St Monance, East Shore, Harbour. General view with boats in the harbour.

Description St Monance, East Shore, Harbour. General view with boats in the harbour.

Date c. 1885

Collection Papers of Erskine Beveridge, antiquarian, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 747714

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of F 2058

Scope and Content Harbour, St Monans, Fife St Monans, a small fishing port with a natural tidal harbour, sits on the east coast of Fife overlooking the Firth of Forth. This photograph, taken by Erskine Beveridge c.1885, is one of the earliest photographic records of the harbour and some of the sailing drifters that fished out of the port. The harbour, set against a background of 18th- and early 19th-century houses that follow the line of the harbour wall, has a central pier (centre), dating from the late 16th century, that divides it into two basins. The sailing drifters, seen here moored at low tide in the west basin, are of the 'Fifie' type, a local design of two-masted boat which had a characteristic vertical stem and stern. It is interesting to note that the boat on the right, bearing the registration number 'BK 263', was registered in Berwick in England. 'Fifies' fished mainly for herring using nets that 'drifted' behind the boat. They were powerful, undecked vessels that sailed fast with a huge foresail set on a large unstayed mast. This simple rig left plenty of uncluttered space for hauling the nets but also required great skill to handle in heavy weather. Safety on an undecked boat was always an issue, but because the weight of the vessel was kept low down, the crew were less likely to fall overboard in rough seas. 'Fifies' were popular with fishermen as they could carry a great deal of fish. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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