The Oyster Feast is the centrepiece of the annual civic calendar in the ancient borough of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

located in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in the East of England.

The Colchester Natives

The Colne

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

fishery dates to the Roman era. It was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. The

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

of Colchester obtained rights to the fishery under the provisions of its

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

granted by

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

in 1189. The oysters obtained from the fishery are known as "Colchester Natives" (the native oyster, ''

Ostrea edulis ''Ostrea edulis'', commonly known as the European flat oyster, is a species of oyster native to Europe. In Britain and Ireland, regional names include Colchester native oyster, mud oyster, or edible oyster. In France, ''Ostrea edulis'' are known ...

'').

Annual opening of the oyster fishery

The oyster fishery is officially "opened" on the first Friday of September each year. The Mayor of Colchester, the Town Clerk, and the Town Sergeant take passage on an oyster dredger out into the Pyefleet Channel of the Colne estuary off

Mersea Island Mersea Island is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word ''meresig'', meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautological. The island is s ...

, in full civic regalia. A flotilla of small boats carrying invited guests follows the Mayor out into the channel. Oaths are sworn, pledging devotion to the monarch. The Mayor dredges and consumes the first oyster of the season. The Mayor and guests then proceed to an oyster lunch which celebrates the opening of the fishery.

The Oyster Feast

On the last Friday in October each year, the

Mayor of Colchester The Mayor of Colchester sits as non-political chairman of Colchester Borough Council and serves as the civic representative of the borough. The mayoralty is customarily awarded to the most senior councillor of one of the political groups Current ...

hosts a grand civic Oyster Feast in the Moot Hall. The feast is attended by civic dignitaries from around the nation, and worthies from the world of arts and entertainment. The Mayor also invites Colchester citizens who are active in local charities, civic bodies, and good causes. There is a public lottery to ensure that every citizen of the borough has the chance to attend this prestigious event. The feast has its origins in the St Denis Fair dating to the 14th Century. The modern feast dates to 1845 when it was brought onto the civic calendar by Mayor of Colchester Thomas Wolton.

Literature

* David Cannadine: ''The Transformation of Civic Ritual in Modern Britain: The Colchester Oyster Feast'', in: '' Past & Present'', No. 94 (Feb. 1982), pp. 107-130

External links

The Colchester Oyster Fayre

- Andrew Phillips,

Essex County Standard The ''Essex County Standard'' is a weekly newspaper, published in Colchester, Essex. In August 2019 Newsquest announced it would no longer subscribe to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the body that provides independently verified circulation ...

, 7 October 2005
Oystermen wait for European help
-

BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

, 30 August 2005
Colchester Native Oysters
- Richard Haward, commercial supplier {{Oysters Colchester (town) Borough of Colchester Food and drink festivals in the United Kingdom Festivals in Essex Oyster festivals Annual events in England

The Colchester Natives

Annual opening of the oyster fishery

The Oyster Feast

Literature

See also

External links