The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-09-05 00:00:00

THE WHITSTABLE OYSTER FISHERY

It is probable that very few among those people
who are fortunate enough to be able to gratify a
taste for the best native oysters have any definite
notions about the source from which the market is
provided. They have heard of Whitstable, of
course, and they have a vague idea that in its neigh-
bourhood mare est generosm fertile testa?, but of the
bodies to whom the right of supplying the world with
the delicacies which they prize is secured they know
little or nothing. This right is of very ancient crea-
tion. There is evidence that in the reign of Henry
VIII. an association existed which was known as
the Company of Dredgers, and which held certain
fisheries in the neighbourhood of Whitstable under
license from the lord of the manor. In consideration
of payments made to him, additional freemen were
admitted into the company at water courts which
were summoned annually. At the close of the 18th
century an Act of Parliament was passed by
which the company was incorporated under
the title of 'Free Fishers and Dredgers
of Whitstable," and empowered to purchase the
marine portion of the manor—in other words, to
purchase out and out the rights which they had pre-
viously enjoyed at the will of the lord of the manor
of Whitstable. From the date of its incorporation
down to the present time the company has continued
to exercise its exclusive rights, and but few changes
have been made in its constitution, which, as regards
the enrolment of members, is based upon the heredi-
tary principle. At one time the eldest son of every
freeman was admitted to membership when 16 years
old, but the age was subsequently raised to 21. A
curious rule prohibits the marriage of aspiring free-
men until the time of their actual admission into
the company, the penalty for an infraction of the rule
being the absolute forfeiture by the youthful Benedict
of his right of membership. The Corporation con-
sists at the present time of 512 freemen, between whom
and about 70 widows of deceased members the pro-
ceeds of the fishery are divided. Freemen who take
no share in the work of the fishery receive only one-
third of the amount allocated out of the receipts of
the corporation to members who contribute to its
prosperity by their labour, and a widow receives the
same fraction of emolument. There is an annual
meeting of the company in July for the election of
officers, the enactment of by-laws, and the admission
of freemen. The extent of sea over which this body
exercises sway is roughly stated as being one mile
and three-quarters in length and half a mile in
breadth. It is to this domain that huge quantities of
immature oysters are brought annually in order to
grow and wax fat and attain that perfection of
edibility for which the Whitstable bivalve is so justly
famous. A good idea of the magnitude of the opera-
tions which the demand for oysters renders necessary
can be gained from the fact that in the last two years
over £BO,OOO has been expended in the purchase of
the immature stock which has been deposited in the
waters of Whitstable. Constant additions have to be
made to the stock, because the fishery is maturing
rather than productive—in other words, while admir-
ably fitted for the nutrition of oysters which have at-
tained a certain stage of development, its conditions
are not such as favour greatly the retention within
its boundaries of the spawn or "spat," as embryonic
oysters are more commonly called. For this purpose
waters less frequently disturbed by rough weather are
better adapted, and consequently as a producing
ground Whitstable does not occupy so conspicuous a
position as certain localites on the Essex coast in the
neighbourhood of the Blackwater. The dredgers of
Whitstable complain that some producing grounds
from which they were formerly able to obtain brood
for the supply of their maturing beds have in recent
years been closed to them, and that they are now
forced tO go further afield for their stock, with the
result that their expenditure is increased, and that
the cost of the feast which they prepare for the
luxurious is pro tanto greater than it otherwise would
be. Whether their grievance is well founded or not,
the diminution in the extent of the producing grounds
formerly within their reach is to be regretted from
the point of view of the public if it really has had the
result ascribed to it. It is not only to the cultivation
of oysters born westward of an imaginary line drawn
from the Naze of Harwich to the North Foreland,
and therefore entitled by custom to the appellation
"native," that the Corporation of Dredgers of
Whitstable direct their attention. From French
breeding grounds, such as Arcachon, and
from the North Sea myriads of young
oysters are br uht to be fattened and de-
veloped in their preserves. They are placed in divi-
sions carefully delimitated from those occupied by
the more precious home growth, and when they have
arrived at maturity are sold as "seconds." So well
do French oysters prosper in the nutritious bed of
the estuary of the Thames that it sometimes taxes
the ingenuity of experts to distinguish them by their
general appearance from the indigenous product.
When the French oyster is opened, however, a blue
mark on one of its shells proclaims its nationality.
The protection of the fishery is intrusted to watchers,
who in small craft specially provided for their use
are ever on the lock out for marauders, and their
vigilance is such that the property of the corporation
is interfered with very seldom. The boats from which
the dredging is done by the members of the company
are yawls of light tonnage. The dredging nets, which
are small, are ingeniously made, with metal links and
strips of buffalo, so as to be strong and at the same
time flexible. They are fixed to rigid poles attached
to cords, which the dredger? yawls drag with them
In their progress. The corporation have, of course," a
storehouse of their own where the business of
packing the goods for the home and foreign markets
is gone through, and where oysters which are not to
be despatched immediately are suspended in nets in
a tank of sea water below the level of the floor. Here
may frequently be seen rows of well-filled bags
destined fox Ostend, where it is to be hoped their
arrival from a locality which claims to be reeris
ostreosior arts is viewed without jealousy.

1 •

An old lady was recently brought as a witness
before a bench of magistrates, and when asked to
take off her bonnet, obstinately refused to do so,
saying, "There's no law compelling a woMan to
t§lce off her ;bonnet.",.:_!!,Qh,",,imprudently, replied
one Of the magistrates, "you know-the-law, do ycitr
Perhaps you would like to come up and sit here and
beach us?" "No, I think you, sir," said the
woman, tartly; "there are old women enough there
now."