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Long forgotten scenes of Great Yarmouth's fishing
industry have been brought back to life at a new museum.
Time And Tide is the latest jewel in the county's
historical crown - and it is now Norfolk's third biggest museum.
A sailor occupies one of the row's shops. |
More than £4.5 million has been spent on
converting it from a herring curing works, which closed in the mid-1980s.
Time And Tide, in Blackfriars Road, has brought
the town's past into the 21st century with a variety of interactive
displays.
The museum - which is centred around the building's
life as an old fish factory - is home to life-size models, puzzles,
games, exhibitions and film shows.
Recreated scenes
Visitors can walk down a row recreated from the
turn of the century and peek into shops and houses, take to the
helm of a 1950s steam drifter and see how an old sea wharf used
to work.
It was heavy work on the sea wharf. |
Parts of the Victorian building have been preserved
so people can see how it was once used.
Visitors can walk into the tall smoke sheds where
fires used to be lit on the floor to cure thousands of herrings
at a time.
The fish used to be pierced on speets (long sticks)
and then these would be laid across loves (wooden bars).
Sights and smells
Although the building was unused for nearly 20
years, the smell of smoked herrings still hangs heavily in the air.
It used to be a balancing act for workers in the smoke sheds. |
One of the worst parts of a herring worker's job
has also been recreated.
A deep pool of brine was used in which to soak
the fish and then a worker would be sent in to the cold, smelly
tanks to retrieve the herrings.
In the days before brine, the fish used to be preserved
in salt piles - and the white mineral marks can still be spotted
on the walls.
Barrel makers
When the workers finished collecting the herrings
from the brine they could warm up in front of the fire in the barrel-makers
or the coopers, which was based on site.
The barrels were used to store the fish and they
were made at the factory to keep up with demand.
Barrels used to be made on the site of the works.
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A life-size model now stands in front of the old
fire along with tools and materials used to make the barrels.
The museum is centred around the original courtyard
which is home to three old fishing boats as well as one for children
to play on.
Rachel Kirk, area museums officer for Great Yarmouth,
said the project gave the museums service the chance to finally
pool their exhibits in to one place.
"The boats have been dotted around various
sheds in Norfolk so it's nice to get them out," she said.
"This has been building up for so long so
we're excited."
Exhibitions and collections
The former Tower Curing Works now boasts collections
and exhibits from the town's Maritime Museum, which closed in 2002.
We do love to be beside the seaside in Great Yarmouth. |
Time And Tide traces Great Yarmouth's history from
when it was part of mainland Europe and mammoths roamed the land.
There is a display of bones excavated from the
North Sea as well as a clump of mammoth hair.
These pieces sit alongside the Gorleston Hoard
- a collection of Bronze Age weapons and axes which were found in
1952.
The exhibition in the old packing area also features
an Anglo-Saxon boat carved out of a tree trunk.
From the Ice Age, the exhibitions go on to tell
the stories of wrecks and rescues, wartime Great Yarmouth, the town's
life as a top seaside resort and its industrial history.
There are lots of nuggets of information to be
gleaned from the displays.
For instance, did you know Grouts of Great Yarmouth
made the black silk crepe that Queen Victoria wore while in mourning?
Fun and games
Children -and adults - can try to catch the herrings. |
The museum is peppered with a range of interactive
displays and games to enchant children.
There are also viewing posts where you can watch
old footage of the town's fishing industry and listen to people's
memories and hear sea shanties.
It was important to the museum's staff that Time
And Tide would appeal to a wide range of visitors.
"We have involved the local community and
have done public consultations over the years," said Rachel
Kirk.
"We've tried to incorporate what people want
and that's to make it fun and appeal to all audiences," she
added.
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