Monument record FEX 195 - Post Medieval oyster beds and a seabank.

Post Medieval oyster beds and sea defences are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken from 1944 onwards, centred on TM 27223443, on the coast to the west of Waltonferry, Felixstowe. The oyster beds consist of eight large rectangular pits, enclosed by a system of earthwork banks and linked by a bank on the western side of the pits which presumably functioned as a sea defence as well as being part of the oyster beds. This bank runs for roughly 1.1km, enclosing the seaward side of the oyster beds, from TM 26843467 in the north to TM 27613430 in the south, where it joins an earlier seabank (FEX 189). The two oyster beds centred on TM 26913459 measure 60m by 75m, whereas the others, in a group to the south centred on TM 27383431, measure around 70m by 55m, the exception being the bed to the far south which is slightly narrower. (S1) (S2) (S3) The 2nd edition Ordnance Survey 25" map of circa 1904 depicts the oyster beds and marks them as disused. It is therefore likely that they were constructed in the Post Medieval period. The map also shows that the oyster beds were managed by a complex system of sluices. (S4) Photographs taken in 1982 show the oyster beds being destroyed during the expansion of the container port at Felixstowe. (S5)