Halstow Marshes, High Halstow, Hoo Peninsula, Medway, Kent: Halstow Marshes Decoy Pond
Author(s): Edward Carpenter
Situated on Halstow Marshes, Hoo Peninsula, Medway, Kent are the well preserved remains of a post medieval wildfowl decoy pond. Ponds such as these were introduced into Britain from the Netherlands in the 17th century, often built by the gentry, and gained wide popularity during the 18th and 19th centuries. Wildfowl that landed on these ponds were lured along the pipes, which would have been enclosed by netting, and caught their narrow ends. Ponds such as these are found across England but the vast majority were situated on the eastern coast from Yorkshire to Essex. Despite Kent’s east coast location only four definite examples of this type of decoy pond are known for the county and of these the pond on High Halstow is the only example that survives as an earthwork. The well preserved earthworks also include what may be the remains of an earlier and slightly larger pond on the same site. This pond may have been in existence by the late 17th century but it is not clear when it fell out of use, though mid-19th century sources suggest it may have been abandoned by that date.
- Report Number:
- 17/2014
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 10
- Keywords:
- Decoy Pond
