THE HASTINGS CONTEMPORARY art gallery is housed in an elegant modern structure. Some of its large windows and the terrace outside its café look out over the fishing vessels moored on the nearby shingle beach. Other windows give the visitor a view of tall wooden sheds covered with overlapping planks of timber painted black. And yet other windows look towards a couple of long-established purveyors of sea food. The timberwork on the outside of the Hastings Contemporary is painted black to match its towering neighbours.
The tall wooden structures are ‘net shop’ sheds used for storing fishing nets and other gear when not in use. They are called ‘shops’ not because they sell something, but because ‘shop’ is an old-fashioned word for ‘workshop’. A newspaper article (www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/articles/culture/features/the-net-shops-part-one/ ) explained further:
“The Hastings net shops are unique: tall, thin wooden sheds, up to three stories high, painted black, standing side-by-side in clear-cut rows on a part of beach near the sea. Sheds of various shapes and sizes have been on this shingle in front of Hastings Old Town for many centuries, but it was a town planning decision in 1835 that created both the remarkable architectural design and the layout that together make this group of buildings unique. The shops are the traditional storage buildings of the Hastings fishing fleet. They were used in the past to stow gear made from natural materials – cotton nets, hemp ropes, canvas sails, etc – which would rot if left in the open, especially when wet. If possible, the items would be dried on the beach first, and then kept dry inside these weather-proof stores. “
The sheds, the fishing vessels, and the fish shops are all spread along Rock-a-Nore Road, which runs between the cliffs and the seashore, which in this part of Hastings is known as ‘The Stade’. The word ‘stade’ is derived from a Saxon word meaning ‘landing place’.
The two fish shops caught my attention. One of them is called The Net Shop – a jellied eel bar. It is appropriately named because it is right next to a net shop. Established in 1943, this place sells a variety of traditional English seaside seafood delicacies such as: jellied eels, cockles, mussels, oysters, whelks, winkles, dressed crab, prawns, baby octopus, shrimps, crayfish tails, lobster, ocean sticks, and so on. With the exception of the jellied eels, all of the seafood on display looked delicious to me.
The Net Shop jellied eel bar is separated from the Rock-a-Nore Fisheries by the already mentioned timber net shop. The Fisheries shop was started by a member of a family, who had been fishermen since the 19th century. Albert and Lilly set up the shop over 30 years ago. Today, the shop is run by their son Sonny and other members of his family. Sonny’s grandmother:
“… Polly Gannon, used to push a fish cart seven miles from Hastings to Bexhill and back again every day before his parents Albert & Lilly set up Rock-a-Nore Fisheries some 30 years ago.” (https://hastingsflyer.com/hastings-old-town-businesses/).
Sonny’s shop sells wide variety of fish and other seafood. In part of the shop there is an oak-chip fired smokery for smoking seafood. One of their products is smoked salmon. Albert, who worked as a chef in the renowned Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, enjoyed experimenting with food. He invented a smoked salmon cure, which has been used in the shop for many years – its recipe is a well-guarded secret. Smoked sea salt is also on sale.
Had we been staying for a few days in Hastings in accommodation with cooking facilities, I am certain that we would have been regular customers at both the Net Shop and its near neighbour, Rock-a-Nore Fisheries. However, on our most recent visit, we were only in this charming fishing town for a few hours.
yamey 