All along the cost, the sea also gave people a living in various
ways.
At Beckfoot, Bill Storey carted sand and gravel from the shore.
Most of it was used by local builders, some was used to repair the roads.
In Allonby, the Twentyman family operated a ship-breaking business.
This reached its peak in the early 1900s, as steel replaced wood in the
manufacture of new vessels.
Fifty years later, ship-breaking returned to the area; this time in
Silloth. The Ardmore Steel Company started operations in the outer dock in
1965.
The sea and the docks have always been central to Silloth’s
economy. There have always been large, ocean-going ships with cargoes to unload
and there has always been a fleet of smaller fishing boats.
Generations of several local families have made a living from
fishing the Solway’s waters.
Brothers Stanley and Cyril Akitt with their boat the 'Anne' |
One of these families, the Baxters, built the old landing stage
and, in the summer months, supplemented their income from fishing by offering
trips to visitors.
Even a disaster could lead to extra work for local men. Here a
group of them are salvaging the wreck of the ‘Scotsman’ which ran aground in
1906.
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