Heritagisation of a Former Fisheries-Dependent Community: Examining the Role of Heritage-Led Regeneration at North Shields Fish Quay

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Fish, Oyster, Whale: The Archaeology of Maritime Traditions", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

North Shields Fish Quay has a long history as a flourishing fishing port. However, by the end of the 20th century, its reputation was of disuse and dereliction. Significant heritage-led regeneration prompted it to emerge as an attractive commercial and residential quarter. This relied heavily on the use of fishing heritage to create a distinctive brand to attract tourists, businesses, and future investment. While its aesthetic appeal has been heightened, the developments have incurred the alienation of local communities from their former work and social spaces. This research connects the Fish Quay’s long history with recent reconfigurations to explore how the turn to heritage reflects capitalism’s propensity to find new, powerful ways to put humans and nature to work following crisis in the fishing industry. It employs an interdisciplinary methodology, centring on the contemporary landscape of the Fish Quay, combining the use of maps, photography, interviews, and critical discourse analysis.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Fish, Oyster, Whale: The Archaeology of Maritime Traditions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow