63/606

Baskets - an exhibition of craftmen's work, Creative Communities during Covid-19

Stanley Bird (Manufacturer)

This eel trap, used for catching eels, was made by Stanley Bird of Great Yarmouth for the Museum. It is a Fenland eel trap made of cane, both round and split, with steel rings and galvanised wire. Because the pith has been removed from the cane, the trap is able to sink by itself without the need for weights. It is bottle shaped with the base of the bottle going up inside the trap with the ends of the stakes coming together loosely enough to allow eels to pass through. Other names for the eel trap include ‘eel pot’ in Norfolk, ‘putcher’ in Gloucestershire, ‘grig’ in Sussex, the Fens, Oxfordshire and the River Severn, and ‘hive’ in Cambridgeshire.

1 eel trap: cane, steel, wire

An order of 12 baskets from Stanley Bird (Basketware) Ltd. to Dorothy Wright, care of the Keeper at MERL. According to the delivery note, the order consisted of: 1 quarter cran; 1 small cran; 1 eighth cran; 1 oblong Hull lander; 1 oval Aberdeen lander; 1 liver basket; 1 ice basket; 1 trawl basket; 1 cobbing basket; 1 kipper basket; 1 wash basket; 1 eel pot., Stanley Bird (Basketware) Ltd. label: All cane eel pot (for catching eels)., MERL 'Catalogue of baskets' form – 'NAME: EEL TRAP (basketwork) // Acc. No.: 63/606 // Group: FISHING. FRESHWATER. // Neg. no.: 60/5250–1 // Place of origin: Great Yarmouth. Norfolk. // Period in use: Present. // DESCRIPTION // Materials: Cane, round & split. 2 metal rings, & 2 lengths of galvanised wire. // Shape and construction: Bottle-shaped but the base of the bottle goes up inside it with the ends of the stakes coming together loosely enough to allow the eels to go through. 19 stakes. Randed with split cane. Trac border at the neck edge. 2 lines of wire support the stake holding 2 rings. // Dimensions: Diam. neck: 4 1/2” diam: widest part: 12” Height: 29” // Use: For catching eels in the Fen country. // Dialect names: Eel Pot. Norfolk // Distribution: // Additional notes: see Illus. C.3'

Great Yarmouth

1963 - 1963

Trap, eel, Basketwork

Plant fibre, rattan, Metal, steel

Wright, Dorothy (Recorder)