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Skilled hands / Hessle Road, Hull
The Working Life of Hessle Road
Trawlermen, fish workers, net braiders and local trades: the skilled hands that helped build a community.
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Our illustrated heritage collection.Read the story alongside the artwork.
Researched 10 October 2026 · A growing community archive
01
Trawlermen
Crews worked together to catch and handle fish at sea. Memories recorded by Hull Maritime describe the demanding teamwork and net skills involved. Their homes and families connected distant fishing grounds with the streets of the Hessle Road community.
02
Fish workers
The fishing industry depended on work ashore as well as afloat. Processing and packing the catch provided employment for women and men. Hull Maritime's exhibitions and community stories preserve memories of women's working lives in the food and fishing industries.
03
Net braiders
Nets needed skilled making and repair. Former trawlerman Peter Burrows recalls that women braided nets around the terraces off Boulevard, while crews also learned the craft for their work at sea. This was a practical skill connecting home, shore and vessel.
04
Shopkeepers
Grocers, butchers, bakers and other traders supplied local households. STAND's published recollections of the main road describe a variety of shops and the people behind them. Family memories can tell us more about deliveries, apprenticeships and life behind the counter.
05
Tailors and outfitters
Tailors and clothing businesses formed part of Hessle Road's trading life. Research at the University of Hull describes the range of tailoring businesses used by Hull's trawlermen, including those on Hessle Road. Clothing was part of both working life and the occasions people dressed for ashore.
06
Boot and clog makers
STAND's recollections include Brown's clog makers and outfitters on the main road. Footwear businesses connected practical needs with specialist craft. The illustration celebrates that trade without claiming to portray a particular named worker or workshop.
Your part of the story
What do you remember?
Send a photograph, family memory, name or correction. Include the place, approximate date, the people you recognise and permission to publish.Email Info@hessleroad.com ↗Contribution guidance →Research sources & illustration notes
The scenes are AI-assisted artistic impressions of types of work, rather than photographs or portraits of named workers. Fishing and processing jobs connected the community with docks and workplaces beyond the road itself. Shop and trade recollections can be expanded with your family memories.
Hull Maritime: Peter Burrows's first-person account of trawling, teamwork and net braiding, including women braiding around the terraces off Boulevard. ↗
MyLearning: Life in Hull's Fishing Community, linking trawlermen, dock workers and factory workers with the Hessle Road area. ↗
Hull Maritime: Fisherwomen exhibition, recognising women's role in processing the catch. ↗
Hull Maritime: Pattie Slappers display and recorded memories of women in food processing. ↗
STAND: Educational Hub, including Some Memories of Hessle Road - Post World War 2 (1954), with named main-road traders, tailors, outfitters and clog makers. These are published recollections. ↗
University of Hull research: King of the Deck, including discussion of tailors and clothing businesses on Hessle Road. ↗
Follow another thread
There’s more to discover.
The Headscarf Revolutionaries ↗Famous Names of Hessle Road ↗View all 18 illustrated stories →
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