1. Shellfish and its Role in UK History and Culture
Janet H Brown
Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling
When I was invited to give this talk back in June I have to admit I completely misunderstood my brief! I thought Dot was asking me to talk on the history of shellfish culture in the UK – ah yes, no problem, I could immediately picture all that I would cover and accepted readily. But then I got the next e mail – shellfish and its role in the UK culture and history – like “Cockles and mussels alive alive O” Woops! My immediate response to that was one I have to apologise for – “Cockles and mussels is an Irish song….not part of UK culture….But then again…..shellfish and its role in UK HISTORY and culture, Ireland was only separated from Great Britain relatively recently – take a long term view
Definitely a challenge and let’s see where it takes us.
But if one thinks of the UK definitely a maritime state, while fish and chips might come to mind very readily, we certainly don’t have, on first viewing, a culture redolent of shellfish, unlike the French where on first arrival aboard the Eurostar from London one is greeted by the sight of the Terminus Nord with its magnificent display of oysters, langoustines and myriad other shellfish…
Or if one takes the Eurostar to Brussels instead – mussels and chips is the dish of the day – Belgians apparently eat 8kgs of mussels per year while Dutch eat a mere half!
But preparing this talk has been highly instructive for me. For a scientist to talk on culture is really to take one out of one’s comfort zone. However, the extent to which shellfish have pervaded the language , culture and history and how it influences us now is an interesting tale so I hope I can do it justice.
Taking a scientist out of their comfort zone – that was my first thought – but then I heard a talk which said “ Once you are fed and clothed sufficient to keep out the cold…the rest is culture” – this gives me a fairly wide brief and alos indeed totalk about science if I wish since by this definition science is very much part of culture.
In fact we will see evidence that science and arts very much inform each other especially when it comes to shellfish.!!

2. The popular image of shellfish in the UK could be summed up thus: as plate of oysters served on a bed of ice, with chilled white wine preferably champagne. They enjoy a perception of the food of the wealthy.
Indeed a SEAFISH survey showed that main purchasers of shellfish were from the AB social group, pretty much pictured as middle class, middle aged, professional and female - it was ME!
But it was not always thus. In fact there has been something of a roller coaster, albeit a rather slowly moving one, taking shellfish from subsistence food to highly sought after food for the wealthy for a long time through our island history,

3. “it all started with the Romans….”
Like so many things in the UK it all started with the Romans…..
Before the Romans arrived shellfish were regarded as subsistence food – but the Romans arriving in 43AD changed all that….
Shells of oysters whelks cockles mussels and limpets all found at sites of Roman villas, towns and forts – my source says - even “far from the sea” But this is all relative.
Furthest point from the sea in GB is just 70 miles – although you can significantly reduce this distance if you compute it to the nearest water showing a marked tidal effect…..
But to the Romans it was the native oyster Ostrea edulis that was most sought after and was shipped to Rome itself on ice from England.

4. Scallop decoration from Verulamium UK 150AD
The last were cheats in that they were mosaics from Pompeii but here is one to show it was not totally unfair. – This is from St Albans, England, dated 150AD

5. Skara Brae – neolithic village
But once the Romans left oysters lost its place as a delicacy and shellfish reverted back to what they had originally been –seen here is Skarra Brae –Skara Brae, a Neolithic village in Orkney was inhabited from approximately 5,000 years ago.
The inhabitants grew barley, raised cattle and sheep, and hunted seabirds and collected their eggs. They were also fishermen, as well as shells of cockles, mussels, crabs and oysters being found in their middens.

6. Role of the church in mediaeval times
However, the church then had its role in medieval days – they imposed a number of “fish days” Lent, all Fridays and Saturdays until late middle ages.
Fish by their definition conveniently included beavers, seals and barnacle geese – and could not be mixed with meat. Shellfish would very much be part of this.
This demarcation broke down after 17th century and one begins to find recipes for oysters with roast capon and duck.
But there then comes the idea that oysters became an acceptable way to pad out meat dishes – steak and oyster pie for example. Oysters starting to become food for the poor……

