Monument record SUE 089 - Post Medieval oyster pits in Sudbourne parish

Oyster pits of probable Post-Medieval date are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs from the early 1940s onwards, centred on circa TM45565244 in Sudbourne parish. They are generally rectangular in shape and are arranged along a drainage channel that runs parallel to the sea wall, SUE 087, but their length varies from about 2m to in excess of 30m. The pits may be marked on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of circa 1884, but the conventions are somewhat schematic. However, they are definitely visible on the second edition of circa 1904, and may therefore date to the end of the Post-Medieval period. They can still be seen on photographs of 1955, but by 1972 many of them have been obscured by a remodelling of the flood defences. (S1-5)