Skellingthorpe Duck Decoy, Decoy Farm
Reference Name MLI60297
Name:
Skellingthorpe Duck Decoy, Decoy Farm
Summary:
Skellingthorpe duck decoy, 550m to the north-east of Decoy Farm.
Location:
SKELLINGTHORPE, NORTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE
Description:
Earthworks of a duck decoy pond constructed before 1638 (or 1693) and last used in 1840. A double-ditched oval enclosure surrounds a sub-rectangular pond with pipes curving from each corner. It is largely overgrown with scrub but with small areas of open water and the outline of the pond is still discernible. {1}{2}{3}{4}
The duck decoy at Skellingthorpe is the best preserved in the county. The complete layout and associated features survive as earthworks. It is thought to be one of the oldest decoys in Lincolnshire, and was in existence by 1693 when it was leased for a yearly rent of 16 pounds, 10 shillings, demonstrating the high income potential of the decoy. It is a significant landscape feature in a 1743 engraving of the south-west prospect of Lincoln, where it is shown to be well wooded in comparison with the surrounding treeless fen. The land around the decoy was drained and enclosed for farmland following an Act of Parliament, and it had been the last Lincolnshire decoy in active use when it ceased being worked in 1840. At about this time Decoy House was renamed Decoy Farm. For more detail see the scheduling document 30101. {5}{6}{7}
Sources:
1 Bibliographic reference: PADLEY, J.S.. 1882. THE FENS AND FLOODS OF MID-LINCOLNSHIRE. p.60, plans.1, 5
2 Serial: ROEBUCK A. 1935. LINCOLNSHIRE MAGAZINE. vol.2, no.5, p.136
3 Index: SMR. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. SK 97 SW: R, CJD
4 Aerial Photograph: ST JOSEPH, J.K.S.. 1945-1979. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. EX 0012, 1950
5 Scheduling record: ENGLISH HERITAGE. 1997. SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 30101. MPP 22
6 Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. LINCOLNSHIRE. SK9471: LI.631.1-3
7 Unpublished document: Heaton, A.M.. 1990. Skellingthorpe Decoy: A Fenland Feature Near Lincoln. -