Late 19th century oyster pits, north-west of Northey House, Northey Island (EHER 16412)

Oyster pits visible on aerial photographs. When visited during a field survey in 2015, five pits were recorded, connected to each other by a drainage channel on the south and east sides, and by a number of pipes, most of which were ceramic but two of which were plastic.

Oyster pits visible on aerial photographs. <1> - <5> September 2015. Field survey. Five former oyster pits were recorded in the south of the site, connected to each other by a drainage channel on the south and east sides, and by a number of pipes, most of which were ceramic but two of which were plastic. The oyster pits ranged in size from 4.2m x 5.8m to 16m x 20m, were generally steep sided and approximately 0.8m deep. Some showed evidence of being revetted with small timber piles and planking. Most were square/rectilinear but some had irregular edges which may have been the result of subsequent flooding and silting. Where visible the bottoms of the pits contained gravel, some gravel also being recorded in the connecting drainage channel. These pits are likely to post date the 1897 breach of the sea walls; as prior to this date this area would have been dry land and the pits would not have been filled with water as the tide rose. They appear to have continued in use into at least the mid 20th century and are visible on the 1975 Ordnance Survey map. This map also records an earthwork feature between the oyster pits and the sea wall, which it interprets as another oyster pit, but which was identified as a 20th century swimming pool during the field survey. <6> Note: The mapped polygon has been reduced to exclude the swimming pool.