The sight of smoke billowing from the roof of a listed building would usually bring fire engines blue-lighting in from miles around, but in the Northumberland village of Craster it is a sign of business as usual. Four generations of the Robson family have smoked kippers in a lowly stone building that was given a Grade II listing last week.
The listing is a tribute to a way of life as well as to the smokehouse itself, which dates back to 1856. It is a recognition that the work of traditional kipper smoking has itself become part of the industrial heritage. L Robson & Sons is one of few survivors in the north-east of England of a once-thriving herring industry that fell into decline in the early 20th century, when improved transport links and refrigeration made fresh fish cheaper and more widely available.
