloth, and if a scale lodged itself in someone’s eye, another woman would, without flinching, lick it out.

It is the story of these remarkable women, and their strength and endurance, which has inspired a new arts project, Follow the Herring, launched in South Shields. Led by local theatre The Customs House, it aims to revive the tradition of travelling down the East coast with the herring shoals through a combination of visual art, performance, and community involvement.

Starting in May, the project will tour from Scotland to Great Yarmouth, visiting a total of 12 coastal towns including South Shields and Hartlepool. Its centrepiece will be a traditional fishing coble, Salma’s Dream, built by members of the North East Maritime Trust, which was decorated by a hand-knitted “coat”

as part of an earlier project. Communities in each of the 12 towns, and those beyond them, are being encouraged to knit herring to embellish Salma’s Dream. They are also being invited to form choirs and learn songs to accompany a play, Get Up and Tie Your Fingers, by Ann Coburn, whose title alludes to the herring lassies’ crude bandaging of wounds and which is centred on their lives.

Ray Spencer, of The Customs House, in South Shields, which is leading the project

A key concept of the project is encouraging those living in the fishing towns to make it their own, so that it will be different in each one. It is hoped that everyone will be able to contribute and, in doing so, that the communities will gain an insight into a way of life which was once so vital to the East coast, which has now all but disappeared.

Ray Spencer, executive director of The Customs House, says Follow the Herring was borne of what he saw as a synthesis. “When the Arts Council asked for ideas for a strategic touring bid that would engage people in the arts, I thought there was a natural synergy with the boat we had created and the story of the herring fleet. Right down the East coast communities are coming together, celebrating their fishing heritage. We will arrive in each area and the community will have created an exhibition to which Salma’s Dream will be central.”

It is hoped the project will both stir memories and educate people, perhaps too young to have heard of the herring trade. Nowhere will it be more poignant than in Cockburn, a town in the Scottish Borders. “We are putting on a special performance because fisher wives settled there after the disaster and their ancestors still live there,” says Ray.

“Men going out fishing and being lost is something that still goes on today. There is a little coastal town in Essex which has a community choir made up of the wives of fishermen and its sole purpose is to raise cash for families which have lost husbands and sons at sea. There’s a resonance still in those communities.”

HERRING fishing was deeply ingrained in the North-East’s culture, inspiring songs and providing a vital food source.

Ray has been fascinated to learn more about the trade.

“I don’t think anybody can possibly imagine how big an industry it was,” he says. “Every part of the herring was used because there weren’t a lot of options for people in terms of cheap, plentiful food. It’s hard to imagine the lives of those herring fishing women because they worked so hard and they had to do it instantly because they had to move onto the next port.

Herring packing

“I had no idea of the processing of herring until I visited the herring museum in Great Yarmouth. It was cut and smoked, then shipped round the world.”

Two of the project’s main contributors will be the North East Maritime Trust, which will oversee the boat’s installation at each venue, and the South Shields-based knitting group Materialistics. Having both been involved in the original “Coat for a Boat” exhibition, they were delighted to see it take on new life.

For Kate Wild, of Materialistics, and Dave Parker, of the Maritime Trust, taking part in building and decorating Salma’s Dream was more than just a distraction – it was life-changing, equipping both with new skills and enduring interests (Materialistics was formed as a direct result of the project). Kate describes the enjoyment of creating something “just for its own sake”, and both she and Dave, neither of whom had backgrounds in the arts, now say they feel confident in creating artworks.

“I didn’t have a knitting background and didn’t like knitting before Coat for a Boat, but I loved the idea of knitting with enormous needles and using things like plastic bags and bin liners,” says Kate.

“The boat sailed down the Tyne and when it came out of storage, it was decided that it needed a complete refurbishment, and we were asked if we would undertake that. A lot of people are very excited because making the coat was such good fun.

All the other venues will be producing things to go alongside the exhibition.

“We are hoping that knitting groups will be established where there aren’t any already. We hope to maintain links and communications with the other knitting groups. It’s all about community involvement.

Herring Inspection

It’s about being part of something that is art when you’re not actually an artist. It’s not one of life’s essentials, but it does enhance people’s lives. It provides a social outlet and that’s the whole point.”