Photograph - Pyefleet| River Colne| 1920
Fishing Vessel
Vessels that were built in the Coastal Communities of Essex for a variety of Commercial Fishing Activities. Each type of vessel containing unique design traits making them indicative of not only their requirements to work in a geographically location but of there wider standing with in a social context of a time period.
Fishing Smack
Class I and II smacks designed to fish using the stowboating method
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A Cinque Port on the Colne which has been a vibrate ship and boat building port.
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Class II Essex Fishing Smack built by Aldous
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Built by Aldous in 1890.
Named after Ada, Dick and Charlie.
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Built by Aldous in 1888
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44’ Class II fishing smack built by Aldous in 1884.
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Built by Aldous in 1912
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Built by Aldous in 1907
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Built by Aldous in 1895
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Built by Kidby in 1906 for Joe Ingate of Tollesbury.
She is named after his wife Charlotte Ellen nee Cottis. They married in St Mary’s Church on Christmas Day 1890.
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Built by Kidby in 1907 for Alfred Stokes
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At the head of the Colne, Rowhedge has a long maritime history
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Class I Fishing Smack.
Built in 1864 by Harris of Rowhedge
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Built by Harris of Rowhedge
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Class II Essex Fishing smack built in 1866 by Haris of Rowhedge
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A port at the top of the Blackwater that has held the Charter for building war ships
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Class II Fishing Smack built by Howard of Maldon
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At the mouth of the River Crouch
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50ft Class II Fishing smack.
Built by King’s of Burnham
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Once a vibrate hub for boatbuilding and oyster fishery
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Built in 1911 at Shutterwood’s in Pagglesham
Oyster Smack
A Class III smack used for the dredging of oysters
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The smack building industry was vibrate at the turn of the 20th C in Brightlingsea. Aldous built many many smacks and still 19 Class III examples survive to this day.
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Class III oyster smack built by Aldous
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Class III oyster smack built by Aldous
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Class III Oyster Smack built by Aldous
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Class III smack built by Aldous
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Class III smack built by Aldous
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Class III smack built by Aldous
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The George & Alice is a Class III smack built by Aldous
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Class III oyster smack built by Aldous
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Class III oyster smack built by Aldous
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Class III Oyster smack built by Aldous
Built in 1900 for Leslie French of West Mersea
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Built by Aldous
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Class III oyster smack built by Aldous
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Class III oyster smack built by Aldous
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Class III oyster smack built by Aldous
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Class III oyster smack built by Aldous
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Class III smack built by Aldous
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Class III oyster smack built by Aldous
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Class III oyster smack built by Aldous in 1901
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Class III Oyster smack built in Brightlingsea
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The last example of a Stone’s built Class III oyster smack
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Class III oyster smack
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At the top of the River Blackwater, Howard, Williamson and Cook were producing a variety of oyster smacks for a variety of owners
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The oldest fishing boat in the fleet.
Built in 1808 by Williamson she has seen many changes in her many years
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A Class III oyster smack built by Williamson
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A class III oyster smack built by Howards in 1876
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Class III oyster smack by Walter Cook
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A class III oyster smack built by Howards
Catch up with with her owner here when we had a Yarns
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A class III oyster smack built in Maldon by Howard
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A class III oyster smack built by Howard in 1889
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A Class III oyster smack built in Maldon by Howards in 1880
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Positioned at the mouth of the River Crouch very few of the smacks built here remain operational with only two examples of an oyster smack left
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A class III smack built at Burham in 1850
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Class III smack built at Burnham in 1875. She was also owned by William Stebbing.
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Still an area with a viable oyster fishery, its history was steeped in the history of the industry of the 1800’s
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A real success story of the remaining Class III oyster smacks.
Built in the boatshed at Pagglesham by Halls for Petite, a very successful oysterman and benefactor to the area
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A Class III oyster smack built in the boatshed at Pagglesham by Halls for Wiseman. He was a successful oysterman in the area.
Bawley
A vessel designed to catch and also to boil their catch aboard
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Only three bawleys remain that were built by Aldous of Brightlingsea
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Built by Aldous in 1903
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Built by Aldous in 1905
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Built by Aldous in 1930 for the Youngs family
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Aldous Built in 1938.
