True's Yard Museum
Encyclopedia
True's Yard Museum is a social history Museum in King's Lynn
, Norfolk
. It is an independent Museum run almost entirely by volunteers and depicts the story of the old North End fishing quarter of King's Lynn. Support was received from the late Bernard Matthews
and others. Most of the North End was knocked down in the Slum Clearances of the 1930s and 1960s.
which was kept under the bed.
situated to the rear.
A favourite smoked fish in the North End was the 'bloater
' or a herring
smoked whole.
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. It is an independent Museum run almost entirely by volunteers and depicts the story of the old North End fishing quarter of King's Lynn. Support was received from the late Bernard Matthews
Bernard Matthews
Bernard Matthews Farms Ltd is a British farming and food products business, which specialises in the farming of turkeys. Founded by Bernard Matthews in 1950, as Bernard Matthews Foods Ltd, the company is headquartered in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and has 56 farms throughout Norfolk, Suffolk and...
and others. Most of the North End was knocked down in the Slum Clearances of the 1930s and 1960s.
The Cottages
The cottages consist of just two rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. At one time in cottage no.5 a family of eleven squeezed into the tiny rooms. The nine children had to sleep in one double bed, top to tail, while the parents had to sleep on the floor. There were no toilet facilities, instead they used a chamber potChamber pot
A chamber pot is a bowl-shaped container with a handle, and often a lid, kept in the bedroom under a bed or in the cabinet of a nightstand and...
which was kept under the bed.
The Smokehouse
Opened in the 1890s by retired fisherman Thomas Westwood, along with his wife Mary and three daughters, Mary, Penelope and Emily. He also had two sons Thomas and Charles. The family also opened a fishmongers in the front room of the house that faced St. Ann's Street, from which they sold the fish they smoked in the smokehouseSmokehouse
A smokehouse is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.-History:...
situated to the rear.
A favourite smoked fish in the North End was the 'bloater
Bloater (herring)
Bloaters are a type of smoked herring. They are different from the kippers as they are smoked whole, with its innards intact which gives it its unique gamey flavour. The bloater is associated with Great Yarmouth, England; the kipper with Scotland and the Isle of Man...
' or a herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
smoked whole.