MEM22239 - Mizpah and Oyster Perch, Porlock Weir (Building)

Set well back from the road is a mirrored cottage pair with front-facing gables at each end. They probably date from c.1900 and are of an estate cottage style, typical of the period, built of stone rubble with brick dressings and segmental arch openings, under a double-Roman tiled roof. [1] The houses were apparently built for two local fishermen, William and Noah Pollard, who dredged for oysters and kept them in the oyster bed on the coastline out to sea from the buildings (MSO7933). The pair also built boats. 'Mizpah' is a biblical name meaning 'watch-tower'. [2] The buildings are not visible on the 1889 1st ed. Ordnance Survey map; instead, to the plot's frontage is a lime kiln. [3] The buildings are shown on the 2nd ed. Ordnance Survey map. [4]