Details

COLEM:1965.292

Colchester Collections

gauge, oyster gauge

Oyster gauge, brass, in form of oyster with arrow in relief on back and incised M. Said to be 16th century, owned by Sir Henry White, of Berechurch Hall, Philip Oxenden Papillon, Henry Wolton (?), Thomas and Alfred Willson, Colchester. This brass oyster gauge, dating to the 1500s, has been made in the shape of a native oyster. These gauges are used as a standard of marketable size - any oysters smaller than the gauge are returned to the water to continue growing. Colchester is well known for its ‘Colchester Native’ oysters. The oyster fishery is officially opened for business on the first Friday of September each year by the Mayor. The Oyster Feast is held on the last Friday in October each year at the Town Hall. The feast is regarded as one of the key events in the civic calendar and is attended by both locally and nationally important people. The first modern Oyster Feast was first held in 1845, opened by the Mayor Henry Wolton, but its origins can be traced back to the St. Denis Fair of the 1300s.

1500 - 1599

Post-Medieval, 16th Century

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