Fascinating pictures have revealed a glimpse into the life of 19th Century 'fisher girls' who would abseil down huge cliff faces to fetch mussels and limpets.
Rare photos have emerged from the collection of Victorian diarist Arthur Munby, who was a great supporter of working women in hard labour jobs in the 1860s.
Mr Munby befriended fisher girls in Scarborough, Flamborough and Filey in Yorkshire, and others in Tyneside, visiting them several times and eventually photographing their efforts.
The mussels and limpets were collected by women and then passed on to local fishermen to be used as bait on their boats at sea, which kept the trade thriving.
The women, some aged as young as 11, would come from towns and villages in Yorkshire and displayed great bravery, with Mr Munby writing they were fearless while descending down cliffs.
In a diary dated 1867, he wrote: 'The men clung to the rope with both hands in climbing, while the girls used only one hand, steadying their baskets with the other.'
Fascinating photos have revealed a glimpse into the lives of 'fisher girls' in Yorkshire in the 1860s. The pictures were commissioned by poet and diarist Arthur Munby, who was a great supporter of working women. Pictured on the beach at Flamborough, Yorkshire, in 1867 are Molly Nettleton, left, and Sally Mainprize, right, two of the fisher girls Mr Munby befriended
The women would bravely descend down cliff faces on the coast of the North Sea and collect mussels and limpets, which would later be used as bait on fishing boats. This meant scaling down slippery rocks, often with just a single rope to secure them. Pictured are Miss Nettleton, left, Miss Mainprize, centre, and an unidentified fisher girl, right, in 1867
Many of the girls started working on the cliffs from a young age, with some starting at just 11. Even once they braved the descent down the cliffs, they could easily slip on the rocks at the bottom and get hurt. Pictured left are two fisher girls from Cullercoats in North Tyneside pictured in 1875, while right are Annie Born, left, and Hannah Hunter, who collected mussels in Filey, Yorkshire, in 1867
It is unknown exactly how much fisher girls like these women pictured in Flamborough in 1867 were paid, but their wages are likely to have been very low despite the dangers the work posed to their health. Mr Munby wrote that even experienced women and girls often slipped on weeds and fell into pools among the rocks, but would often spring back up and return to their work
They included Molly Nettleton, who had been working on the cliffs since she was 11 years old and would often descend 200ft down slippery rocks secured by just a single rope.
Mr Munby also wrote about how resilient the fisher girls were, including one in Flamborough called Sally Mainprize.
He said: 'Even Sally's practised foot was not always safe on the slippery weed: looking up, and raising her arm to wave me a salute, she slipped and fell sideways into a pool; but was up again in not time, uninjured.
And when finished, the girls impressively carried full baskets around balanced on their heads.
It is unknown exactly how much they were paid but their wages are likely to have been very low.
But the women were able to use special fisher girl train tickets to get to the coastal areas, costing 3p, or around £3.30 today.
Even after piloting the rope, the slippery rocks at the bottom were not straight-forward and could easily cause accidents.
After visiting Scarborough, Flamborough and Filey in Yorkshire several times during the 1860s and 1870s, Mr Munby was able to strike up several friendships with the local fisher girls and eventually persuaded them to pose for a local photographer, provided they got a copy. Pictured left is 15-year-old Janie Crawford in Filey in 1871, while right are two unidentified girls in Scarborough in 1876
Mr Munby, pictured right in 1873, travelled the country to observe working women and is pictured here with female miner Ellen Grounds in Wigan. He wrote extensively about their different professions and also helped set up an adult education college for women in north London in 1864. Mr Munby was also a published poet and a civil servant for 30 years
The fisher girls' talents extended beyond being able to climb down cliffs. As pictured left in Scarborough in 1875, they were expected to carry heavy equipment as well as baskets of mussels and limpets, and often used their heads to balance the loads on. Meanwhile two women are pictured right mending a net in Scarborough in 1876
Fisher girls came to the Yorkshire coastline from towns and villages around the county, and were able to take advantage of a special train ticket that cost 3p at the time, equivalent to around £3.30 in today's money. Pictured is a fisher girl posing on the beach at Filey in 1873
Mr Munby teamed up with a local photographer to capture their portraits, which they would pose for readily so long as they received a copy.
The rare pictures show the women wearing breeches with baskets full of mussels on their heads as they stand triumphantly on a rocky shore.
Others posed up in a studio still wearing work-gear. In some of the pictures the women grin and appear relaxed, which was unusual for the time.
Mr Munby was from a very different social class to the women and studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, which led to him making some judgmental comments in his notes.
In one passage on Sally, he wrote: 'Spitting on her hands (vulgar creature!) and rubbing them together, she firmly grasped the rope and stepped over the edge.'
Mr Munby, who was educated at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, was fascinated by class differences and wrote in his diaries that the girls performed 'vulgar' acts like spitting on their hands before grabbing onto ropes and descending down cliffs. Pictured left are two fisher girls from Cullercoats, North Tyneside, posing in 1875 while right are Lizzie Holmes, 16, left, an unidentified woman, centre, and Alice Simpson, 18, pictured in Filey in 1869
Mr Munby also said the girls caused a storm when they arrived at railway stations in the late 1800s because higher class passengers looked at them like 'barbarians' due to their 'strange dress'. But their efforts were well appreciated by those in their towns for keeping the local fishing trade thriving. Pictured left are fisher girls Elizabeth Jenks, left, and Fanny Scales, right, in Filey in 1871 while right is an unidentified woman preparing bait in Scarborough in 1876
On meeting the girls at a railway station, he added: 'The well-dressed mobs on the platform looked astounded at the strange dress and stalwart forms of the barbarian fisher girls.'
Mr Munby worked as a civil servant but was a dedicated philanthropist, teaching Latin at one of the world's earliest adult education schools, the Working Men's College in north west London after it was set up in 1854.
A decade later he helped set up a sister college for women, while he was also a published poet.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/12/the-heroic-fisher-girls-of-the-1860s/
Main photo article Fascinating pictures have revealed a glimpse into the life of 19th Century ‘fisher girls’ who would abseil down huge cliff faces to fetch mussels and limpets.
Rare photos have emerged from the collection of Victorian diarist Arthur Munby, who was a great supporter of working women in...
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