Monument record SUE 079 - Oyster pits on the western bank of the River Alde at Home Reach and Blackstakes Reach, Sudbourne parish

A large number of oyster pits are visible on aerial photographs from the 1940s onwards as earthworks cut into the saltmarsh on the western bank of the River Alde, centred on circa TM45005257 (S1). The pits vary in size from circa 3 x 3m to circa 7 x 5m, and can be seen along the saltmarsh for approximately 1.5km, from circa TM45395312 to circa TM44365206. The oyster pits are not marked on either the first or second edition Ordnance Survey maps of circa 1884 or 1904, but appear to follow the route of the sea wall, suggesting a Post Medieval date for their construction (S2, S3). The pits are still visible on aerial photographs of 1972, but a number appear to be at least partially silted up (S4).