Net Boiler

The following building shall be added to the list LYDD BATTERY ROAD TR 0420 1/10003 Net boiler II Net boiler, later c19. Square structure of tarred brick about 4 by 5 feet wide and 2½ feet high with brick chimney in one corner. Cemented parapet. Circular metal tanning copper in centre. Rectangular aperture at ground level in one side. Net boilers were used for dying and preserving fishing nets and clothing such as overalls and aprons. The circular copper tub was filled with water and a fire lit underneath. Resin from Burma was placed in a basket above the tub and slowly dissolved. When the water was stained to a dark brown, the nets and clothes used for a day's fishing were soaked in the solution to protect them against the ravages of sea water. The nets would be used for one day's fishing only and then dried out again to set the dye. Fishermen often boiled their nets on the same day and it was a social occasion. This tanning copper was larger than most examples and is now a very rare survival of a process associated with the fishing industry.

Listing NGR: TR0916218378