Ravenser Odd: lost port of the Humber

Historical account by Molly Tatchell of the lost port of Revenser Odd on Spurn Head

Ravenser Odd, also spelled Ravensrodd, was a port built on the sandbanks of Spurn Head at the mouth of the Humber estuary. It was founded by the Earl of Aumale in the mid thirteenth century and was flourishing with over a hundred houses, its own market, a town mayor and an annual fair by 1299 when it was granted a borough charter - the same year that Wyke became Kingston-upon-Hull. Ships, supplies and men went sent to support the King's forces in Scotland. Its importance is reflected its representation in the 'naval Parliaments' of the 14th century.

In the 1340s as the sandbanks shifted many of the houses were swept into the sea, heavy seas in the winter of 1356-1357 completely flooded the town and it was finally abandoned. All signs of the town had disappeared by 1400 and the site is now underwater.

Access will be granted to any accredited reader

Molly Tatchell

Donated by Molly Tatchell, Bury St. Edmunds, July 1992

Photocopies of 13th Century Reeves' accounts [U DX129]