Page 130 HISTORY OF DECOYS.

HISTORY OF DECOYS ( continued ).



CHAPTER X.

DECOYS IN THE COUNTY OF NORFOLK.
CERTAINLY in former days Norfolk was, like Lincoln and Essex, also the land of Decoys, for there were more of them in this county than in any other in England, excepting the above-named counties. The shape of the county is nearly elliptical, and it is so surrounded by the sea and by rivers that it may almost be considered an island. In the days when the Decoys were at their best in this county (1808 to 1830), a great part of Norfolk consisted of rabbit warrens, fen lands, and sheepwalks, and though these have beer! greatly reduced in area, they still exist in parts of the county to a large extent. Possessing such an extensive coast-line, and abounding in numerous sluggish rivers and streams, besides many meres and "broads," Norfolk is especially adapted, both from its outlying position in the North Sea, as well as by reason of its varied extent of marsh and water, to attract aquatic birds, and at the present day a larger number of wildfowl frequent and nest in Norfolk than is the case in any other county in England. I am greatly indebted to Mr. T. Southwell, F.Z.S., of Norwich, who has very kindly assisted me to most of the particulars I am able to give of the Decoys in this county. There are five Decoys in use in Norfolk, one of which only, that at Westwick, is near the coast. The other four, viz., Southacre near Swaffham, Didlington near Brandon, Wretham and Merton near Thetford, are quite inland. The disused Decoys are placed all over the county, except in its centre. Commencing in the NW, near Castle Rising, on the shores of the Wash, and travelling round the coast to Yarmouth, we meet fourteen old Decoys, the first of which is the Dersingham one, and the last, or most southern, the one at Mautby, the latter being about halfway between the sea-coast and Norwich.