Why did Victorians love Cheap Stinky Fish? (Feeding the Poor in St. Giles Slum)
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- What a stink Victorian cheap fish must have been! The odour was said to be loathsome, especially by people who worked to cure it, let alone sell it. Hands and clothes would reek of fish, and anything leftover at the end of the day, spoiled by heat of the sun, might be sold illicitly at night, when darkness (and drink) would dim a customer's senses. In the following contemporary account, you will find out how street vendors sold cheap fish on the dirty streets of St. Giles in 1887 - a notorious West London slum. This account is especially enlightening as it includes a photograph of the very people being discussed.
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Credits: Narration - markmanningmedia.com
CC BY - An auctioneer selling fish from a platform, The London Hospital Whiechapel by Wellcome Collection; Creel with sprat by Goerges Jansoone; Close Up of a Man Throwing Fish, Fishmonger Filleting Flatfish by by Videvo.com
#VictorianLondon #VictorianDocumentary #VictorianLondonDocumentary #VictorianEraDocumentary #VictorianLife #Victorian #19thCentury #VictorianEra #VictorianStreetFood #VictorianFish #FactFeast
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▶How BAD was Victorian Coffee? ruclips.net/video/bgH_39_wDyY/видео.html
▶ Eating out in Victorian London: ruclips.net/video/aP1Z5YtQMnI/видео.html
▶ Eating with the Edwardians: ruclips.net/video/EpbckPl0anI/видео.html
▶ Victorian documentaries (Playlist):
ruclips.net/p/PLLSSHJuYZhj5Nupw8SGZGGfVGg1hWjN6z
▶ Edwardian Documentaries (Playlist): ruclips.net/p/PLLSSHJuYZhj4GekxnJ9dF4np2LakeH1LA
What a hard life the working class had in Victorian London. Thanks once again @ Fact Feast!
We should be more grateful for the comfort of 2024.
White privilege …🤔🙄 that’s always ….never mentioned
You're welcome Bob!
People who talk about how horrible things are today obviously don't have a clue about history
When I was a child back in the 60's working class people still ate cod roe regularly . Turns out that cod roe ( like that other cheap staple liver ) was highly nutritious. ✌️
I’m having fish for supper tonight! Not stinky I hope 🙆🏻♀️
How sad the hardships they suffered and still today some in the world suffering.
The am very grateful 💙
On the upside they eventually invented fish and chips and everything improved, especially when wrapped in newspapers. Moving a century or so later in history I had the occasion to visit many third-world countries where the markets were still pretty much like London's of the century before. As a sailor, my visits were generally confined to the coastal cities and so it should be unsurprising that fish markets were prominent, especially by scent. In particular a popular dish in the Philippines was called, and this is what the locals swore to be true, pickled fish and tasted nothing like how it smelled. It smelled nothing like pickles, so I was not fooled and never tested their assurances that it could actually be eaten.
Mark Twain :
Fish are like family after three days, they start stinking.
lol 😅
Amazing photographs and a unique narrative. I sense a history of oyster consumption in London coming on... please! Once the poor man's food, millions were imported from Roman times onward to London every year from Kent, Essex and elsewhere. However, as towns developed, sewage pipes were placed near the oyster beds causing outbreaks of typhoid and other diseases that, ultimately, destroyed this trade. I'm sure you could get to the bottom of that AND uncover some forgotten contemporary narrative. I can only imagine Victorians must have been possessed of much stronger stomachs than us, their cosseted descendants. All the best.
Agreed! Oyster stalls and bars were commonplace. It's often mentioned as food, though I'm not sure it's given much more than passing attention in old reports. I will keep this in mind as I research. Thank you.
I believe oysters were often used to bulk out beef pies as they were cheaper than meat.
I think snuff and handkerchiefs were used to drown out odours. Probably plenty of other ways too. But the smells🤣☘️
Cod does smell horrible...my Mom baked some a few days ago & even my cats would not eat it! I didn't touch it either. Mom said, "Maybe I should have thawed it first before baking." Personally, I doubt it would have made a difference. The smell alone would have gagged a buzzard.😝
Fresh fish doesn’t hardly smell, it may have been spoiled..
@@dennycraig8483 Second this.
Good fish doesnt smell fishy - it should smell like the ocean. Fresh, briney, but never fishy.
Fresh whole fish should be bright with plump clear eyes; old fish looks dull, if you press on it it'll leave an indent, and the eyes will be sunken and or foggy.
If you buy frozen fillets, chances are the fish will be a bit fishy; ive encountered this with shrimp, squid, cod, everything - buying frozen means you cant usually smell if its fresh or not.