7. Generous interpretation of “fish”

8. “Poverty and oysters always seem to go together”
Victorian times
“Poverty and oysters always seem to go together”
By the time we come to Victorian times oysters have really descended to being the food of the poor….
This is perfectly illustrated by what is apparently a famous quote from the Pickwick Papers of Charles Dickens. “Poverty and oysters always seem to go together”
But this actually turns out to be a rather more interesting quote than at first sight. It is a remark made by Sam Weller, manservant to Mr Pickwick as they are travelling out of London on their way to Ipswich. This took them through a poor part of the city, Whitechaple.
Mr Pickwick does not understand what Sam means by this remark so Sam explains more fully
“ What I mean Sir, is, that the poorer a place is, the greater call there seems to be for oysters. Look ‘ere sir; here’s a oyster stall to evry half-dozen houses. The streets lined vith ’em. Blessed if I don’t think that ven a man’s wery poor, he rushes out of his lodgings and eats oysters in reg’lar desperation”
To be sure he does” said Mr Weller senior, “and its just the same with pickled salmon”
Those are 2 very remarkable facts which never occurred to me before said Mr Pickwick
Nor me either!!!
Pickwick Papers was written in There is altogether an oyster ethos in the book,
Sam Weller described in the next chapter as very like an oyster…His Father seeing him eating his breakfast which included a draught of finest ale which he takes half a glass of as his father says …. "Wery good power o' suction, Sammy,". "You'd ha' made an uncommon fine oyster, Sammy, if you'd been born in that station o' life." "Yes, I des-say I should ha' managed to pick up a respectable livin'," replied Sam,

9. Is this the sort of scene that was being described
Is this the sort of scene that was being described? This is a pencil sketch from the famous British artist JMW Turner circa 1832
At this time the oyster fisheries were still booming. At the turn of the century the production from the Firth of Forth near my home was 30million oysters per year. Markets boomed but
Check the literature later that century……

10. Science informing literature?
"O Oysters, come and walk with us!" The Walrus did beseech.
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four, To give a hand to each."
1871 literature throws up an altogether different picture the tale of the Walrus and the Carpenter from”Through the looking glass and what Alice found there”
I can’t quote it all - it starts the sun was shining brilliz\ntly, shinining with allits might – you may know it – but further on
The eldest Oyster looked at him,
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head–
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.
But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed,
their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat–
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn't any feet.
Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more–
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.
ending up……..
"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none–
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.
This was pretty much the situation!!!

11. Rise and fall of the oyster fleets
Production of Firth of Forth in 1800 – 30 million oysters pa
Dramatic fall in production in England thought to be related to advent of railways
First imports to boost production made in 1870s – Crassostrea virginica from USA and Ostrea edulis from France and Holland
And with the imports came the diseases and the pests and that becomes a dark tale indeed – for another time perhaps
But then if you bring mussels into the story you get an altogether darker story still
In recent years farming of mussels has developed, first in Ireland, then Scotland and increasingly now also in England – current produciton in Scotland is about 5000tonnes pa….,
But we are still an awfully long way from the moules and frites culture of Belgium, and it is surprising since the price for cod is ?/ while mussels are about £3 kg
Is there perhaps a reason behind this?

12. Darker story still with mussels
This first view was taken of a beautiful sunset on the west coast of Scotland. – the islands of Eigg, Rhum and Muck with the sun setting behid them But using the trickery of my digital camera I can reveal what is hidden…..ruined crofts alongside the sea…symptom of the
The Highland Clearances; when traditional crofters, the clans people of the chieftains, who had been given land in return for fighting support over the centuries were removed wholesale from the lands; after the Rebellions in 1715 and 1745 the system broke down and to but to put it succinctly, the people were moved off their land to make room for the Cheviot sheep. Now some landowners were “enlightened and did provide transportation out of Scotland but the progress from the people losing their land to their safe and eventually successful establishment in Canada, USA New Zealand and Australia was a tale of misery and suffering. Many landowners provided prepared lands at the coast, others including the Duke of Sutherland merely evicted the tenants by the simple expedient of burning their houses to the ground – this in a timber poor area where it became very difficult to rebuild when everything one had had been destroyed. The evicted were forced to the coast where they subsisted on poor land relying on the sea for what they could get – Mussels are one of the easiest collected and most plentiful products so became a life saver for these poor people – but ever after, mussels are associated in the highland mind with being at the very very bottom of the ladder – what you eat as a vagrant so very much the last refuge…..something no self respecting person would eat if they could afford not to.
A point of particular interest for this audience……
The first shipment of Highlanders to the Carolinas was in fact made in 1739 – when Macdonald of Sleat and Macleod of Dunvegan sold their people as indentured servants for the Carolinas!

