West Mersea
From the Bronze Age to Modern Times at Low Tide
Mersea Island sits just off the coast of Essex, at the mouth of the Colne and Blackwater Estuaries near Colchester. The island has been inhabited since pre-Roman times and possibly derives its name from the Old English Meresig, “island of the pool” or Mierce, "border/debateable land". Mersea Island’s past is one that has been fundamentally built on coastal activity. The estuarine environment has provided local inhabitants with food, transport and trade for millennia.
This area has a rich coastal history which continues visibly to this day, through fishing, oystercatching and other activities. Less visible though is a more ancient evidence of coastal history, archaeological remains which have laid hidden for centuries beneath the island’s muddy foreshores. These foreshores are at an increasing risk of coastal erosion and as they are carved away, so the ancient traces of human occupation and coastal activity are revealed.
Many of the tour points below contain multiple images. Please use the arrows on the image to scroll through them and visit Mersea Island in the past.
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Propellers at Mersea Museum
We begin at Mersea Museum by looking at a series of objects outside the building, which not only relate to nearby waters but were actually dredged out of them by Mersea fishermen. A vast anchor can be dated by it’s wooden stock to at least the early 19th century and reminds us of the dangers of navigating the various bars and deeps which guard the mouth of the Blackwater. An even starker image is provided by various large twisted propellers, all that can be found of the numerous WW2 aircraft which tried to reach RAF Bradwell Bay (located across the estuary from Mersea Island) and sadly didn’t make it. The coastal proximity of Bradwell’s airfield meant damaged planes were directed there in an increased hope of reaching land in one piece. It was also one of the few landing strips to employ the use of FIDO (Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation) which ignited fuel in pipes lining the runway to dissipate fog and helping aircraft struggling to land in conditions of bad visibility (as this in this British Pathe video ).
St Peter & St Paul's Church
Leave the museum and you are faced with St Peter & St Paul's Church . St Peter is commonly thought of as the patron saint of fishermen and the church would have provided refuge not only as a place of worship but as a navigational aid. It’s likely to have been founded as early as the 7th or 8th century and the existing tower is mid-Saxon, dating to the 11th . The distinctive herringbone brickwork visible in the lower walls is typical of this period and it may have originally been used as an early form of lighthouse. It’s possible it was founded by St Cedd who is associated with the early chapel at Bradwell. The tower would have functioned defensively during the turbulent Second Viking Age when ferocious raids on Saxon coastal settlements are known to have taken place.
Memorial Window
In August 2005 a new memorial window by artist Lisa McFarlain was installed in the south aisle in August 2005. This is to commemorate the Fishermen and Oystermen of Mersea Island and is another indication of the importance of these professions to the Islands' economy and identity.
At the top of the centre light is a seagull against the sun and the local fishing boat CK134 Diana. Several different species of fish have been painted onto the glass and at the foot of the piece are oysters in baskets, shells and a view of the Packing Shed.
Exterior of St Peter & St Paul's Church
Lookout for red tiles in the brickwork, these would have been recycled by the Saxon builders from nearby dilapidated Roman structures, possibly even a villa. Some evidence of these buildings still remain and there is a local garden which can boast a surviving in-situ Roman pavement (though please respect the privacy of the owners!)
Continue around to the right of the church and you will see what looks like a south east facing arched window a few metres above the ground. I know, I know…this is a weird looking placement, but it would have actually functioned as a door! By providing access using a ladder, the occupants could withdraw it inside quickly making them difficult to reach.
St. Peters Well
Carefully cross the road and continue down Coast Road, away from the church and museum. After a couple of hundred yards you will see steps down to the beach. Following these steps down you will see a path to your right. This leads you to St. Peters Well. This well provided the main source of water for Mersea until 1925, when mains water was installed. Fed by a series of natural springs, it supplies several gallons per minute and never failed in its supply. After the 1884 Peledon earthquake, which measured 4.6 on the richter scale, a large crack appeared in the earthworks behind the well and the water came out warm and foamy for a day (see second image).
Monkey Beach
Turning around, backtrack along the path until you come to the steps. Continuing down them to the edge of the intertidal zone brings you to the eccentrically named Monkey Beach. There are various local legends as to the origin of the name but a fairly convincing one points to the unpopularity of the coast guards manning the semaphore and customs station nearby. A hindrance to local clandestine activities, they were usually ex-police or servicemen brought in from elsewhere, the locals mockingly nicknamed them monkeys. The second image shows a postcard of the beach in the early 20th century.
