The low cost made Whitstable oysters easily accessible to the poorest of Londoners.
Dredging Oysters at Whitstable
The Thames estuary has always been a good place for oyster fishing. In mediaeval times Canterbury, just a few miles away, was an extremely important pilgrimage destination, and large numbers of oysters were supplied by road. London is not far away by boat, so this huge market was also exploited. Traditional dredging methods were used (see YouTube Video of Oyster Dredging at Whitstable - 1920). Unfortunately overfishing, disease, and pollution almost put a stop to the industry in the 1920’s.
Whitstable Oyster Festival
Whitstable was already an important fishing port back in Norman times (a thousand years ago), and there was an annual ceremony. St James of Compostella - the patron saint of oysters – is celebrated on July 25, and this soon became the accepted date to hold the festival. The modern oyster festival lasts nine days, and starts on the nearest Saturday to St James' Day.
Native British Oyster
The Native Oyster (Ostrea edulis) has recovered well after the serious problems of the 1920’s, and it is still the most valuable catch. Other species of oyster have been introduced and are farmed, but the traditional ‘Native’ is thought to have superior qualities and is more expensive. Farmed oysters are available all year round, but the ‘Natives’ are fished from the wild and only available from September to March (months with an ‘r’ in them!).
Supplying Young Oysters for Farming
Vast numbers of young oysters are harvested each year in the Arcachon Basin (near Bordeaux in France). Thousands of curved roof tiles – coated with lime – are put into the water near the low-water mark when the young (spat) are settling out of the plankton. They are allowed to grow on for a year and then prised off the tiles (the lime provides a soft substrate and means that the young oysters are easy to remove). These small oysters – now detached from the tiles – are sent to farms all over the world, with a small proportion being kept to grow on and supply local markets.
Cheap Food Becomes Expensive
As with ‘Jellied Eels’ and ‘Fish and Chips’, food that was once thought of as a staple of the poor has become an expensive – almost luxury – option. Cod is no longer a cheap fish, Eels are becoming rarer, and Oysters are an expensive delicacy. (The same could also be said of Salmon – once so plentiful in London that apprentices had a clause in their agreements to limit how often they were to be fed on it!).
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