Monument record CHF 007 - Post Medieval duck decoy pond.

Decoy pond with 6 hooked arms within woodland, marked on Hodskinsons 1783 map (S1). Still working in 1907. `It covers 20 acres, 12 acres of which are open water; it is over 100 years old' (S2). `It also appears on the estate map of 1807' (S3)(R1)(R2).
A duck decoy pond is partially visible on aerial photographs of 1943 onwards as an earthwork within the woodland known as Decoy Wood, centred on circa TM38985193, Chillesford parish (S4). As described above it is marked on Hodskinsons 1783 map giving it a Post Medieval date, but it is also clearly mapped on both the first and second edition Ordnance Survey maps of circa 1884 and 1904 suggesting it may have continued into use well into the 20th century (S5-6). However, by 1943 when the feature is first visible on aerial photographs, and on later photographs, it is appears to be silted up and overgrown, rendering much of the area of the pond, including the arms, invisible to aerial survey (S7).