The Goldhanger Decoy Ponds
In the 17th and 18th centuries there were eight duck decoy ponds in the vicinity of the village indicating that there must have been huge quantities of migratory ducks around the Estuary in the winter months, which would have created a good source of income for the farmers and villagers. It seems too greater a coincidence that this same stretch of the north bank of the Blackwater Estuary was also the location of many early salt works and Red Hills. Common factors that may have caused this include: o this estuary is the largest on the east coast o the north bank is low lying resulting in extensive salt marshes o it was relatively remote and unpopulated, unlike the Thames Estuary o the high concentration of clay ensured that the pools did not drain away at low tide It also seems that most the decoy ponds in the UK were on the Essex coast, as indicated by this map...
The ponds were "star" or "octopus" shaped with between four and eight "pipes". Documents available today reveal that they were mainly in use in the 17th & 18th centuries but could have existed much earlier. They were on the land-side of the seawall where it existed with "hatches" through the wall. The Highams Hatch at the Shoe is the remains of one such hatch. Tame ducks and trained dogs were used to lure wildfowl up the pipes and into traps. The catches were sent to Leadenhall Market every day by horse and cart. Mallard, Curlew, Teal and Wigeon were the main catch.
The decoy ponds were on private land, were well protected by ditches and fences, and were in remote locations. They were usually worked by one man, or a father and son. They purposely shrouded their operation in mystery and gave misleading reports about their methods and productivity, resulting in little documentation from the period. The Decoy man typically rented a large amount of surrounding land, mostly remote salt marsh with low wet meadows in the vicinity, helping to keep trespassers away and to create a ‘natural’ solitude. The Decoy man would supplement his income by grazing sheep or cattle on the dryer parts of the land. ____________________________________
Most, if not all, of the literature about decoy ponds available today has been written long after they ceased to operate, but nevertheless it is still very informative. Here are some examples held in DPF format, with the most recent extracts first...
Local historian and author Maura Benham realised the significance of the local decoy ponds and devoted several pages to this subject in Goldhanger - an Estuary Village published in 1977. an illustration from the book of Gardners Farm Decoy... pages 51,52 and 83 can be seen here... extracts from Goldhanger - an Estuary Village In 1890 Essex historian Miller Christy wrote at even great length about Essex and Goldhanger decoy ponds in his book entitled: Birds of Essex which has a chapter headed: Wild-fowl Decoys and Wild Fowling in Essex. The chapter identifies a total of 31 decoy ponds in Essex, of which 7 are on the north bank of the Blackwater near to Goldhanger. The chapter also includes many extracts from previous authors who had first-hand experience of the working ponds, including... Daniel Defoe, Philip Morant, The Revd J C Atkinson and E A Fitch extracts can be seen here... Birds of Essex: Wild-fowl Decoys and Wild Fowling in Essex The chapter included these illustrations... select to enlarge and zoom-in on any of the images on this page The Wild-fowler: a Treatise on Ancient and Modern Wild-fowling written by Henry Coleman Folkard in 1864 also contains several pages about decoy and ‘flight ponds’. extracts can be seen here... The Wild-fowler In 1818 William Marshall wrote Review of County Reports - Eastern Department which contains an interesting reference to Mr Lee’s Decoy at Goldhanger. the extract can be seen here... Review of County Reports ____________________________________
Several newspaper articles from the past have been found that refer to the local decoy ponds... select to enlarge and zoom in ____________________________________
Famous Maldon artist Robert Nightingale (1815 – 1895) painted this Decoy Pond at Tillingham Marshes scene ____________________________________
Here are some aerial photos showing local ponds...
cropmarks near The Shoe in 1992 three decoy ponds at Laristons in 1947		Laristons in 2010 two decoy ponds east of Tollesbury in 1955
In recent years The Blackwater Wildfowlers Association has acquired land close to Goldhanger that includes one of the original decoy ponds. The Association has since restored the pond and maintains it as a no-shooting zone and haven for wintering wildfowl... _____________________________________
The Mersea Museum has an article about decoy ponds on Mersea Island which includes extensive background information on decoy ponds generally and is at... www.merseamuseum.org.uk/.../PH01_DOY ________________________________________________________________________________
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