Low Down Articles
Echoes from the Past
Article 31 of 111
This article first appeared in the "Echoes from the Past" column of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
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I'll Tan your Hide for You
The tannery was operated by Seldon Church, one of the three sons of Gardner Church Senior, at Old Chelsea, where he first lived in the mid-1800's. Ed Ryan, who was Secretary-Treasurer for the West Hull Council for a number of years, indicated that although the tannery was indeed constructed it never operated to any extent.
The road to the tannery was about opposite to Dean's Inn (present Chelsea Restaurant), and led to the Brooks creek as it curled past the southern end of the Protestant Burying Ground, on its way to meet the Gatineau River at the foot of Mile Hill.
It is surprising that the tannery of Seldon Church did not amount to much, as the main ingredients, water and hemlock bark were present in plentiful supply.
TANNING AND CURING LEATHER
The preparation of animal hides for use as shoe leather, belts, reins, halters, saddles, pouches, bags, etc. is a two-phased operation, the first being tanning, performed by a tanner, the second being left to a curer, or currier. These two distinct old trades are perpetuated in the family names of Tanner and Currier. The following is a simplistic account of both trades:
If an animal is skinned and the skin is left alone it would become as hard as a board and of no use for any purpose at all. To obviate such wastage the skins of both tanner and currier were employed.
Tanning was a messy job and was hard work. It was the practice of the tanner to soak the hides in what was termed a tanning pit. The solution used for the various soakings was water which had been steeped with the bark of either oak or hemlock, much as a pot of tea is allowed to steep briefly before being poured. The tannin (tanic acid from the bark seeped very slowly through the pores of the hides, forcing out the water and coating each fiber with preservative. By experience the tanner knew how many soakings would be needed and for how long. This usually took about three months and concluded with a vigourous "fleshing" which was the removal of all fat, flesh and membranes. The hides were then laid away for another six months in a strong tan before being hung up to drip dry. As may be imagined the heavy wet hides required a strong pair of arms or some mechanical assistance to lift them up for the hanging process.
The hides processed by the tanner were stiff and of poor colour and were now ready for treatment by the currier. In small tanneries the tanner might also serve as currier.
Currying involved cutting the hides into sections, scraping them once more before soaking them in a solution made from the dried and chopped leaves and shoots of the sumac. When half dried the sections were shaved again on the flesh side. They were then stretched over a table to be "glossed" with steel blades: this was followed by a rubbing with cod-liver oil and tallow on the flesh side. When dry the surplus oil and grease was cleaned off, and the leather was made available to the shoemakers, saddlers and skilled leather workers such as cordwainers; the last-named being specialists in Spanish leather made of goat-skins or split horse-hides.