Burton Bradstock Mermaid

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The Mermaid of Burton Bradstock

Location: Cogden Beach, Burton Bradstock

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A Strange Discovery

In June 1757, a strange dead creature resembling that of a mermaid was washed up on Cogden Beach, Burton Bradstock.

It was observed by Dorset historian, Rev. John Hutchins who wrote an account in his first volume "The History and Antiquities of Dorset in 1774".

"June, 1757, a mermaid was thrown up by the sea, between Burton and Swyre, thirteen feet long. The upper part of it had some resemblance to human form, the lower was like that of a fish : the head was partly like that of a man, and partly like that of a hog. Its fins resembled hand : it had forty-eight large teeth in each jaw, not unlike those in the jaw-bone of a man"