The Herring Smokehouse Museum
Discover the rich history of Great Yarmouth's fishing heritage, housed in a 700-year-old building that once processed 20,000 herrings at a time
The walls that now shelter our organisation, On-Your-Side, hold a history as rich and deep as the town of Great Yarmouth itself.
Located in one of the town's most historic quarters, the OYS centre was once a thriving herring smokehouse during the golden age of the East Coast fishing industry. The building is a testament to Great Yarmouth's past, abutting directly against the 700-year-old Medieval Town Wall and constructed from salvaged timbers washed ashore from shipwrecks along our coastline. These include a ship's keel, masts, a Jarrah wood staircase, and fishing boat rudders serving as benches.
For over 300 years, this tradition of maintenance continued, with each generation of owners honouring the principle of using what the sea provided and leaving their mark and character in the building.
Heritage and History
The Town Wall – Standing Guard for Centuries
Completed in the late 13th century after over a hundred years of construction, the original Town Wall stretched for one mile and 530 yards and featured 16 fortified towers. Today, 11 of those towers still stand, including the nearby South East Tower. Walking the route allows you to trace this formidable defensive line that protected the town for centuries.
In the 16th century, the town rallied to fortify the wall against a feared attack by the Spanish fleet. Resources were scarce, and the repairs tell a story of ingenuity: anything that could be repurposed was used to patch the brick and flint. If you look closely, you can still find remnants of salvaged artefacts embedded in the ancient stone.
From Prosperity to Dereliction and Rebirth
The Smokehouse Chambers
For five generations, the smokehouse was owned by the Heyhoe family, a local institution steeped in the traditions of the fishing community.
This double-height chamber could have held 20,000 herrings hung on borks or speats. Men would access the chamber from the first floor, straddling the space while standing on the wooden beams to hang the herrings. On the floor, oak chippings would be spread, set alight, and left to smoulder to smoke the fish.
In total, 64 women and a number of men and children worked in this building.
The "Silver Darlings" (Fisher Girls)
The "Silver Darlings" were highly skilled in gutting, salting, and packing the fish to preserve them.
However, the Great Yarmouth fishing industry declined, and this smokehouse was forced to close in 1965. For the next fifteen years, the buildings fell silent and began to decay, its purpose lost to time.
Since then, amid a variety of uses, the smokehouse chambers—the oldest remaining in Great Yarmouth—have been preserved in their original form. They now house a small museum of the herring fishery, the ancillary industries, and the men and women who worked here. Visitors can also see the steeps where fresh herrings were stored in brine and the netting room where the drift nets were repaired.
The Ancient Well & Tea Room
In what is now our peaceful tea room, a 700-year-old well lies at the centre of the former gutting room. Before mains water arrived, this was one of many wells that supplied fresh drinking water to the town's residents.
For 300 years, however, the well in this smokehouse was used for a very different purpose: swilling fish guts from the benches and floors. Today, the circular wall surrounding the well is about 300 years old, a later addition to its ancient bore. Despite its long history, the well still holds a depth of 10 to 12 feet of fresh water, a constant and quiet reminder of the history beneath our feet.
Photo Gallery
Images of our historic building, museum displays, and the medieval town wall
Plan Your Visit
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday
10:00 am – 3:30 pm
Excluding bank holidays
What You'll See
- The oldest remaining smokehouse chambers in Great Yarmouth
- Steeps where herrings were stored in brine
- Netting room where drift nets were repaired
- 700-year-old well in our tea room
- Medieval Town Wall
Tea Room
Relax in our peaceful tea room, built around the historic well. Enjoy refreshments in a space that once served as the gutting room of this working smokehouse.