The Mixon

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Coordinates: 50°42′24″N 0°46′28″W / 50.70666667°N 0.77444444°W / 50.70666667; -0.77444444
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

50°42′24″N 0°46′28″W / 50.70666667°N 0.77444444°W / 50.70666667; -0.77444444

Location of The Mixon within the Selsey Bill and Hounds Marine Conservation Zone

The Mixon (reef, rocks or shoal) are a limestone outcrop in the English Channel about 1 mile (1,600 m) off Selsey Bill, West Sussex. It was formed during the Eocene period.

At the east end of the reef is a 30 meters (98 ft) deep gully, known as the "Mixon Hole", that represents the north side of a drowned river gorge. The Mixon is part of a

squat lobsters and crabs along with red algae and kelp
in the shallower parts. The Mixon Hole is a popular destination for scuba divers and rock from the Mixon has been quarried at least from Roman times till the 19th century and used in the local building industry.

The reef has been a major hazard to shipping over the centuries, with stories of wrecks from medieval times.

Name

The name Mixon probably is derived from the Old English Mixen meaning 'dunghill'. It is thought that dung from bullocks was stored in that area during the Anglo-Saxon period.[1]

History

Section of John Speeds 1610 map with The Mixon (shown as Myxon) misplaced off the North East coast of the Isle of Wight.
Example of a building constructed with Mixon stone.[2]

The exact configuration of the coastline in the early Holocene is not precisely known, but The Mixon and other reefs in the area that were formed within the sands and silts of the Bracklesham Group, are thought to have played a role in shaping the palaeogeography and protected against coastal erosion.[3]

The archaeological evidence demonstrates that the Mixon would have been the shoreline during the Roman occupation, with it not being breached by the sea until the 10th or 11th century.

Barrier breaching and shoreline recession associated with rising sea-level and storm events caused The Mixon to become an offshore bank, or shoal, probably at about 950–1050

— SCOPAC 2003

The Mixon rocks have known to be a hazard to shipping over the centuries.[a] [5]The cartographer, John Speed placed the Mixon (incorrectly), off the north east coast of the Isle of Wight on his 1610 map. [2][6] Probably the earliest[b] sailing directions are in the "Great Britains Coasting Pilot" for 1693, where the author Greenvile Collins writes of the Mixon and Owers shoals:

I will not give any directions to sail through them, nor within them. There lye some other banks within them, which I forbear to speak of them. The only and chief end of my business is to give good directions how to avoid these shoals, that have proved fatal to so many ships.

— Collins 1693, p. 3

To warn shipping of the dangers of the Mixon and Owers shoals, a light vessel was anchored off the Mixon in 1788 by Trinity House. From that date onwards a series of vessels have been used and between 1939 and 1973 the commonly used one was lightship number 3. In 1973 the lightship was replaced with a beacon and then from 2015 a South Cardinal was installed.[8][9][10]

The Mixon rock was quarried, at least since the Roman occupation of the area and became an important building stone in the late Saxon period. There is evidence of its use mainly on the Manhood Peninsula but also within an area bounded by Westbourne, Westhampnett, Oving and South Bersted. The quarrying finally ceased after an Admiralty prohibition order in 1827. Some examples of structures where it was used are the Fishbourne Roman Palace and the Hayling Island Bridge.[2][11]

In the 19th century, the "Channel Pilot" recorded the presence of a deep hole at the eastern end of the reef. Known as the Mixon Hole it is approximately 8

Fathoms[c] deep.[12] More recently the Mixon Hole has been described as the "most dramatic underwater cliff in the [English] channel".[13]

Marine life

The crevices and ledges within the Mixon hole provide a habitat for a variety of marine species including short-snouted seahorses, squat lobsters and crabs along with red algae. [14] The short-snouted seahorse is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 of the United Kingdom they are also protected by CITES.[15] The UK Government established Marine Conservation Zones(MCZ) to protect the populations and habitats of rare or threatened species. The Mixon is within the Selsey Bill and the Hounds MCZ that was designated on the 31 May 2019. It is has an area of around 16 square kilometres (6.2 sq mi)[14][16]

Short-snouted seahorse
Squat lobster
Red algae
Examples of marine life found on the Mixon

Geology

Example of Alveolina

Mixon Rock is a tough, coarse-grained, pale grey to honeyyellow

echinoid spines some corals, bryozoans and shark teeth. It also contains scattered sand grains and glauconite.[2][11]The Mixon is only one of three localities in the United Kingdom where an extinct genus of Foraminifera known as Alveolina can be found.[17]

The north face of the Mixon Hole is a clay cliff that is vertical in its upper parts to between 5 and 20 metres below sea level. At the top of the cliff there is limestone that overlies softer grey clay. The Mixon Hole represents the north side of a drowned river gorge which is kept open by the strong tidal currents through it.[18]

At the base of the hole is a mixture of boulders and cobbles of both clay and limestone fallen from the cliff above. Away from the cliff on the seabed there is a preponderance of empty slipper limpet shells.[18]

Folklore, myths and legends

There are many myths and legends associated with The Mixon.

Anglo-Saxon king Ælle and his three sons landed at a place called Cymenshore in AD 477. The modern location for Cymenshore has been lost although the written evidence suggests that it was located at The Mixon.[20]However most academics agree that although it is possble that Cymenshore existed, the foundation story itself is a myth. [21][22] [23]

Another more recent example is a custom that suggests that the dead should be placed, in their coffin, on Selsey beach at night. In the morning the coffin would be gone — and it was said that the people of the sea had taken it to the Mixon Hole. A more plausible explanation is that it was to do with smuggling. A coffin full of contraband would be deposited on the beach ready to be picked up and distributed by a coastal cutter. Because it seemed to be a funeral rite this would not attract the attention of the customs official.[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes how raiding Vikings had their ships flounder on the rocks.[4]
  2. ^ There had been sketches and maps of the area over several centuries, for example Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer's Spiegel der Zeevaert, charted the area but had not provided directions.[7]
  3. ^ 8 Fathoms: 48 feet (15 m)

Citations

  1. ^ Richardson 2000, p. 76.
  2. ^ a b c d Bone & Bone 2014.
  3. ^ Krawiec 2017, pp. 101–112.
  4. ^ Lavelle 2010, pp. 290–293.
  5. ^ Mee 1988, Chapter 7.
  6. ^ Richardson 2000, p. 75.
  7. ^ Headrick 2000, p. 113.
  8. ^ United Kingdom Hydrographic Office 2004, (SC1652) Selsey Bill to Beachy Head.
  9. ^ Mee 1988, p. 64.
  10. ^ Trinity House 2015.
  11. ^ a b King 2023, p. 31.
  12. ^ English Channel Pilot 1878, p. 36.
  13. ^ Wood 1988, p. 47.
  14. ^ a b Sussex Wildlife Trust 2023.
  15. ^ UK Government 2023.
  16. ^ Natural England 2019.
  17. ^ Adams 1962.
  18. ^ a b The Geological Society 2012.
  19. ^ a b O'Leary 2013, pp. 23–26.
  20. ^ Richardson 2000, p. 64.
  21. ^ Lapidge 2001, pp. 35–36.
  22. ^ Welch 1978, pp. 13–35.
  23. ^ Halsall 2013, p. 71.

References

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