Emsworth

The settlement of Emsworth was probably a consequence of the increase in the polar ice
cap during the 12th Century. It is likely that the arm of the harbour at Warblington became
unnavigable at most states of the tide, and therefore local fishermen relocated to the
relatively deeper water at Emsworth. By the time of King John, the village had become
established and named 'Emelesworth' (which means Emil's Farm). Between 1204 and
1216 the Manor of Warblington was divided in two by the King who gave William Aguillon
land to the value of 100 shillings (Ł5!) at Emelesworth, for which he received an annual rent
of a pair of gilt spurs.

Over the next century Emsworth became a place of some significance with sizeable boats
sailing from the port, and in 1341 Emsworth was one of five Hampshire ports ordered to
supply a ship for the fleet sent to protect Jersey and Guernsey (and other Channel Isles)
from the French!! Fishing was the main industry but, as well as legitimate trade, smuggling
had also developed in Emsworth.

By the middle of the 17th Century in 1664, the 'Hearth Tax' of one shilling per hearth twice
yearly was paid by 31 Emsworth households, with a further 21 households exempt.
Together with the residents of Warblington it is estimated that the population was some 400
people. In the 18th Century, Emsworth was the most important port in Chichester Harbour
and wealthy merchants and other prosperous people built large houses in Tower Street,
Queen Street and King Street. At the end of the century, in 1795, John King the shipwright is
said to have built his house called 'The Hut' (at 9 Kings Street) in the length of a long
summer's day. It would appear that the chimneys were built first and then the wooden
sections, which had been pre-fabricated in his shipyard, were assembled on site.

In addition to the fishing trade, Emsworth became important for milling flour. Quay Mill (now
Emsworth Slipper Sailing Club) is a tidal mill which was constructed sometime after 1760,
and by 1821 there were three mills. The flour produced was supplied to the Navy and also
sent to Portsmouth and London. In this year, Emsworth was described in Pigot's Directory
as a 'respectable little market town' whose inhabitants lived by boat and shipbuilding, sail
and rope making, timber trade and fishing. A brewery was located in South Street owned by
William Hipkin, a coal and corn merchant, who named the brewery tavern The Coal
Exchange - a name which survives to this day.

Emsworth is a 'founded' town with a market place in the centre, roads leading up to the
main (roman) road, and other small roads leading down to the wharves and foreshore.
Shops and houses fronted the Square with narrow plots of land behind. The stocks, which
were last used in 1830, whipping post and pillory were all in the Square, as was the village
pump.

By 1878, approximately 50 vessels belonged to Emsworth-rowing boats for fishing within
the harbour, and smacks of up to 30 tons and 50 feet in length capable of fishing in more
distant waters. A small number of boats were involved in coastal trade with commodities
including coal, corn and timber. For its size, Emsworth had a significant shipbuilding
industry and the supporting manufacturing of sailcloth, fishing nets and rope. Perhaps the
most famous Emsworth shipbuilder was J.D.Foster who built cutters and fast deep-water
ketches from 1880 onwards. Today, a century Iater, it is the 'Echo', Foster's fastest and
largest cutter with an overall length of 112 feet, which is most renowned. It is reputed to
have been the largest fishing vessel to have sailed out of an English port.

Oysters had probably been fished in Emsworth and Warblington for many centuries,
before The Emsworth Oyster Dredgers Co-operative was established in the 1870s
to improve and protect the industry. In 1788. it is recorded that over 7,000 bushels of
native Emsworth oysters with a value of Ł1,500 were raked and dredged by a dozen
master fishermen. The oyster industry flourished and the fishery was at its height
during the last decade of the 19th century. In 1901 between 300 and 400 people, out
of a population of some 3,000, were working in the Emsworth oyster trade, either for
Foster or the other fishing masters, or engaged in the sale of oysters. Emsworth's
important oyster industry on which so many relied for their living was devastated by
the great oyster scare of 1902, when guests at a Winchester banquet became ill and
the Dean of Westminster died from typhoid attributed to eating Emsworth oysters at
that event. Following inspection of the oyster beds gross sewage contamination was
identified and the sale of Emsworth oysters immediately slumped.

Between 1904 and 1914 the author P.G.Wodehouse taught at an Emsworth
preparatory school and lived in a house called Threepwood in Record Road,
Emsworth. References to local places are found in his popular Jeeves and Wooster
novels.

The population of Emsworth and Warblington grew from 3,639 to 4,321 between
1895 and 1931 and had increased still further to some 7,000 by the mid-1960s.
Today at the beginning of the 21st century the population is approximately 9,500 and
continues to grow with more and more development in this popular town. Emsworth
still manages to preserve its identity and character, and a walk around the town will
enable you to appreciate its charm and history.