South Tyneside History
| Title | Dolly Peel |
|---|---|
| Reference Number | STH0002874 |
| Photographer | Unknown |
| Town or Village | South Shields |
| Date | c1850 |
| Original Format | Black and White Photograph |
| Period | Victorian (1837-1901) |
| Copyright | South Tyneside Libraries |
| Further Information | Dolly Peel (1782-1857) was a notorious South Shields’ character. A strong, fearless, muscular woman with a nerve of iron she was renowned as a fish wife, an opponent of the press-gang, a sailor, a nurse, a speech-maker, a poet and, most famously, as a smuggler. This well known photograph of Dolly, taken in about 1850, shows her dressed as a fish wife, carrying a basket in which she reputedly used to deliver contraband goods, as well as fish, to her customers. |
