Saturday, May 09, 2026
The Mumbles oyster industry
The story of Mumbles website picks up on the history of the now defuunct oyster trade there. They say that the Horsepool was a natural harbour encompassed on most of its seaward side by a sandbank, bordered by the roadside on the other and stretching from near the White Rose Public House, as far along as The George Hotel:
On a normal high tide, the sea would rise up over the sand-bank, across the Horsepool and reach as far as the side of the road. From this haven the Oyster Men and their skiffs would set sail to dredge for oysters, way out in Swansea Bay and down the Bristol Channel.
The Mumbles oyster trade had been in existence for many hundreds of years and was indeed, one of the mainstays of the village. The Romans are believed to have made use of the local supply, during their stay. In the 17 C, Isaac Harmon, while in Oystermouth assisting Edward Lhuyd in his ‘View of Gower, 1690,’ found that with a population of approximately 500, ‘here are boates imployed in & about ye takeing of oysters every year . . .’
In the early days, they used open rowing boats, but around the mid nineteenth century, they began to use vessels rigged with a mast, a mainsail, a forestaysail and a jib, which were known as Skiffs.
Over the years, the Oyster Beds were given colourful names which include: The Hen and Chickens, Musselly Haul, Itchy Poll, Trashy Ground, Robin’s Patch, Middle Drift and Duck Haul. California, Red Hole and East India, which were sited in Swansea Bay, with others further afield. The Oystermen navigated by using conspicuous objects ashore and between Port Eynon and Mumbles there were some eleven of these markers. However, since they were often closely guarded secrets, their locations were sometimes lost when their users died.
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The season was from September until May and in Victorian times, would be commenced with an Oyster fair, when at the skiff‑owners’ expense; the oyster dredgers would be given a meal of bread, cheese and beer followed by sports such as donkey‑racing, climbing the greasy pole and sack‑racing.
In the later years of the nineteenth century and in Edwardian times, it became the custom for the wives of those remaining in the trade, to sell the oysters from stalls set up on the Promenade or from ‘saloons’ situated along the roadside. The children made use of the discarded shells, by constructing beautiful little oyster‑shell houses, some even lit from within by candles, for visitors to admire and, perhaps, to reward with a penny or two.
Undoubtedly, the hey-day of the industry was from 1850 until 1873. By 1863, there were 70‑80 local craft, with 250 men employed during the season. The oyster’s price was by now 9 shillings per 1000 to the wholesalers who then sold on for 6d‑8d per score.
20,000 oysters was not an uncommon catch for a single boat and each boat could make two journeys a day. At its height, around 560 men were employed in 188 skiffs, three in each one, with a quarter of the proceeds going to the boat and a quarter to each man. Each man could earn as much as £6 a week and consequently, oysters were an everyday food for the locals, often eaten in an omelette, or coated in bread-crumbs or in a ‘carpet-bag’— a grilled steak filled with oysters.
Unfortunately, there was a rapid decline in the numbers of Oysters dredged due to pollution of the sea from the River Tawe, the primitive sewerage system at Southend and over-fishing. In 1920, a deadly virus finished the industry in Mumbles completely.
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