New York pilchard stencil
New York pilchard stencil (click image to enlarge)
Nowhere in Cornwall is more than sixteen miles from the sea. For hundreds of years the whole region has relied on the sea for food, transport, trade and defence and contact with the outside world.Fishing has always been a vital part of the Cornish way of life; pilchard fishing was a major industry in Cornwall from the 18th century onwards. Pilchards arrived off the Cornish coast in huge shoals from July to September and were caught and then salted and pressed in Pilchard cellars, where much of the work was done by women. Pilchards became a favourite of Italian Catholics for religious fasting and hence a major export market for Cornish pilchards. The lids of pilchard casks were marked according to their intended destination using locally-made copper stencils. These pilchard stencils show a New York and Genoa destination and were made at the Newlyn copper works.
The oil produced from pressing the pilchards was sold as lamp oil, this alone could cover all the expenses of the producer and the price of the pressed fish was then profit. Many street lamps in London were lit with the oil from Cornish pilchards.
Pilchard fishing declined from the mid-20th century. Today, small quantities of pilchards are still caught off Cornwall but, as in times past, fishing remains a hardy occupation.
