Flamborough Marine Limited

06/08/2026

This beautiful example of a Seahouses “Tree of Life” Gansey is now on its way to the customer in San Francisco, but not without a last-minute issue with fees imposed. Although obviously not popular, American customers had just about become used to the 10% tariff applied to all goods exported from the U. K. and this was what my customer was expecting. The 10% is added on to the postage when purchasing the shipping label on the Royal Mail site. However, when I went to fill in all the shipping details, it was only to learn that an additional 16% Customs Duty is now also being applied. Who thinks up these figures? Why 16%? How is this going to protect the hand-knitting industry in the U. S.? But it is what it is, Ganseys are now 26% more expensive if going to the U. S. and that will all but eliminate that market.
PS In fairness, similar tariffs have applied to the EU since Brexit and that market has been all but lost for quite some time, which is why the American market was so important. For example, a Gansey was sent to a customer in Dublin last year and, despite been advised more than once, he was content to accept the additional charges, until being presented with a bill of 220 Euros before Irish Customs would release the parcel. This was for VAT, Duty and every other tax you could think of. With most Governments addicted to spending, they have to raise the money somehow; I just wish it wasn’t from small craft businesses struggling to survive.

24/07/2026

Just a quick non-Gansey update to remind everyone that, due to circumstances beyond my control, the shop that Lesley and I ran together for over forty years in Flamborough has had to close but Ganseys can still be viewed by appointment and there are a few remaining Armor Lux Breton shirts and pure wool sweaters available – please contact for details.

“Fleur” is still with me and, due to the warm weather, we tend to go for an evening plod at the moment, such as last night at Flamborough Lighthouse, on a perfect summer’s evening. Years ago she could manage the whole Head end, then subsequently just down to the Fog Station and back, but now she can barely make it past the Lighthouse; her tail never stops wagging though, but she was very reluctant to have her photograph taken.

09/07/2026

Just a reminder that knitters are currently available and a Gansey ordered now could be started immediately, with delivery (based on the average knitting time of eight weeks) well in time for the cooler months.

09/07/2026

Those who have visited the Flamborough Marine web-site will probably have seen the story behind the two Ganseys we had knitted for Sir Daniel Day-Lewis:

“We were first approached by Daniel Day-Lewis, after he had unearthed some photographs of his father, Cecil Day-Lewis, wearing a Gansey. An internet search brought him to the Flamborough Marine web-site where he was very much taken with [an] image . . . on our site, of a proud Victorian Gansey-wearer in a classic pattern. One of our knitters was then able to replicate the pattern in a Gansey for him. So successful was this that a second Gansey was then commissioned by Sir Daniel, to match the one worn by his father. We were able to establish that his father’s Gansey was, in fact, not knitted in one piece, but we were again able to replicate the pattern (with a few alterations, such as the addition of a sleeve pattern) . . .”

This is the actual Gansey the knitter worked from, with some points to note: first, as mentioned, it was knitted in pieces and stitched together which explains the lack of the characteristic diamond-shaped under-arm sleeve gusset which is a feature of the Ganseys. Secondly, the sleeves are plain whereas all the “Staithes” Ganseys we had done ourselves up to that point had patterned upper sleeves and, in consultation between Lesley and Daniel, he opted for the pattern. Thirdly, he also agreed to have the more traditional deeper ribbed welt. Notice also that the original has had a number of repairs, both to the cuffs and base of the welt.

It was our version of the Staithes Gansey, knitted in one piece, that Daniel subsequently wore to a publicity session and the photographs which then appeared resulted in “Staithes” overtaking “Filey” as the most popular pattern.

One final point – no-one would ever have called Lesley a “film buff” and, when Daniel first telephoned, she had no idea who he was initially, just that he sounded a “really nice person” and, as we always said to each other when we took an order for a Gansey: “Buns for tea!” She never missed one of his films after that.

23/06/2026

Today’s vintage Gansey is a “Cullercoats Rocket Brigade” pattern. The small coastal settlement of Cullercoats was historically in Northumberland but has now been absorbed into the wider Tyneside conurbation. The Cullercoats Rocket Brigade (officially the “Cullercoats Volunteer Life Brigade”) was a historic rescue group formed in December 1864. Volunteers fired rope-carrying rockets to stranded ships to winch survivors to safety. We had, framed in our shop in Flamborough, a coloured engraving from the “Illustrated London News” of 26 November 1887 entitled, “All hands man the life-boat” where the fisherman running up the cobbled path is clearly wearing a Rocket Brigade Gansey.

19/06/2026

It’s surprising just how many vintage grey Ganseys Lesley acquired over the years, including this very attractive pattern featuring the classic “Tree of Life” motif with a central panel of anchors. Although not typical of Flamborough patterns it was knitted in Flamborough for a Flamborough family. This was another instance where she was so taken with the pattern that she had one knitted for herself (I should add that, although Lesley could knit, she was too impatient ever to want to knit for herself as the Ganseys grow very slowly when on the pins).

18/06/2026

There are two patterns which are occasionally found with a patterned “split” welt at the base of the Gansey, rather than the more common deep, ribbed, welt and these are “Scarborough” and “Staithes”. There are similarities between the two patterns, both being half-and-half designs and with a large moss stitch panel in the top half; however, Scarborough then has a short cable and ladder at either side while Staithes features three horizontal lines of purl stitches, breaking up the top section into three or more panels. Today’s vintage Gansey, though, has neither of these additional features, so I’m not sure whether the knitter just couldn’t be bothered, or wanted something different. Note also the much shorter neck.

17/06/2026

17/06/2026

Today’s vintage Gansey reverts to grey in a pattern known as “Church Windows”. Lesley was so taken with this pattern that she had a Gansey knitted for herself by Marion, our longest-serving knitter, and the second photograph shows Lesley wearing the Gansey at the “PropaGansey” exhibition in Robin Hood’s Bay in September 2014. The principal difference is that Lesley decided to have the pattern continue all the way down the sleeves.

16/06/2026

This beautifully-knitted Filey pattern Gansey has been received this morning from one of our excellent knitters and is available for immediate dispatch. It has been knitted in one piece using 5-ply worsted wool, in the traditional “dark navy” colour and is a size 40, so suitable for an actual chest measurement of about 36 inches. The overall length from the base of the neck to the bottom of the welt is 27 inches and the sleeve length is between twenty and twenty-one inches. It is priced at £510.00 plus postage (or £561.00 + Air Mail to a U. S. address). Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any other information. “Filey” is one of the most striking of all patterns, where all the elements seem to mesh perfectly.