The Oyster Feast is the centrepiece of the annual civic calendar in the ancient borough of Colchester located in Essex in the East of England.
The Colne oyster fishery dates to the Roman era. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The borough of Colchester obtained rights to the fishery under the provisions of its Royal Charter granted by Richard I in 1189. The oysters obtained from the fishery are known as "Colchester Natives" (the native oyster, Ostrea edulis ).
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, 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.
On the last Friday in October each year, the Mayor of Colchester 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. [1]
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Camulodunum, the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "strapline" in the 1960s identifying it as the oldest recorded town in Britain has become popular with residents and is still used on heritage roadsigns on trunk road approaches Originally the site of the Brythonic-Celtic oppidum of Camulodunon, capital of the Trinovantes and later the Catuvellauni tribes, it was first mentioned by name on coinage minted by the chieftain Tasciovanus some time between 20 and 10 BC. The Roman town began life as a Roman legionary base constructed in the AD 40s on the site of the Brythonic-Celtic fortress following its conquest by the Emperor Claudius. After the early town was destroyed during the Iceni rebellion in AD 60/61, it was rebuilt, reaching its zenith in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. During this time it was known by its official name Colonia Claudia Victricensis, often shortened to Colonia Victricensis, and as Camulodunum, a Latinised version of its original Brythonic name. The town was home to a large classical temple, two theatres, several Romano-British temples, Britain's only known chariot circus, Britain's first town walls, several large cemeteries and over 50 known mosaics and tessellated pavements. It may have reached a population of 30,000 at its height. It was not until the late 18th century that historians realised that Colchester's physical Brythonic and Roman remains were the city mentioned in ancient literature as "Camulodunum".
Colchester is a historic market town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in the county of Essex, in the East of England. Colchester occupies the site of what was Camulodunum, the first major Roman city in, and sometime capital of, Roman Britain. Colchester lays claim to be Britain's oldest recorded town. Colchester has been a military garrison since the Roman era and is currently home to the 16th Air Assault Brigade. In 2019 it, with surrounding areas, had an estimated population of 138,131.
Wivenhoe is a town and civil parish in north eastern Essex, England, approximately 3 miles (5 km) south east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two separate settlements but with considerable development in the 19th century the two have merged.
Brightlingsea is a coastal town and an electoral ward in the Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, on Brightlingsea Creek. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 8,076. The town is an active though small port.
The Borough of Colchester is a local government district and borough in Essex, England, named after its main town, Colchester. The borough covers an area of 125 square miles (320 km2) and stretches from Dedham Vale on the Suffolk border in the north to Mersea Island on the Colne Estuary in the south.
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 split into two main areas, West Mersea and East Mersea, and connected to the mainland by the Strood, a causeway that can flood at high tide.
Thaxted is a town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of north-west Essex, England. The town is in the valley of the River Chelmer, not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden, and is 97 metres above sea level. The town is 15 miles (24 km) north from the county town of Chelmsford, and 5.5 miles (9 km) east from the M11 motorway. The parish contains the hamlets of Cutlers Green, Bardfield End Green, Sibleys Green, Monk Street, and Richmond's Green. Much of its status as a "town" rests on its prominent late medieval guildhall, a place where guilds of skilled tradesmen regulated their trading practices, and its English Perpendicular parish church.
Fingringhoe is a village and civil parish in Essex, England located five miles south-east of Colchester. The centre of the village is classified as a conservation area featuring a traditional village pond and red telephone box. The Roman River flows nearby before entering the River Colne. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. In reality, the village's name derives from its geographic circumstances: it sits at the confluence of the smaller Roman River and the River Colne. A "hoe" refers to a jutting out piece of land while "finger" describes an elongated finger-like land extension. "Ing" is a common toponym in the UK referring to "peoples". As such, the name refers to the "people living on the land jutting out into the river".
The Colne Valley Youth Orchestra is a youth orchestra in Essex, England. It was founded in 1981, and has been playing and performing in North Essex. It provides a non-auditioning classical music provider for young people aged ten to 19. Established by Nigel Hildreth, who continues to both conduct and run the administrative side of the orchestra, its patron was Sir Malcolm Arnold. The current honorary President of the orchestra is Damon Albarn.
Colchester is an historic town located in Essex, England. It served as the first capital of Roman Britain and is the oldest recorded town in Britain. It was raided by the Vikings during the 9th and 10th centuries. It also served as an essential location to the Medieval Cloth Trade.
St Helena School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in Colchester, Essex, England. The school is situated on Sheepen Road opposite Colchester Institute and is of easy reach from both Colchester North and Colchester Town train stations.
The Stour Valley Railway is a partially closed railway line that ran between Shelford, near Cambridge and Marks Tey in Essex, England. The line opened in sections between 1849 and 1865. The route from Shelford to Sudbury closed on 6 March 1967 leaving only the section from Sudbury to Marks Tey, known as the Gainsborough Line, in operation.
The coat of arms of Colchester is the arms and other insignia associated with the town of Colchester, England.
The Messenger Feast or Kivgiq, Kevgiq, is a celebratory mid-winter festival in Alaska traditionally held by Iñupiaq and Yup'ik peoples after a strong whale harvest.
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 Greater London to the south and south-west. The county town is Chelmsford, which is one of two cities in the county with the other being Southend-on-Sea which was granted city status on the 1st March 2022. For the purposes of government statistics, Essex is placed in the East of England region.
Mersea Fort, also known as Cudmore Grove Blockhouse, was an artillery fort established by Henry VIII on the East Mersea coast in 1543. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the River Colne that led to the town of Colchester. It was triangular in shape, with earthwork walls and three bastions to hold artillery. It was demobilised in 1552, but was brought back into use several times over the next century and saw service during the Second English Civil War of 1648. The fort hosted an admiralty court to oversea the local oyster trade, until the dilapidation of the site forced the court to move to the Moot Hall in Colchester in the middle of the 18th century. A new gun battery was built at the fort during the Napoleonic Wars, but the fortification then fell into decline and was extensively damaged by the construction of a sea wall along the coast. The remains of the earthworks were excavated by archaeologists between 2002 and 2003.
The Roman River is a river that flows entirely through the English county of Essex. It is a tributary of the River Colne, flowing into its tidal estuary below Colchester. The lower end of the Roman River is also tidal, with tidal water flowing upstream to just above Fingringhoe.
Colchester Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Colchester, Essex, England. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Colchester Borough Council, is a Grade I listed building.
Sir Isaac Rebow was a clothier and merchant who served as Member of Parliament for Colchester in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
