Since the age of the train, we’ve crossed the Channel from Dover to Calais by steamship, ferry, hovercraft and, since[…]
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Category: Working Sail
The UK has a strong maritime history, with many coastal communities relying on the sea for a living. This category includes tales of boatbuilders, fishermen, traders, pilots, ships of war and rescue as well as the changing use for many vessels now used as leisure craft.
Michaelmas fishing fair at Yarmouth, 1726
Daniel Defoe describes the fishing fair and other trading activity in Yarmouth, during his travels in Norfolk. He is most[…]
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Blessing the St Malo fishing fleet: 1932
This archive footage from a Pathe Gazette, 1932 shows the Bishop blessing the fleet as they depart St Malo to[…]
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Last of the lumber schooners: ‘C.A Thayer’
This 10-minute film follows the history of the 216-foot tall ship, ‘C.A. Thayer’, built 1895, a little-known gem of the National Parks[…]
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Ferocious storms and fearless lifeboat crews: 1880
The Coxswain and crew of the RNLI lifeboat ‘Lady Leigh’, ably assisted by the ‘rocket apparatus’ of the Coastguards, spent[…]
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Storm off Winterton Ness, 1692
Daniel Defoe describes a terrible disaster when 200 sailing colliers were lost off the east coast of England in 1692.[…]
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Enkhuizen: herring town
Enkhuizen has been a major harbour since the middle ages, and its links with herring fishing are still recognised today[…]
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The Galway hooker: Dutch and Irish connections
‘Cine Mara’ is a replica Galway hooker, built in steel by Rik, a Dutch member of the OGA. She is[…]
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Douarnenez: an historic fishing port
Until the 16th century, Douarnenez was a busy commercial centre exporting local cloth, but its greatest period of prosperity was[…]
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James Herbert, Severn Estuary bargemaster
This extract tells the story of James Herbert, son of an agricultural labourer, who followed many local young men in[…]
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