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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Norfolk => Topic started by: Blue Jacket on Monday 12 July 10 20:38 BST (UK)
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Hi.
As well as researching my family history (the NURSE families from Weybourne & Kelling) I am researching the fishing & maritime history of Sheringham and to a lesser extent North Norfolk. Please may I ask if there are any members who have any information such as vessel's names, date built etc they are willing to pass on to me?
Any information will be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
Regards.
Blue Jacket.
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hi blue jacket
i,ve googled sheringham fishing boats &quite a few sites came up maybe you,ve already looked if not try it yourself looks interesting info , will go back myself later on some rare characters in the photo,s
yours trevor
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Hi Trevor .
Thanks for your reply to my request. I have been through the internet a few times looking for Sheringham fishing boats and as you say there were some interesting characters. The information I am really looking for is the large Luggers & Dandies owned at Sheringham in the 1800's
These were large vesels and used to go fishing from ports such as Grimsby, Scarborough & Great Yarmouth etc.
Regards.
Ken Blue Jacket.
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hi blue jacket
so the boats your looking for are for deep fishing waters ? ,and what was or is a dandie as a type of craft i,ve heard of luggers didnt smugglers use them? as well have you thought to look on am---n for books on what your after as it,s surprising what there sellers have in the way of secondhand books also google second hand book shops , trevor
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blue jacket had a look online have you seen the Wooden boat forum looks like it could be of use to you
trevor
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Hi Trevor.
Thanks, I will certainly have a look at the wooden boat forum. Smugglers did use luggers. Almost any vessel that was rigged with a dipping lugsail was known as a lugger and required a fairly large crew to work them. The only difference between a smuggling lugger and a fishing lugger was the hull. The smuggling luggers were built light and with clean lean hulls for speed and the fishing lugger were built heavier with hulls a lot broader in the beam and as a result were a lot slower and more steadier in the water.
Dandy refer to the rig of a fishing vessel, the hull were the same as a lugger. In the latter part of the 1800S many lugger were converted to the dandy rig as this required less crew to work them. A dandy rig as it was referred to had a gaff rigged mainsail and a lugsail mizzen sail. The gaff rigged mainsail was loose footed as it is said the fishermen preferred to be clouted round the head with a piece of wet canvas rather than a lump of wood (referring to a boom) while they were working on the deck.
Many thanks for your help.
Regards
Blue Jacket.
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hi blue jacket
if the gaff rig was loose footed ,no boom , it must have put a hell of a strain on the mainsail then when in a strong blow although i can see the point of it , i don,t know much about ships and the rigging and there terms but it,s good to learn , i,ve been looking at a site i use for s/hand books and have found thre that sound interesting they might be of use to you at ABEBOOKS.co.uk i put in fishing boats as a category . only overall it seems that from hull going north to scotland the fishing ind is well covered for info so is devon & cornwall but not so much for east anglia , do hope you have some luck with this , if i start to bore you with my ramblings tell me it seems i can e mail for england as well !! ;D
trevor
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Hi Trevor.
I have had a look at ABEBOOKS in the past, there were several books for Norfolk, but unfortunately none about the subject I am interested in. Possibly the next thing to do is go through the early Lloyds Shipping Registers that are online and see if that can throw up a few vessels etc.
Don't worry about rambling, I am also a great rambler once I get started. People talking is the best way to learn and gather information, so it is not a problem. More people should try it.
Regards
Blue Jacket.
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hi blue jacket
i tried googling east anglian bookshops last night but could,nt find anything that would help it appears if you want info on boats from hull right up to scotland and round cornwall and the south coast they come up by the trawl ! , just had a thought i wonder if the frances frith site might have photo,s on the subject i,ll go and have a look
take care , trevor
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whato blue jacket
i,ve just had a wander round the net the francis frith collection has got a few photos of sheringham fishermen and one or two boats but no names on them they look more like inshore boats , also have you seen the sheringham museum site it says that they,ve got some fishing boats as exhibits heres there e-mail address might be worth a go to see if they can help or pass you on to someone who can it,s - enquiries@sheringhammuseum.co.uk .
hope it helps will keep looking for you best of luck trevor
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Hi Trevor.
Thanks for your message. I have seen the Sheringham Museum website, in fact I live in Sheringham and the results of my research will be given to the museum for the use of future researchers. Although my main interest is the maritime & fishing history of Sheringham, I will record any maritime & fishing information for the North Norfolk coast if found while researching Sheringham.. It is a facinating history full of local characters and interesting incident
Regards
Blue Jacket.
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Hi, My family were all Sheringham fishermen although some were born in Runton or Beeston Regis. My GG Grandfather was on a boat docked in Grimsby in the 1881 census. His boat was "New Admiral", all the crew were Sheringham men, the crew amounted to 8 including the Captain. They were also crab fishermen whose boats were all made by Emery. I know the fishing boats weren't luggers but as far back as I can remember they were all open boats with diesel engines and oars. Hope this helps.
Kind regards, Lyn
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Hi Lyn.
Thanks for your message.This is the first message I have received from someone who is connected with the Sheringham fishing families. For over twenty five years I was a crab fisherman at Sheringham until rapidly failing eye sight forced me to give up, but have always kept a keen interest in the Sheringham fishing and its history.
During research into my family history (NURSE families from Weybourne & Kelling) I found a very distant relative Thomas NURSE was on the "New Admiral" docked in Grimsby during the 1881 census and this is what really got me into researching the luggers and fishing history of Sheringham.
Regards.
Blue Jacket.
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Hello again, My great grandfather was George Potter on the 1881 census aboard the New Admiral. His actual name was George Hardingham but as a child he used his step-father's surname. I found this very confusing when doing my research because in 1891 census he's George Hardingham. My grandfather was John "Sparrow" Hardingham, he was a crab fisherman all his life on West Beach at Sheringham. He was also one of the Coxswains of Foresters Centenary lifeboat. I now live in High Kelling so not too far from you. Kind regards Lyn
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Hi Lyn.
Thank you for your reply. As a youngster knocking about with the fishermen in the late 1950S and early 1960's I can remember John "Sparrow" Hardingham or Mr Hardingham as us youngsters used to call him. It's a long time ago now and I cannot remember if Mr hardingham was still going to sea then. He used to go to sea with his pal Henry "Pinny" Little in possibly a crab boat called the "White Rose".In my files there is a reproduced postcard by the Norfolk Museum Service of John "Sparrow" Hardingham in his Sheringham Guernsey (Gansey) taken from a 1920;s photograph. I have not included an image here as I do not know if it would infringe copyright, but if you would like a copy I have aspare one you are more than welcome to have.
Regards
Ken
Blue Jacket.
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Hello, Yes my grandad did go to sea with Pinny Little, they owned the boat between them, it was called "Edna" and was named after my mum. He went to sea until he was almost 70 and Pinny decided to call it a day so they sold the boat back to Emery. I don't know what happened to it after that. The boat was originally bought between 3 of them but I can't remember the name of the other man, although I do have a photo of them all. The photo of my grandad in his gansey, which you have a copy of, I have the original hanging in my hallway I inherited it when my grandma died in 1972.
So pleased you are doing research into the fishing industry, it is a dying trade these days, mores the pity.
Kind regards
Lyn