Colchester Native Oysters and Gigas Oysters from West Mersea

The Haward family have been growing oysters in the shallow creeks leading from the river Blackwater to the west of Mersea Island, Essex since 1792 when William Haward sailed to deliver oysters to Billingsgate Market.

For at least one hundred years they have nurtured the same stretch of Salcott Creek, producing the very finest Colchester Native and, latterly, Gigas (rock) oysters.

Here, where the tidal waters of the sea reach up to the fresh river water, is the ideal fattening ground - a fact the Romans realised 2000 years ago when they harvested the wild natives and declared that they were “the only good thing to come out of Britain".

Warm summer sea temperatures and an abundance of nourishment streaming from the surrounding marsh combined with beds of shell make the ideal spot for the oysters to fatten.

Today Richard specialises in the cultivation and marketing of both the Colchester Native and the Gigas oyster, supplying this gourmet product to restaurants and connoisseurs throughout the UK and abroad.

Richard also supplies oysters to The Company Shed, the West Mersea fish and seafood bar run by Richard's wife Heather.