13. Cromarty But first emigrations became a flood
This is on the other side of the country.
On this stone – the Emigration stone” are carved the names of all the boats leaving from the Cromarty area and the words of a famous son of Cromarty, Hugh Millar, a self educated polymath are engraved
"The Cleopatra as she swept past the town of Cromarty was greeted with three cheers by crowds of the inhabitants and the emigrants returned the salute, but mingled with the dash of the waves and the murmurs of the breeze, their faint huzzas seemed rather sounds of wailing and lamentation than of a congratulatory farewell."

14. Map of Tain and Dornoch Firth
This is just to illustrate where I am talking about – first photo taken roughly here and
Cromarty is here.
\judst north of here is Tain on the Dornoch Firth where there are extremly rich mussels beds. These wer gifted to the people of Tain for their commmon good by King James 6th of Scotland, the 1st of England (his mistress apparantly lived nearby)…
Now Tain as the administrative heart of the area now hlds many of the legal documents associated with the clearances…..
And this area has one of the cleared sites at Inver where the displced people were forced to build their shelters….

15. Photos and work courtesy of shell artist Blott Kerr-Wilson
So when Tain staged a shellfish festival and invited shell artist Blott Kewrr Wilosn to stage an exhibition it is not perhaps surprising she chose the Highland Clearances as the title of her show – illustrating how the displaced folk were forced to depend on the humble mussel…….
Blott Kerr Wilson is a continuation of a long tradition of shell design in the UK and she now works all over the world, currently indeed in Florida – these are some of her recent works – and the back drop to my presentation is a design she made from mussel shells for a commission in Cornwall
Photos and work courtesy of shell artist Blott Kerr-Wilson

16. The shells in th elower section of the wall for the cookery school uses shells directly from the kitchens!
More Blott Kerr Wilson – left from cookery school in Ballymaloe and above an orangerie in France

17. And you may recognise her work as used as a back drop for my slides – this is a design she did for a house in Cornwall

18. She is building on the tradition of shell art from the late 18th
She is building on the tradition of shell art from the late 18th? century onwards
Much of her work is currently spent renovating such works as this – this is from The Shell House, Goodwood House.
But the shell houses were symptom of the 18th and 19th century urge to collect – and geology and conchology became highly respectable hobbies for the Victorians

19. But the shell houses were symptom of the 17th and 18th century urge to collect – and geology and conchology became highly respectable hobbies for the Victorians……
Glaucus above by Charles Kingsley –published in 1855 is basically encouraging healthy exercise with a purpose, the purpose being the healthy study of the sea shore including even the keeping of seawater aquaria…..
Thi sis also perhaps illustrative of the extremes of wealth and poverty in Victorian times - one luxury the moneyed Victorians enjoyed was the leisure time to study – Kingsley actually says in Glaucus “ how better to spend 6 weeks by the seaside than in discovering the joys of the seashore”
While the “Popular British Conchology published in 1854 with its golden whelk on the cover gives an altogether more up market image of the whelk than I will be presenting later!

20. The Water Baby by Herbert James Draper 1900
This Victorian interest reflected in the art – this by a popular Victorian artist at the turn of the century Herbert James Draper - named A Water Baby
Charles Kingsley published his famous book The Water Babies in 1863

21. In Victorian times such pursuits became more widely followed – earlier they had been scientists making the collection
Such collectors from slightly earlier times were the Tradescants, John tradescant the Older and John tradescant the younger! Famous for their importations of plants from all over the world, famous collectors whose house became known as the Ark – their collections became the foundation of The Asmolean Museum in Oxford.
The Ashmolean Museum – the Tradescants. More famous for being plant importers who gave their name to some well know n garden plants. But they were generally great collectors and it is with shells that they are depicted in this painting by -
Note the display of shells – very artistic I think.

22. Other shells in art – this is an extremely modern work commissioned for Aldeburgh as a memorial to Benjamin Britten – has cause d huge controversy…….I for one cannot understand why
Maggi Hambling's Scallop (2003) stands on the north end of Aldeburgh beach. It is a tribute to Benjamin Britten and is pierced with the words "I hear those voices that will not be drowned" from his opera Peter Grimes.

