EDO5721 - Hamworthy, Poole; oyster midden observation 1747

Hutchins records that in 1747 in digging a new dock for a ship at Hamworthy a large bed of oyster shells was found. This deposit was apparently six-and-a-half feet thick and was covered by about one foot of black soil. It comprised oyster shells deliberately deposited after harvesting. Hutchins identifies it as the remains of commercial oyster fishing which flourished at Poole in during the reigns of James I and Charles I (1603-1649). The shells were dumped on the shore at Hamworthy until the corporation forbade this in about 1640 or 1670, from which date the shells were deposited on the 'Oyster Bank' off Poole. (1)