Re Salmon yard, a brief extract from "Sunderland: A History of the Town, Port, Trade and Commerce"
https://archive.org/stream/sunderlandahist00pottgoog/sunderlandahist00pottgoog_djvu.txt"Close to the foot of Water Lane, in the Low Street,
there were three wells and three pumps ; the principal
pump was next to Water Lane, and was kept by Barbara Salmon, which is now boarded up, yet the pump is there.
There was another pump in a small opening a little to the
west of Mrs. Salmon's : the third was at the other side of
the Low Street, down a narrow passage which led to the
river, noW called Chisman's Entry.* These pumps supplied
nearly all the lower part of the town with water. The last
named pump was principally used for supplying water to
the colliers, a long hose pipe leading from the pump to the
water boat in the river.
In my early days nearly all the water had to be carried
home from the pumps, principally on the head in skeels or
pans, three items being necessary, viz. : — the skeel, the
wease to fit on the head on which to rest the skeel, and a
small bowl or float, which floated on the water and acted as
a steadiment from a shake or unsteadiness, when the water
might splash over. When the household work was over,
the females, tidying themselves, would go to the pump for
water. All had to pay for it— some were customers and
paid monthly or quarterly, others had to pay as they got it.
In the evenings Mrs. Salmon's yard was sometimes
crowded with women and girls waiting for their turn at the
pump. Many a skeel have I seen gently tipped from behind
by a friend, thus compelling her to go back again to the
pump.
Martin
