There were rigid rules about harvesting this, which meant that it could only be done close to high tide. As the seaweed was washed in by the tide the men would put it into small heaps with gevels. This was marking and meant that no one would load it except its marker but if the sea came round the heaps before carting then it became free for anybody to mark again.

It can be appreciated that a man could mark seaweed far quicker than he could load it on a cart so that it was a race to mark as much as possible close to the high water mark and cart it later. Another thing was that on Sunday nights when the tide and winds suited, it was the custom that one would not start marking woar before twelve midnight but this was sometimes not fully observed and I have known of over enthusiastic people who started before twelve, thus stealing a march on their more conscientious neighbours.

One sidelight of interest on this activity was the fact that the Landlord had to be paid one shilling a load on all seaweed taken from the shore, stretching from the back of the Harbour to Lane farm and including the islands. Seaweed from Church and Colt Islands was collected by row boat but horse carts could be used to draw from Shennick between tides.

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Christy Fox (SHS, 1973)

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Christy Fox (SHS, 1973)