King's Hard
The muddy foreshore here is visible at low tide and has changed beyond all recognition in only a couple of generations. What was once a thriving marshland habitat has been reduced by accelerated wave action to a flat and featureless area, which gradually slopes to the waters’ edge. While this process is sad to watch a positive outcome can be found through the fascinating archaeology the erosion has revealed.
On this particular foreshore many timber stakes can be seen protruding from the mud. Many of those nearest to the beach are the remains of Victorian revetments and groynes, which were used as defences against the sea, or to the left King’s Hard where boats could come ashore (see second image).
Pillbox
Walking westwards (to the right) along the beach after about 200m there are some concrete foundations on the beach and a series of large concrete cubes in the mud. These are from WW2 and form part of a coastal defence strategy known as the coastal crust , devised by General Ironside in 1940. In that summer alone 20,000 pillboxes were constructed with estimates at one going up every 20 minutes. These foundations formed the base of a light infantry pillbox derived from a type known as FW3/24. It would have been strategically placed to provide fire over the mouth of the creek, possibly by Bren light-machine guns and would have been supported by other defences including barbed wire, a mine-field and the large line of concrete cubes in front of it.
Anti-landing craft obstacles
These concrete cubes are a rare type of anti-landing craft obstacle. Now laid on their sides they would originally have had segments of railway track set into them, facing upwards and cut diagonally at the end to form a sharp stake. A seaborne German invasion would have been most likely to take place at high-tide when these obstacles would have been invisible beneath the high water mark. They would have hindered the progress of any enemy landing vessels attempting to reach the beach and were designed to rip into the hulls of such vessels on impact with the sharp metal protrusions.
Hove Creek and Houseboats
Continue along the beach until you see a boardwalk leading back towards the Coast Road. This boardwalk passes over the remains of Hove Creek, which used to be wide enough for Oyster Smack boats, which were unique to this area, to sail up and turn around in. Check out the third piece of media above for a video of smacks in action during the annual Mersea Week regatta in 2010.
You can also see various houseboats berthed to your left. It is likely there have been houseboats here since Victorian times, as the Blackwater was famous amongst the Aristocracy and those with Royal connections for yachting. The most notable is L’esperance (French for “hope”) built in 1891 and famously owned by the pianist Semprini in the 1960’s and 70’s (see third image).
The Square
Coming off the boardwalk we turn right and head back to West Mersea townsite. A short walk down the road and on your left is this intriguing looking artefact. What did it used contain? A barometer, used by the local fishermen whose cottages still stand on this site! Known as The Square, these cottages show both a classic design and the affluence that the fishermen historically had. Look closely and you can see the grooves on the wall where they used to sharpen their knives. These same fishermen would have had their boats in Hove Creek, making their commute almost as easy as my pandemic one.
The semaphore and customs station
On your right you will see a lovely seating area and the last stop on our Low Tide Trail. Rest your feet and enjoy the last remaining piece of the West Mersea semaphore and customs station. Built during the 17th century, it served initially as revenue protection against smuggling but transitioned into a naval reserve and life-saving role in the 19th century.
The following account in Mehalah, the novel written by East Mersea's vicar, the Rev Sabine Baring Gould, published in 1880 which gives a detailed and vivid picture of the smuggling trade in this area.
"Between Mersea and the Blackwater were several flat holms or islands, some underwater at high tides, others only just standing above it, and between these the winding waterways formed a labyrinth in which it was easy to evade pursuit and entangle the pursuers. The traffic was therefore here carried on with an audacity and openness scarce paralleled elsewhere. Although there was a coastguard station at the mouth of the estuary, on Mersea 'Hard', yet goods were run even in open day under the very eyes of the revenue men. Each public house on the island and on the mainland near a creek obtained its entire supply of wine and spirits from contraband vessels. Whether the coastguard were bought to shut their eyes or were baffled by the adroitness of the smugglers, cannot be said, but certain it was that the taverns found no difficulty in obtaining their supplies as often and as abundant as they desired."
We hope you have enjoyed your low tide trail of West Mersea Island. For more information on what the CITiZAN team is doing on the island please sign up to our quarterly newsletter or see our upcoming events here .
With thanks to Mersea Island Museum and our dedicated team of local volunteers, Carol Wyatt (Dixon), John Pullen-Appleby, Jim Pullen, Jane Dixon, and Mark Dixon.