HISTORY 19 



could take their catches by road, or up the 

 Thames, to London, where they found a 

 ready sale. The small open boat gradually 

 gave place to the smack, a two-masted 

 vessel, running up to about 80 feet in 

 length, which was supplied with a cabin 

 and fish room, giving more security and 

 comfort to the fishermen and enabling them 

 to sail farther out and work on the Dogger 

 Bank. The newly-discovered Silver Pit, 

 a valley in the North Sea then containing 

 abundance of soles, especially in the winter 

 time, was at the same period discovered. 

 The smack-owners then found Hull to be a 

 better centre, for, with the advent of the 

 railways, they were able to run the fish up 

 to London and also avail themselves of the 

 demand from the Yorkshire towns. In 

 addition, they were still nearer the North 

 Sea banks, which at that time abounded in 

 fish in such quantities that the fishermen 

 only troubled to save the more valuable 

 varieties. The discoveries of these fruitful 

 pits and banks in a very short time attracted 

 further numbers of fishermen from the 

 South Coast. Their success was extra- 

 ordinary. The quantities of magnificent 



