i64 THE BOOK OF DUCK DECOYS. 



of a mile NE. of Nacton, and, notwithstanding the adjacent railway, is 

 admirably positioned as a Decoy. 



Nacton Decoys. — There are two ponds here on Nacton Heath, the 

 property of Admiral Sir George Broke Middleton, Bart., of Broke Hall, 

 one a small one of about an acre, for Teal, with two pipes, and another, 

 almost joining it, of lo acres with six pipes, two of which are 

 not now used. Nothing is known with certainty of the age of these 

 Decoys. The present lessee of Broke Hall, Mr. Edward Banbury, is of 

 opinion that the number of Ducks visiting the spot is nothing like so large 

 as formerly, though in the late season (1884-5) 500 fowl were taken in 

 one week, and as many as 1,700 in the season. 



The Decoys are 2\ miles SE. of Ipswich, in the parish of Foxhall, 

 and are sometimes spoken of as the Bixley or Purdis Hall Decoys. They 

 are 2\ miles from the River Orwell, on its north bank, and three-quarters 

 of a mile N. of the Felixstowe Railway. 



Fritton. — The lake at Fritton, 5 miles SW. from Yarmouth, and 6 

 miles NW. of Lowestoft, is 3 miles in length, with an average width of 300 

 yards, and surrounded by large oak woods, a great attraction to the Ducks 

 by reason of the acorns. Eight Decoy pipes are now in use, but the 

 remains of thirteen others now disused are still visible, making twenty-one 

 in all. 



The only pipe worked on the north side of the lake, and that but 

 occasionally, is in the parish of Fritton, at the Hall Farm. Lieut. -Colonel 

 Leathes, of Herringfleet Hall, works three pipes (formerly five) at the 

 Herringfleet or western end of the lake, and Sir Savile Crossley four more 

 at the Ashby or east end, where there was originally a group of seven. 

 Colonel Leathes says that he has no idea when his Decoy was first made, 

 but that it is certain it has existed over 200 years, and that it has been 

 worked by his family 160 years. 



When John Fisk (the old Decoyman previous to 1848) made what he 

 called "a good haul," Colonel Leathes says the stone pavement in the 

 courtyard at the hall, which is close to the lake, used to be covered from 

 end to end with Ducks taken in one day ; it took 600 fowl to do this, and 

 he could often average 200 Ducks per day for weeks ; and Colonel Leathes 

 also tells me, he recollects 600 Ducks beingf cautrht several nights in 

 succession, and this at the Herringfleet Decoy alone, whilst equal takes 



