124 THE BOOK' OF DUCK DECOYS. 



three Decoys were worked, one by Richard Alford and two by T. and J. 

 Williams respectively. The pool nearest the sea was known as the " shore" 

 or " Old Tom Williams's " Decoy, as it was worked for him for many years 

 before he removed to the Lakenheath Decoy in Suffolk, and where he is 

 said to have died at the age of 109. 



Leake, the parish next to Wrangle on its west side. There was a pool 

 here which was out of use at the end of the last century, and is marked on 

 the drainage maps of that date as " an ancient Decoy." 



The Decoys in the four last-named parishes ceased to exist early in 

 the present century. 



All the Decoys now described in this county are south of Lincoln. 

 Those to follow are north of that town. 



SkellingtJiorpe Decoy, 2 miles W. of Lincoln and a mile SSE. of 

 Skellingthorpe, between the catchwater drain and the main drain. This 

 Decoy was a square pond with four pipes, and the form of it can easily 

 be discerned, though it has not been in use for 40 years. 



Burton Hall Decoy. — The residence of Lord Monson, a mile SSW. 

 of South Carlton and 3 miles NW. of Lincoln, on the E. side of the main 

 and catchwater drains. The owner informs me that the site of the Decoy 

 has been ploughed up, and that no traces of it now remain. 



Sotith Carlton Decoy, also on the property of Lord Monson, and of 

 which traces are still to be seen. This pool is on the W. bank of the 

 catchwater and main drains, is a mile W. of the Burton Hall Decoy, and 

 3^ miles NW. of Lincoln. 



Neither of these Decoys have been in use since the beginning of the 

 present century. 



South Kelsey Decoy, \\ miles NW. of South Kelsey, on the southern 

 side of Kelsey Carrs, near the N. bank of the Caistor Canal. Long dis- 

 used. 



Farlsthorpe Decoy, 2 miles SE. of Alford, in Farlsthorpe Fen, half- 

 way between Alford and Mumby. 



All these old Lincolnshire Decoys were, with a few exceptions, de- 

 stroyed by the Drainage Acts of 1795, 1807, and 1809, the Skellingthorpe 

 one holding out the longest, being worked till 1840. One by one their 

 avocation was destroyed, the means of sustenance being taken from 

 them as the fens in their inmost recesses became cultivated. For now 