Believed by a bomb while building built then once again while on mine sweeping duties during the war
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The busy port of Harwich on the East of the County has produced many vessels over many centuries
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A cockle fishing vessel bulit by Cann’s in 1909 at the Gas House Creek yard.
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A fishing boat with a boiler on board built by Cann’s at the Gas House Creek site in 1906
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Built by Cann in 1904 at the Gas House Creek site
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Built by Canns
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Built by John Henry Vaux in the Naval Yard at Harwich in 1886.
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Built at Harwich by the Norman Bros
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Built by Norman Brothers in 1888
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Only two examples are remaining of the vessels that were built here to fish for the poplar shellfish
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Built in 1905
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Built in 1914
Bumpkin
An open skiff used in the oyster and sprat industry
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At the turn of the 1900’s this port had a very vibrate sprat and oyster industry.
As a consequence there were many working boats built in the yards that lined the shore of this historic port.
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A 21’ open skiff built by Kidby, she used to transfer the sprat catch from the Class I and II fishing smacks to the hard, where the barrels of sprats would be unloaded into carts to be taken to yards that salted and packed them for export.
She was then taken round to Mersea in her later working life to be worked in the oyster industry there.
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A 19’ open skiff built by Kidby and used in the spratting industry that was thriving around her build date of 1900.
Later in her life she was to be taken round to West Mersea and used this time in the oyster industy
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Built by Kidby.
A 19’ open skiff used in the sprat industry of Brightlingsea
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The latest restored sprat skiff that was built by Kidby c.1900 for the Norfolk family in Brightlingsea.
There were many many of these skiffs built for this important industry in Brightlingsea.
Today only four remain.
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17’ skiff built by Kidby c.1900
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A sailing oyster skiff built by Kidby in 1930.
Designed for oyster dredging, she is named after George Stoker of West Mersea, the son of her owner.
She is one of only two examples of these sailing oyster skiffs remaining.
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A 21’ open sailing oyster skiff built in 1930 by Aldous of Brightlingsea.
Designed for the oyster merchants Henry and Fred Banks of West Mersea.
She is the last of two surviving sailing oyster dredging skiffs.
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Famous for its Native Oyster industry, West Mersea also built a number of vessels for the trade.
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An oyster skiff built in Mersea by Wyatts in 1947.
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Built for the oyster industry in West Mersea in the 1950’s. by Wyatts. They were an important part of the fleet.
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A 21’ open oyster bumpkin built at West Mersea c.1950 by Jack Emery
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The last one built at West Mersea by Jack Emeny in 1960.
She worked in the oyster industry until 2001
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Built by Wyatts. She was the first skiff built after the war in West Mersea.
21’ oyster dredging skiff, she has been worked by the Oyster merchants Haward’s of West Mersea until 2012.
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built at Brightlingsea
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An incredible hidden heritage where the fishermen were held in high regard by the wealthy owners of the super racing yachts of the turn of the 20th C.
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A beautiful Edwardian open sailing skiff built by Drakes at the Woodruff Boatyard in 1911.
Winklebrig
A sailing boat used in the winkle industry of West Mersea
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These little fishing boats were built here for the owners at West Mersea
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A 15’ open sailing boat built by Kidby for West Mersea in 1920.
She has remained in the same family throughout her 100 years
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15’ open sailing boat built by Kidby at Brightlingsea for the Musset family at West Mersea
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15’ open sailing boat built by Kidby of Brightlingsea in 1925
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An open sailing winkle boat built by Kidby
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Only two examples are left of the locally built Mersea winkle brigs
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A 15’ open sailing boat used in winkle industry built by Wyatts
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One of only two original Mersea built open sailing working boats built by Wyatts
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Cargo Vessel
Thames Sailing Barges - Motor Barges - Open Boats - Ketches - Lighters
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Fishing Vessel
Fishing Smack - Oyster Smack - Bawley - Cockler - Skiff
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Harbour Vessel
Tugs - Dredgers - Workboats - Harbour Launch
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Passenger Vessel
Ferry - Pleasure Craft - Trip Boat
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Small Craft
Punts - Tenders - Pull Skiffs - Tow Boat
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Infrastructure
Wharfs - Quaysides - Slipways - Cranes