There is a fish in Leeds Kirkgate Market that stands out from the rest. It’s unlike any other fish in the market - maybe even throughout the whole city.
The preserved pike, which sits pride of place at a fishmonger’s stall, is a very old specimen and has been turning heads for 140 years. It’s become synonymous with TE Bethell Best Quality Fish and has been passed down from generation to generation of different owners.
But it's been confusing some children who pass-by in the city-centre market, who think the size of its tank is "cruel". They've also asked where the water is.
Read more: Leeds market 'stinky water' bag burst all over fishmonger who had to strip
Current stall owner Suzanne Lemming, 57, loves the cheeky looking pike, which has been preserved since 1882. Suzanne says the little rascal was caught in Stradsett Lake in Norfolk all those years ago.
Suzanne said: “It is eye-catching, everybody who knows us knows that fish. People who recommend us go, ‘girl in red [myself] and pike in’ middle of the counter’.
“We’ve never had a nickname for it. Children make the best comments about it. We had a little girl who said ‘It’s really cruel is that’.
“I asked ‘Why is it cruel?’ She said ‘Because he can’t turn around in that small tank!’
“We’ve had people, mainly children, ask where the water is as well.”
Suzanne bought the stall in 2001 and first saw the pike in the market when she started working there at the age of 18 for a Saturday job.
“I took a year out of school to work in the market and never went back,” said Suzanne. “Working with fish does become a passion, wherever I go now, the first thing I do is buy at a fish-mongers.”
Historically, fish taxidermy was achieved by skinning it, mounting it and then painting it. Methods have since changed because this method can result in deterioration if the fish is stored in the wrong climate. Fish can also be hollowed out and injected with embalming fluid to keep it preserved. It is not known which method was used for Suzanne’s pike.
Leeds Kirkgate Market’s origins date back to 1822 as an open-air market in Briggate. Although it opened in its current form in 1981 after many years of construction.
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