South Woodham Ferrers Local History Society

It is hard to imagine today but, at one time, Oysters formed the staple diet of the poorer sections of the community. The East Coast was a particularly rich source and the River Crouch itself was well-known for the quality of its oysters for many centuries - from the time of the Doomsday Survey up until the early 1960s when the severe winter of 1962/63 virtually destroyed the river’s oyster beds.

The South Woodham Ferrers Local History Society turns its attention to this one-time thriving local industry when it welcomes Peter Davidson who will give a talk entitled ‘The Oyster Industry of the River Crouch’ at the Society’s next meeting. Peter was formerly a higher scientific officer at the Fisheries Research Centre at Burnham-on-Crouch, a laboratory established in Burnham in 1953 and run latterly by the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (an agency of DEFRA), but closed at the end of 2008 when operations moved to Lowestoft. In a break from the normal format of the Society’s meetings, the talk will not be illustrated but the speaker’s vast experience and detailed knowledge derived from several decades spent studying the fortunes of local oysters (amongst other things) is sure to bring the subject to life in a quite remarkable way... it promises to be a most interesting evening.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday February 3rd at Champions Manor Hall Community Centre, Hullbridge Road, South Woodham Ferrers CM3 5LJ commencing at 8.00 pm. Any enquiries please telephone 01245 321518. Visitors will be very welcome (admission £3) and no booking is necessary. Alternatively you may join the Society on the evening at the reduced (half-year) rate of £6 which gives admission to all the Society’s monthly meetings until May.