If you buy frozen, always thaw before use too; the fillets contain lots of water and will lose it when you thaw. That water smells fishy; thaw it, rinse it, pat dry, and your fillets shouldnt be as strong (cod is one of the mildest flavored fish around, so if you're reeling from the scent: it may have been spoiled)
That was bad fish
The colder weather saved the fish spoiling and not so much of a stench. I can’t imagine what it would have smelt like in the warmer weather. Also decomposing fish guts are the worst smelling things on this earth lol in the warmer weather! Trust me, I’m a fisherman and fish guts 2 days in a carrier bag in the wheelie bin outside has tempted the foxes to gnaw through the bin as the smell is so foul 🤢
The fish must have been a good few days old before it was cooked and not refrigerated, handled in unsanitary conditions…..they must have had stomachs like dogs would have to eat that 😬😬
And too think in other parts off the world they had giant freezers in the middle off deserts 1000s years ago but victorians all these years later had no refrigerating but you bet they had plenty ways too store food safely
The fish would be salted in the barrel.
You would be surprised at what you would eat if you were hungry enough.
I warehoused and sold cheese for 5 years ., I always had a seat on the bus
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀
mmm cheap stinky fish one of the original hangover cures lmao
Frying makes everything taste good xD
Found this channel a month ago can't keep watching what a rough but free life. Much to learn. Thanks fact sheet
Glad this helps you discover more about history.
I learned a new word today - costermonger. I enjoyed this video very much!
Super! There were lots of costermongers in the 19th Century and street hawkers too.
we are so lucky to have access to these photographs and records, and then to have brilliant content creators like Face Feast to compile it all together and create a narrative to teach us all about it - loved it! and wow I was truly shocked when you revealed that small lad in the photo was actually 17!
obviously he would always have been small for his age but malnutrition must certainly have played a part in the reason for his minute size. so sad. thanks for another great video!
My great grandad worked at billingsgate market selling fish. My nan said he would sometimes bring the fish that he hadn't sold that day home for her and her 6 siblings. I'm sure he stank to high heaven, but that fish would probably be the most nutrient dense food they could get their hands on. My poor great nan would be the one having to descale and cook it while he went off to the pub.
Excellent work as always. Thank you Fact Feast team
Thank you so much! Your support is much appreciated.
I was a fish monger, and, I still want to go to an English country pub for fish and chip. Wait, maybe a seaside pub would be better. 🐟
Because they wanted to live? Survival?
Your title here is irresistible 🤔😛
How are you doing sir . Thank you for your wonderful cultural documentary channel. As always iam gathering main information about topics you mentioned briefly here it’s I just found out that type of fish red herring were round staple of Victorian working class diet because they were easily cooked. Other favorites were cheap and easily obtainable varieties with better keeping qualities than more vulnerable white fish including Sparts , eels, shellfish, oysters, mussels, whelks. Best fish is king George white fish . As I read cheap fish of st Gilles in victorian era article street life in London in 1877 by John Thomson and Adolph smith. Street market that stretches between seven dials and what is called five dials , making his pitch by well known new Sagent, whose shop serves as landmark. On day when photograph was taken , he had succeeded in buying barrel of five hundred fish Herring of twenty five shillings. Out of these he selected about two hundred of largest fish , which he sold at penny , while he disposed of smaller herring at half penny . Trade was brisk at that moment through fish is sometimes much cheaper. I have seen fish herring sold at five penny and all more fortunate as notwithstanding small cost . They are expection of good salmon. I hope you like my research. Best wishes for you your dearest ones . Happy mother day . We in Arabic countries celebrate mother day in March as well as you in England.
Great to know you found this interesting. Happy Mothers Day to you too. Thank you Khatoon.
Because they didn't have a wendys 5 minutes down the road
Thank you
You're welcome. Glad you liked it.
Dogs may have been happier then!
Good old days.
Thanks!
Thank you very much! 😊
Their stomachs must have been tough as nails 😳
The Oceans were much cleaner in the 19th Century and before modern drift net trawlers stripped the oceans clean, fish were far more abundant. Fish were a major protein staple in New England back then also.
Nice fan fiction. Got any more?
Roll out the Barrel we'll have a Barrel of fun💯🇬🇧🆘🤑🎬⚖️🥇🙏😇
Britain had a thriving fishing industry, it brought in a good buisness for families of fishmongers.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks Miji. Glad this was of interest!
❤😊
Cheers!
I listen to a RUclips creator and she and her guest was saying that they didn't understand wherefrom the saying that people stinked in the Victorian era and longer back in time came from ! And that the historian's needs to change this information. Need I to say that I ended her video. Well,maybe she and her friend only thought of rich people and not of the common people and the poor, the majoriete of the people ? ! Thanks to you we know the truth.🤍
Sounds like they grew up on the romanticized Victorian era imagery.
The Victorian Era was marked by the Industrial Revolution in England; chamberpots were still a thing and they were often dumped in gutters which dumped directly into rivers and the ocean, whale oil was still a common fuel source for lamps and other applications, tobacco was about as commonplace as candy bars and soda are today, industry was billowing huge quantities of smog and soot into the air due to lack of regulation on the matter (hence coats, hats, cloaks, etc to keep clothing from getting filthy when out and about), and bathing was a luxury that only took place around once a week. Then you add open air food stalls and markets without refrigeration, rats eating the waste and detritus which accumulated in gutters and alleyways, etc etc
Victorian Era stunk horrendously I imagine. The wealthy weren't exempt from it, but they had ways to get away from it.
Very true what you say..