Eels, Dutch Sailors & The Lobster Smack: Canvey’s Surprising Past
Imagine Canvey Island 150 years ago, with Dutch eel boats anchored at Hole Haven and sailors heading ashore to the Lobster Smack. Thousands of live eels passed through Canvey on their remarkable journey towards London’s bustling Billingsgate Market.
DID YOU KNOW that there was a time when you could walk into the Lobster Smack public house on Canvey Island and quite possibly hear more Dutch being spoken than English!
For centuries, eels were a much bigger part of the British diet than they are today, particularly in London, where they were cheap, plentiful and an important everyday food. Demand became so great that Dutch fishermen regularly sailed across the North Sea carrying huge quantities of live eels destined for Billingsgate Fish Market.
And this is where Canvey comes into the story.
The Dutch eel boats would anchor at Hole Haven, beside the Lobster Smack, where the cleaner water provided a useful place to wait with their live cargo before continuing up the Thames.
Imagine the scene 150 years ago: Dutch boats sitting out in Hole Haven with thousands of live eels aboard, sailors rowing ashore and the Lobster Smack full of Dutch voices and songs.
Those eels would eventually arrive in London, where they were eaten stewed, fried or jellied and helped create the traditional pie, mash and liquor culture that survives today.
And the eels themselves had an incredible story. European eels found in our rivers and creeks begin life thousands of miles away in the Sargasso Sea before making the extraordinary journey to Europe.
Another reminder of just how closely our local history is tied to the River Thames and the sea.
