Scheduled Ancient Monument: REMAINS OF MEDIEVAL FISHPONDS AT THE LEYS (30604)

The monument includes the remains of an array of medieval fishponds located in the bottom of the valley of the Goldbrook, in an isolated position to the south of Hoxne village and south west of Heckfield Green. There are the remains of a second set of fishponds some 850m to the north, within the precinct of Hoxne Priory, which is the subject of a separate scheduling. The ponds and associated water management features occupy an area measuring approximately 182m SSE-NNW by 120m WSW-ENE and are laid out on a roughly rhomboidal plan alongside the brook, the course of which has evidently been diverted around their eastern side, with a low embankment between. The brook supplied water to the system from the south east, and from the point at which it diverges north eastwards from its original course a shallow linear depression extends north westwards, marking the line of a supply channel to a leat which is aligned south east-north west and formed the main axis of the system. To either side of this axial leat, slightly to the south of the mid point, two linear ponds extend at right angles, connected to the leat by short channels which would originally have contained sluices. The pond on the west side measures about 50m in length WSW-ESE by up to 10m in width; the pond to the east measures approximately 27m in length by 5m. About 5m to the south of the western linear pond, and also connected by a short sluice channel to the axial leat, is a quadrangular pond measuring up to 46m WSW-ESE by 30m and containing a central island. To the south of this and parallel to it are the remains of a third, measuring about 30m by 8m as shown on Ordnance Survey maps and now visible as two depressions of unequal depth. The north western part of the complex, to the north of the western linear pond, is occupied by a large, triangular pond, connected to the axial leat by another short channel through an embankment along the eastern side. In line near the western side of this pond there are three small, roughly circular islands. In the north eastern part of the system, immediately to the north of the eastern linear pond and east of the axial leat, are two ponds separated by a broad embankment, although it is possible that the embankment has been constructed of material from later cleaning and divides what was originally a single feature. The western and smaller of these two north eastern ponds is visible as a boggy depression alongside the axial leat. The larger pond to the east, which is also largely silted, was supplied by a channel running roughly parallel to the course of the brook, and a modern continuation of this channel has been created by recutting along the eastern side of the pond. The axial leat, as shown on old Ordnance Survey maps, issued from the northern end of the system back into the brook, although the connecting section has been infilled and is no longer visible. At the southern end of the system, aligned north west-south east from opposite the point at which the brook diverges from its original course, is a linear depression about 39m in length which is all that remains visible of a channel which formerly extended around the southern and south western part of the complex. A similar channel, now infilled, is recorded alongside the north western pond, about 10m beyond its outer edge. These were probably parts of a single bypass channel to carry surplus water, and the infilled sections, which will survive as buried features, are included in the scheduling. Immediately to the west of the projected line of this infilled channel is a house which stands, at least in part, on massive foundations built of brick of late medieval or early post-medieval type. The foundations are thought to be earlier than the house and may be the remains of a lodge for the men who managed the fishponds and guarded them from poachers. These foundations are included in the scheduling. In the medieval period the manor of Hoxne was held by the Bishop of Norwich, who had two deer parks here, one of which, known as Old Park, lay about 1km to the east of the fishponds. Although it is possible that the ponds belonged to Hoxne Priory, it is more likely that they formed part of the bishop's estate in the parish. The layout of the ponds suggests that aesthetic considerations may have played some part in their design. A number of features are excluded from the scheduling. These are: the house, all modern fences and gates, modern paving, a greenhouse to the south east of the house, and a cesspit and inspection chamber to the east of the northern end of the house; however the ground beneath all these features is included.