A Brief History of Herring Fishing in the British Isles in the 19th century Ok, so we know that Ganseys were fishermen's sweaters but why did we need so many hand-knitters that it became an industry in itself? In October 1869, Bowden's the drapers of Looe required; 500 good Frock Knitters, constant employment. That's a LOT of knitters for a small coastal village. So lets start with the Herring.

Atlantic Herring the largest of the Clupeidae are found throughout British and Irish waters and have been a commercially important fish stock for over 500 years. They follow an annual migration cycle from feeding to spawning ground. (see the map above) As spawning approaches they gather in shallow bays in large shoals when they are usually caught. Techniques remained unchanged throughout the 1800s to 1950. Driftnets or Seine Nets were used like a giant curtain to scoop the shoals up. In the late 18th century, the British Government offered large financial incentives alongside export subsidies to break the long standing Dutch dominance of the North Sea Herring Trade. That factor combined with the extension of the Railway and Transport network which allowed cured Herring to be shipped overnight from coastal hubs, meant that the industry boomed quickly in the British Isles. This in turn led to a demand in workwear to clothe the busy fishermen which in turn created good demand for contract Gansey knitters in Cornwall and Devon.

Herring does not store well because it is a fatty fish so a method of preserving known as Dutch Cure was developed as a response. The herring were packed in tight spirals inside a wooden barrel and layered with salt. Much of the gutting and processing work was carried out by women, especially the Scots Herring Girls who followed the fleet around the country from Shetland to Cornwall. It was extremely hard work, cold and hard on the hands. They worked in trios, two women to gut and one to pack. They could process a herring a second which is a phenomenal speed. When these women had leisure time they were often knitting and singing. Their gansey motifs were undoubtedly shared with the communities around the coast and traded with the ones they found there also.

Cornish drifters and luggers fished all year round and had a crew of 4. Many of the boats were built in St Ives by boat builders such as William Paynter and Henry Trevorrow. The herring were sold in Spain, Portugal and Italy. In Polporro, there is a pilchard processing factory once owned by the Teglio family from Modena and Genoa, Italy. It is now the Polperro Heritage Museum of Smuggling and Fishing but the Teglios' portraits still hang on the walls and you can see signage from this period painted directly onto brick walls inside the building.

The herring were brought ashore in hand barrows called gurries. They became the most important fishery stock in Cornwall between 1890 and 1930. It was a good but hard business, for local fishermen and their families. However, the industry finally collapsed due to overfishing caused in part by new, large industrial sized trawlers. Both World Wars proved catastrophic for the industry too. Many Fishing vessels were requisitioned by the Royal Navy for military service and Fishermen found themselves in the defence against the enemy. After the war, the fishermen never fully recovered their export markets. In 1977, the North Sea Herring biomass plummeted to an estimated 150,000 tons forcing a multi year fishing ban to let the species recover. During the UK ban, European buyer sourced their supplies from alternative Scandinavian fisheries meaning local fleets failed to reclaim their commercial shared even after stock partially recovered. Today, Herring stock is strictly monitored and Inshore/Regional limits are in place by Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and CIFCA. Stocks are still low and so management remains in place together with a rebuilding plan.