The Herring Year : Following the Fish, the Fleet and the Folk around the Coast

Every year the shoals of herring moved around the coasts of Britain and every year an army of workers followed them to reap their silver harvest. In a pattern established through the 19th century, tens of thousands of fishermen, gutters, packers, coopers and curers migrated to the main herring ports to join the boat-builders, rope-makers, chandlers, agents, merchants, blacksmiths, carpenters, carters and others who sustained the industry. They came from the Hebrides and Highlands, and from the fishing villages and towns of the North and East to spend the season at the herring. This exhibition, featuring original artwork by local artist, Jake Brown, illustrates the routes they took using photographs, postcards and souvenirs collected along the way. It also looks at the impact of this annual migration on the people who travelled, the ports they visited, and the communities they left behind.