Posted by Jilly Bowen on Thu 16th July 2009 at 11:40 AM, Filed in Europe, July
A wonderful week celebrating the history of Whitstable, its heritage – and of course Oysters!
This year’s festival starts on Saturday 18th through to 25th July; and to whet your appetite I’ll start with its history.
As far back as Norman times fishers and dredgers held and annual ceremony to give thanks for their survival and the harvest. It was always held during the closed season for oysters so their business was not interrupted. It was considered a ‘Holy Day’, when the townsfolk attended a formal church ceremony and then the rest of the day passed with feasting, dancing, playing games and contests. The festival was reintroduced in the 1980’s (the industry was almost wiped out in the 1920’s due to disease and over fishing).
Here are a few more facts:
- Whitstable harbour was the world’s first railway connected port.
- The oyster is both male and female, but never both at the same time.
- Spawn is emitted from an oyster in immense quantities, like a puff of smoke, estimated to contain from 800,000 to some millions of organisms.
- The oyster’s worst enemy is the five-fingers (starfish), which can force an oyster shell open.
- The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway - known locally as the Crab & Winkle line, produced the world’s first railway season ticket.
- The sea diving helmet and suit were invented in Whitstable.
- The Whitstable Divers travelled around the world salvaging sunken ships, including the Mary Rose.
- 400 years ago the lower areas of Whitstable were swampy salt marshes - The Sea has tried to take them back several times.
- 2000-year-old oyster shells found in Italy have been proved to have originated in Whitstable.
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