Fishermen and their families in late medieval and Tudor Kent

Tudor Kent’s extremely long coastline, like that of Cornwall and to a lesser extent Devon, provided the county’s fishermen with a wide range of marine species from shellfish such as oysters and mussels to herring, mackerel, cod, sprats, and other fish, as well as sea mammals including porpoises. The medieval incidence of life-cycle servanthood, as noted for Yorkshire by Jeremy Goldberg, may also have been significant in Kent, including service in the fishing industry. The coastal waters around Kent provided opportunities for fishermen for much of the year, as exemplified by this division of the year into fishing seasons or ‘fares’. Gently sloping foreshores are extremely plentiful along much of Kent’s coastline, including areas close to the coastal settlements and ports, or as at Lydd within a short distance of the town. The flexibility within the crews of the Kentish boats also applied to some of the more senior members of the craft who combined fishing with other commercial activities.