Late 18th or early 19th century decoy pond, 'Old Hall Decoy No.1', immediately north of Pennyhole Fleet, Old Hall Marshes (EHER 11560)

A duck decoy pond situated in the centre of Old Hall Marshes, a promontory of reclaimed marshland. The decoy pond is constructed on the arm of the natural creek (Pennyhole Fleet), whose tributaries surround the decoy. The decoy takes the form of a central pond, of irregular, elongated oval shape most probably a modified stretch of creek rather than a completely man-made feature. The pond is water-filled and occupies an area of some 1.2 hectares. Eight channels or pipes radiate off the pond to distances of 50-70 metres, and a boundary, partly man-made and partly utilising natural watercourses, encircles and contains the whole complex. Together these natural and artificial channels form a complete encircling watercourse which is linked to the natural creek system and supplies the pond with water. The whole site including pond, pipes and earthworks covers an area of some 4.5 hectares. The date of construction of the decoy pond is believed to be within the period of the late 18th century to the early 19th century. The pond was scheduled in 1999.

Decoy pond. <1> <2> Decoy pond [NAT]. <3> Possible remains of sluice systems and dykes and wooded revetments along the pipes but not visible. Eight pipes currently visible as reed infilled channels. <4> Old Hall Decoy (No.1) lies in Tollesbury parish close to Pennyhole Fleet on the Old Hall Marshes, which cover the peninsula of land between Salcot Creek and Tollesbury Fleet North Channel. Sir R. Payne-Gallwey recorded that the pool covered fourteen acres and had eight pipes, but Christy states that these are both wrong, although eight pipes are shown on the six-inch and twenty-five-inch Ordnance maps. Christy and E. A. Fitch inspected the decoy in June, 1888, and learned then that it was about two acres in extent and had six pipes, but at one time it had had seven, the two south-easterly ones having been discarded and another dug in their place. The date of construction was unknown, but the decoy was said to be very ancient. <5> It is represented on a 1827 estate plan of the area and on Ordnance Survey editions. <6> - <9> See aerial photographs <10> - <15> and cropmark plot <16>. A description of the decoy is given after a visit to the feature in 1888 by Miller Christy. <17> 1998. Site visit. The monument includes a dusk decoy pond situated in the centre of Old Hall Marshes, a promontory of reclaimed marshland, bordered to the north by Salcott Channel and to the south by Tollesbury Fleet. The decoy pond is constructed on the arm of the natural creek (Pennyhole Fleet), whose tributaries surround the decoy. The decoy takes the form of a central pond, of irregular, elongated oval shape; most probably a modified stretch of creek rather than a completely man-made feature. The pond is waterfilled and occupied an area of some 1.2ha. Eight channels or pipes radiate off the pond to distances of 50-70m, and a boundary, partially man-made and partially utilising natural water-courses encircles and contains the whole complex. The man-made sections of ditch delineate the decoy on its eastern side. On the western and northern sides, two natural creeks act as the boundary and further short stretch of ditch to the north west connects these natural watercourse which is linked to the natural creek system and supplies the pond with water. The area in between the pipes are slightly raised, possibly from upcast from the ditches. The whole site including pond, pipes and earthworks covers an area of some 4.5ha. The precise date of construction of the decoy is not documented; it does not appear on the Chapman and Andre map of 1777 but does appear on a plan of the estate dated to 1827 and subsequently on the OS 6" 1st edition map of 1874. Its date of construction , therefore, can be placed within the period late 18h century to early 19th century. The decoy caught large numbers of mallard and teal, with very few wigeon. Although no precise yearly account of the number of birds taken has survived, the number was reported as being fabulous. In 1888 Old Hall decoy was only used occasionally, a few birds being taken during hard winters; the tenant, a Dr J. H. Salter, preferred to shoot the fowl in the marshes because of the disturbance from grazing stock surrounding the decoy. <18> Site Assessment: This large decoy pond at Old Hall Marshes is a fine example of a late 18th to early 19th century eight-pipe pond. It is the best preserved of only five known examples of eight-pipe decoys in Essex. One of two decoys on Old Hall Marshes, it and may have worked in tandem with the smaller specialised teal pond some 400m to its south; or alternatively, one may be later than the other, perhaps reflecting the progress of land reclamation. With most of its original features still intact, the pond survives well and is waterfilled. The pipes will contain the remains of the wooded and iron hoops that once supported the net, illustrating the operation of the decoys. The presence of all the major features of the decoy (with the exception of the nets) allow us to envisage how it operated. Decoys were very important and once common features of the Essex marshland landscape and made a significant contribution to the marshland economy during the period 1600-1900. The construction of banks and the silting of channels will have sealed deposits which will, in addition to artefactual evidence, including the wooden/iron hoops that supported the nets, also yield environmental evidence regarding the appearance of the marshland at the time of construction. <18> September 1999. Old Hall Marshes survey. This decoy was unable to be surveyed during survey work on Old Hall Marshes by English Heritage (Cambridge Office) in September 1999, due to the high reed cover. A history of the feature is however given in the archive survey report. This decoy pond is known by the name 'Old Hall Decoy'. <19> September 1999. Scheduled Ancient Monument. A duck decoy pond situated in the centre of Old Hall Marshes, a promontory of reclaimed marshland. The decoy pond is constructed on the arm of the natural creek (Pennyhole Fleet), whose tributaries surround the decoy. The decoy takes the form of a central pond, of irregular, elongated oval shape most probably a modified stretch of creek rather than a completely man-made feature. The pond is water-filled and occupies an area of some 1.2ha. Eight channels or pipes radiate off the pond to distances of 50-70 metres, and a boundary, partly man-made and partly utilising natural watercourses, encircles and contains the whole complex. The man-made sections of the ditch delineate the decoy on its eastern side. On the western and northern sides two natural creeks act as the boundary, and a further short stretch of ditch to the north west connects these natural watercourses. Together these natural and artificial channels form a complete encircling watercourse which is linked to the natural creek system and supplies the pond with water. The whole site including pond, pipes and earthworks covers an area of some 4.5ha. The date of construction of the decoy pond is believed to be within the period of the late 18th century to the early 19th century. Scheduled. <20> Scheduling affirmed 2003. <21> Duck decoy pond. The decoy caught large numbers of mallard and teal but very few widgeon. In 1888 Old Hall decoy was one of only three still working but it was used only occasionally in the 1890s, as the tenant preferred to shoot the fowl in the marshes. Scheduling amended. <22> Note: See EHER 48749, EHER 16282 and EHER 82214 for other decoy ponds on Old Hall Marshes. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import.