23. A far more famous artist in the UK is Damian Hirst
A far more famous artist in the UK is Damian Hirst. I don’t know to what extent his fame spreads here but perhaps tales of his wealth do……..
This is just to remind you of some of his more famous work
Or perhaps you are like me in the company of the boy seeing the Emperor’s new clothes for the first time…..
“If you were not already in the company of the small boy with regard to the Emperor’s new clothes as far as Damien Hirst with his pickled shark and pickled sheep and his “hymn to man” which is basically a biological supply company model fro teaching school kids basic anatomy – then the lack of vision in his display of shells should totally convince you to share my jaundiced view!!!!
I get mad that someone can rip off the old biologists quite so barefacedly……or am I just mad he has become a billionaire by his efforts ?
Hymn to man

24. 1 of Damien Hurst’s 4 gifts to the Tate Modern
But if yu are not already convinced – note his artful way with his shell collection………Forms without life 1991
I think we have already seen better displays but for sure no one will have been so richly rewarded for theirs!!
1 of Damien Hurst’s 4 gifts to the Tate Modern

25. Birmingham
I have talked of oysters as a luxury market and eating mussels as a badge of shame
Further south – in Birmingham where I originally come from you can find shellfish as part of a major trade – in the manufacture of mother of pearl buttons
The button trade employed many people, particularly in the factories where a division of labour was necessary to cover the various processes. However, there was one type of button which could not be produced in this way and that was the pearl button. Parliament had banned the import of pearl buttons at around the end of the 18th century and Birmingham had become an ideal place for pearl button manufacture. The material, which was generally obtained from mother-of-pearl, Abalone, and good Mollusc shells, was very fragile and so it had to be carefully worked by hand. For this reason the more robust 'Yellow-lip' Oyster shell from the west coast of Australia was greatly preferred whenever it was available. Because of the fragile disposition of the material the pearl button industry was only to be found in small workshops and these were manned by highly skilled workshop craftsmen and were run by small masters.

26. East End culture
There has been recent interest in reviving some of the dishes that have definite working class connotations in some of the “posh” restaurants of London where they are serving “codger food….dishes such as fresh whelks and cockles or potted shrimp at Sheekeys restaurant – now a posh restaurant – once a shellfish stall!
Famous painting of the Shrimp girl by Hogarth Hogarth well known for his representation of the poor of London and in searching out this picture I did think I was looking for a portrait of an oyster seller…..but as a shrimp seller she was stillpart of the shellfish culture of London

27. The Shrimp Girl by William Hogarth
Famous painting of the Shrimp girl by Hogarth. Hogarth well known for his representation of the poor of London and in searching out this picture I did think I was looking for a portrait of an oyster seller…..but as a shrimp seller she was still part of the shellfish culture of London

28. Connections to Birmingham again
Another aspect of the East End which connects back to the Birmingham trade…..in
'Pearlies' date back to 1875 when a young orphan, Henry Croft, admiring the pearl button seams on some of the market traders, decided to go one better and cover his entire suit in buttons. With the attention this drew he set about collecting money to help others.
Pearly Kings and Queens
Costermongers of Whitechapel – it crops up a gain
'Pearlies' date back to 1875 when a young orphan, Henry Croft, admiring the pearl button seams on some of the market traders, decided to go one better and cover his entire suit in buttons. With the attention this drew he set about collecting money to help others.Today, around 30 East End families continue the tradition to raise money for various charities.Each London Borough has a King and Queen, as do the City of London and the City of Westminster.

29. Winkle Pickers
Other ways shellfish turn up in our English language – not sure if this use has made it across the Atlantic
The teddy boys with their winkle picker shoes – reminiscent of the pin given to people buying their pint of winkles….nowadays you have to be given a toothpick since a pin is too dangerous!

30. Half of voters say Brown would struggle to run a whelk stall - Daily Mail November 2007
But a more colourful expression still…..whelks being one up from winkles.
First used reputedly by Winston Churchill for the post war labour government of Clement Atlee….. In November 2007 it was being said that Gordon Brown couldn’t run a whelk stall.
In these days of European legislation, on traceability, food safety and food hygiene legislation running a whelk stall is no longer the bottom of the pile as far as easy businesses to run are concerned-
And maybe the joke rebounded somewhat with in October 08 Gordon Brown being seen as something of a financial guru…….pictured here at a meeting of the IMF in new York …..not sure if that view made it across here either!

31. Cockles and mussels alive alive O
Shellfish in art
Ihad to stop somewhere – so finally here is sweet Molly Malone!!!

32. Grateful for this book as a source of some photos – excellent publication
Also tanks to Blott Kerr Wilson, Denny Conway and ?? For photographic work

33. Thank you
ICSR