Formal Recognition Type

Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program

Notes

Harold McGrath’s Stage was built in 1925 by Michael McGrath Sr. with material recycled from a stage belonging to his uncle Michael McGrath. Other building materials were cut locally and sawn with pit-saws. The stage was repaired in 1962 with wood from a dismantled liver factory once owned by the mercantile firm of Earle and Sons Company Limited. The stage was used in the inshore fishery by the McGrath family, who were mainly trap fishermen. Harold McGrath recalls that the stage once held up to 400 quintals of fish in one season. Harold McGrath’s Stage had fallen into a bad state of disrepair when the Tilting Recreational and Cultural Society applied to the Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program for assistance in the restoration process. Some of the cribbing had deteriorated over the years, causing the front of the structure to sag. As a result, some of the walls had fallen in, resulting in obvious structural damage to the waterside facade. The stage head had also collapsed and many of the roof boards were rotten. Once new cribbing had been installed, the work of straightening the structure began. Come-alongs were used to straighten and upright the walls and repairs were made to the roof. Some of the clapboard on the exterior was replaced and a new bridge constructed to access the stage from the shore. With its new, sturdy cribbing and strengthened wall and roof, Harold McGrath’s Stage will continue to grace Tilting’s harbour for years to come.

Community

Tilting

Municipality

Town of Fogo Island

Construction (circa)

1925 - 1925

Builder

Michael McGrath

Style

Rectangular Short Façade