More information : (SK 682717) Haughton Decoy (NAT). (1)
A duck decoy eight acres in extent. The date of construction is not known, but it is said to be the oldest in England. It appears on a panoramic view of Haughton drawn circa 1709. (2-3)
The decoy has an overall area of about 14 acres, not 8 as given above. The ponds and pipes are now overgrown, but have a marshy base and doubtless hold seasonal water. The central terraced gun mound has a maximum height of 8.8m, it is now thickly covered in blackthorn and dead timber; the remainder of the decoy is generally lightly wooded apart from the occasional clump of impenetrable evergreen. The present owner, a Mr Vallance of Mansfield, is at present abroad, but it is understood locally that it is his intention to keep it as a wildlife sanctuary.
Published survey (OS 25" 1962) is correct, except that the published 'drains' are actually pipes. (4)
SK 6820 7178. Haughton decoy and motte and bailey castle. Scheduled no. NT/54. Listed under 'Castles and Fortifications'. The site of an 11th or 12th century motte and bailey castle and a 17th century duck decoy. The castle lies to the south of the decoy and has a steep-sided mound with a ditched bailey to the south. The decoy is a roughly square pond, partially embanked and associated with a variety of ancillary features. The motte was the site of a timber tower which may have been replaced by a stone tower-keep at a later date. The bailey to the south would have been the site of the garrison and ancillary buildings and enclosures for stock and horses. On the south side it is enclosed by a bow-shaped ditch. Causeways at either end separate the ditch from the decoy and may mark the sites of original entrances into the bailey. The creation of the decoy may have disrupted the northern part of the bailey. The remains of a curving channel which appears to have entered the bailey ditch indicate that the ditch may have been re-used in connection with pipes emerging from the decoy. The pipes are the channels down which waterfowl were enticed and trapped by nets. To the north of the western pipe there is a platform jutting into the pond - one of the 'landings' onto which the ducks were enticed. Similar landings exist on either side of the northern pipe which is also flanked by a small square brick structure which may have later been a hide. There are the footings of brick walls on the north side of the pond, a brick sluice at the north-east corner and the remains of a wooden sluice-gate. Within the decoy pond are two islands, probably both originally for nesting, once connected to the mainland by a jetty or bridge. Flanking the centre part of one island are brick-lined channels with iron hoops long enough to have extended over the channels. These carried an awning which sheltered rowing boats inside the channels. These may have been pleasure boats or were associated with the use of the pond as a decoy. The lower courses of a stone building or enclosure lie on the west of the island. (5-6)
An illustration of the Haughton Hall estate published in 1708 shows the motte transformed into a prospect mound, complete with spiral terrace. (Fig. 43). (7) |