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Decoy Pond and associated overnight shelter on Decoy Heath is an ancient monument comprising the remains of a duck decoy and its associated keeper's shelter, located in Dorset. The site dates to the post-medieval period, when such decoys were established as a means of capturing wildfowl for food and profit, a practice that became widespread across England from the seventeenth century onwards. The pond itself retains evidence of its original construction, whilst the shelter represents the functional architecture necessary for the decoy keeper to operate and maintain the system. These monuments together illustrate the landscape management and exploitation of natural resources characteristic of early modern rural enterprise.
Decoy pond and associated overnight shelter on Decoy Heath is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1016916. View the official record →
Decoy Pond and associated overnight shelter on Decoy Heath is an ancient monument comprising the remains of a duck decoy and its associated keeper's shelter, located in Dorset. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1016916.
Decoy pond and associated overnight shelter on Decoy Heath is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1016916.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Oval barrow at the western end of Stonehill Down, 800m south west of East Creech Farm (9.3 km), Group of six pillow mounds 470m north west of Barnston Farm (9.5 km), Thorn Barrow: a bowl barrow on East Holme Range, 650m north-east of Whiteway Farm (10 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Decoy pond and associated overnight shelter on Decoy Heath's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Decoy pond and associated overnight shelter on Decoy Heath stands on Bracklesham Group And Barton Group (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is sand, silt and clay.