Shiell's Kipper House

Site of kipper factory. Kipper tails were a cheap yet nutritious meal for low income families. J. Shiells, fish curer, is listed in Wards Directory of 1892. The business was operating from Foundry Lane from at least 1890. The Shiells moved to Newcastle from Scotland. The business closed during the Second World War due to poor supplies of fish, but it was reopened again after the War. The site was sold to Kelly Plant Hire in the 1970s. The kipper house, which was a tall wooden shed where the herrings were smoked and prepared, has gone, but the small brick office building survives. Tall stone walls survive fronting towards the Ouseburn. It is said that the drains to the Ouseburn still run orange from the fish dyes {Ouseburn Heritage 2002}.