The Packing Shed Trust

The Packing Shed was built in about 1895 by the Tollesbury and Mersey Oyster Fishery Company Ltd and it is believed to be the only one of its kind that still exists. The Shed has suffered greatly from severe storms but has always been restored. The Shed was opened in 1992 for the benefit of the local community. About 4 or 5 years ago there was a violent storm with wind strengths of gale force or greater for about an hour and half around the time of high water. This storm changed the whole structure of the island. In particular the shell banks, which has been stable for several decades, were driven towards the island together with much of the recharge material. The banks have continued to move despite efforts to limit the movement of shell and sand and are slowly destroying valuable saltmarsh and threatening the future of the shed. The advice from National England was to create bunds of granite on the west side of the island to eliminate erosion and aid a build up of mud on the inside of the bunds.