Eleanor Crow’s East End Fish Shops
Victoria Fish Bar, Roman Rd
I try to eat fresh fish at least once a week and so, as I travel around the East End, I tend to navigate in relation to the fish shops. Illustrator Eleanor Crow shares a similar passion, witnessed by these loving portraits of top destinations for fish, whether jellied eels, fish & chips or fresh on the slab. “These places are a reminder of our river-dependent history,” Eleanor informed me, “I love the look of London’s famous eel shops with their ornate lettering and wooden partitions. Nothing beats having a proper fishmongers’ shop or market stall in the neighbourhood – not only do the shops look good, but these guys really know about fish.”
F.Cooke, Broadway Market
The Fishery, Stoke Newington High St
George’s Place, Roman Rd
G. Kelly, Bethnal Green Rd
Mike’s Quality Fish Bar, Essex Rd
Davies & Sons, Hoe St
The Fish Plaice, Cambridge Heath Rd
Mersin Fish, Morning Lane
Dennis Chippy, Lea Bridge Rd
Kingfisher, Homerton High St
Mersin 2, Lower Clapton Rd
Golden Fish Bar, Farringdon Rd
Tubby Isaacs, formerly in Aldgate
L. Manze, Walthamstow High St
Sea Food & Fresh Fish, Chatsworth Rd
G. Kelly, Roman Rd
Steve Hatt, Essex Rd
Jonathan Norris, Victoria Park Rd
Downey Brothers, Globe Town Market Sq
Barneys Seafood, Chambers St
Billingsgate Market
Illustrations copyright © Eleanor Crow
You may also like to see Eleanor Crow’s other East End illustrations
Eleanor Crow’s East End Bakers
and read these other fish stories
Manze’s is listed.
Unfortunately, that (lower) end of the High St is in bad decline (again)
These are wonderful. So many familiar ‘faces’. Thank you Gentle Author for another lovely post.
Simply delightful artwork, Eleanor!
How many readers will remember Macfisheries?
Good to see fishmongers surviving and will “Fish and Chips” continue to hold-out the fast-food invasion?
Well, I know what I shall be having for lunch…
More lovely drawings from Eleanor. She is building up a historical archive.
Lovely illustrations. Great to see the end to the decline of these important outlets. The fishmongers especially seemed to have a terrible time over the last 20 years with so many of them closing following the never ending expansion of the supermarkets with their vastly inferior selection and knowledge.
Indeed, there appears to be something of a fishmonger revival with several recent openings including one, the excellent Meek & Mild in my patch in Highbury Barn – started by former staff of the imperious Steve Hatt of Essex Rd.
Brilliant! Thank You, Eleanor, for evocative paintings which bring back happy memories of fish and chips dinners with Gran, as a girl growing up in England. And Thank You, Gentle Author, for sharing Eleanor’s pictures with us. If I’m ever able to go home again I’d love to have a meal in every one of these fish and chip and pie and mash shops!
Wonderful, I would never tire of looking at these.
Eleanor if you’re reading, please publish your work in a book, it’s so beautiful…
PS I tried to take a photograph of the front of the Victoria fish shop once, but the owner was very grumpy and came out to tell me off!
Lovely and evocative images.
I used to work at Monument St and our offices backed on to Lower Thames St where the old Billingsgate Fishmarket was. When it was being gutted by Brent Walker all of the mice migrated across the street to the offices and we were overrun. One of our bosses used to be in the habit of piling up copies of the FT at the side of his desk – his secretary nearly fainted when she moved them and mice were nesting there lol
Not so funny were the rats that migrated to our basement…………..
Wonderful illustrations!
Just stumbled across your website and have been fascinated by it.I have no connection with London or Spitalfields other than that my brother-in-law is descended from Huguenots. May have started out in Spitalfields-no idea . They lived in Kent and were successful sheep farmers. I like to think their family may have lived in one of the buildings you photograph so well. I also like to think of immigrants making their mark on society and contributing to it.
Also, me and my husband ran a chip shop for 20 years,we loved our customers,yes,but we made money from them-MONEY…is that a dirty word? We gave them a fair price and never ripped people off.