The Lovely Fish Cart
By Richard Fryer
Back in the late ‘60s when I was a child, perhaps only six or seven years old, I clearly remember my mother taking me to the fish cart – which was on South Terrace, she informs me. I remember the old wooden cart wheels and particularly the vivid orange spots on the plaice, probably because, being only four feet high or so, they would have been right in my face.
A year or so ago I started to ponder whether it would be worth bringing back the cart as a wet fish outlet in St Leonards. I had no intention of pushing one all the way from the Old Town every day laden with fish as they used to. I figured if it could be kept in the same pitch it could be resupplied with a van and fish in ice boxes. The idea remained just that, as ideas so often do, until I got talking to my two now business partners, Paul and Lucy, who had also been looking into ideas for bringing fish to St Leonards. Paul is a fisherman, and now catches our fish, while Lucy grew up helping out in her parents’ village grocers and later in their cookshop. Between the three of us, we had the perfect combination of skills and experience.
I went to the Fishermen’s Museum to study the old fish cart therein, made a few sketches and took some measurements, then set out to produce a similar vehicle, sourcing a pair of cart wheels from eBay. Lucy then set about painting it beautifully. The final piece in the jigsaw was provided by Colin and Sharon of Love Cafe, who have very kindly allowed us to set up the cart outside their restaurant at the bottom of Norman Road. Colin said he has always wanted to have local fish on his menu but simply lacked the time to go and buy it, so now there is considerable potential for our two businesses to develop a great symbiosis.
So there you have it: the fish cart lives again. We open from 10.00 till 12.30 Friday and Saturday mornings. All of the fish are caught out there in the Channel (gales permitting) then landed at Hastings and delivered fresh to our stall, or smoked in local smokeries beforehand.
Our ethos is to help people to understand and enjoy the seasonal changes in species available from the rich fisheries just off our coast. We will encourage people to select and cook some of the lesser well known (though fabulously tasty) examples of local fish which will be on offer alongside staples such as cod and plaice. Money spent within the community stays in the community, so come down and support your local economy and take home the freshest fish outside the Old Town.
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