THE HERRING GIRL STATUE, NORTH SHIELDS
Concrete plinth installed in North Shields
Over the past few weeks, the Hamilton Steel team has been hard at work on a project in collaboration with North Tyneside Council to honour the Fish Quay’s heritage and culture.
The council planned to introduce a new monument to recognise the significance of the role that herring girls played in the Fish Quay industry that is prominent in North Shields.
Ray Lonsdale designed and produced the sculpture, which features a life-sized traditional herring girl sitting on a barrel and holding up a herring in each hand. It symbolises the ladies who salted and gutted the herring as they migrated down the southern coast.
As part of the North Shields Fishermen’s £19,000 heritage project, we were responsible for constructing the concrete plinth for the brand-new statue. We designed and installed this plinth on the renowned Western Fish Quay in North Shields in time for the big reveal.
On Friday, September 22, 2023, North Tyneside Council unveiled the statue to the general public. Schoolchildren paraded down the quay and sang local songs for officials, including the Mayor of North Tyneside, the Lord Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear, and the Bishop of Newcastle, as part of a ceremony to honour the area’s history.
The event proved to be a great success and highlighted the strong sense of community in the North Tyneside area.
We are incredibly proud of our participation in this local project and thrilled to have been a part of this historic chapter for North Shields.
