I camped overnight to try and capture a photograph I’d seen taken by another photographer of the green seaweed covered boulders on the beach at Hunstanton. When I went down to the beach this is what I saw, all thoughts of green boulders disappeared.
I found out later these eerie structures were mussel beds, and more importantly I discovered their history.
William the Conqueror granted the rights to these mussel beds to the LeStrange family of Hunstanton in perpetuity. It was a reward and recognition of their loyalty and support in his invasion of England. These rights are unique along the English coast.
The area is defined by how far a man on horseback can hurl a spear into the sea at low tide.
In the 1950s the rights were disputed and the case went as far as the House of Lords. Apparently their ruling was “which part of ‘in perpetuity’ didn’t you understand?”
So the case was thrown out.
Marvellous.
Our island history still made visible.
More of these images can be seen in my Norfolk portfolio section on my website www.davidmorrisphotographr.com
These images are also available from
The gardenhouse gallery Cromer
The Bircham Gallery Holt
