page_title: Langstone Harbour
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Langstone Harbour / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of part of the salt water lagoon on the site of the old oyster beds in langstone harbour
context_page_description: Langstone Harbour is a 2,085.4-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire. It is an inlet of the English Channel in Hampshire, sandwiched between Portsea Island to the south and west, Hayling Island to the south and east, and Langstone to the north. It is part of Chichester and Langstone Harbours Ramsar site, Special Protection Area and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. Parts of it are in Solent Maritime and Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons Special Areas of Conservation. Three areas are Local Nature Reserves, Farlington Marshes West Hayling and The Kench, Hayling Island. Two areas are nature reserves managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Farlington Marshes and Southmoor Nature Reserve
  West of Portsmouth is Portsmouth Harbour and the three linked harbours are important recreational and conservation areas as well as supporting commercial fishing and shipping. It is administered by the Langstone Harbour Board. The eastern boundary with Chichester Harbour is defined by a historic causeway known as the wade way, which was originally the only crossing between Hayling Island and the mainland.
context_section_description: Langstone Harbour was originally a river valley of one of the tributaries flowing into the then River Solent. With the end of the last ice age sea levels rose until sometime between 4000 and 3500BC the harbour took on the form it would have until the 18th century.
  For much of its history the harbour has been an area of salt production. The Domesday Book records three salterns around the harb-our and by the early 17th century a saltern at Copnor was well established. Here a large shallow area of the harbour meant that even without further improvement salt could be extracted from the area after each tide. The Copnor saltern ceased production in 1800 but salt production continued elsewhere in the harbour until 1933.
  In 1771 Farlington Marshes were reclaimed from the north of the harbour.
  Oyster farming began in the harbour around 1820 with winkle and clam cultivation probably starting around much the same time. Production ceased in the 1950s. An attempt at oyster farming in the 1980s soon failed. In 1997 work began to turn the remains into an artificial lagoon. The lagoon which has a small island at the centre has, as planned, become a breeding ground for birds, particularly little terns.
  During the Second World War the harbour was used as Starfish decoy site to misdirect German bombers.
caption: The artificial lagoon built on the remains of the old oyster beds
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