Page 142 HISTORY OF DECOYS.

HISTORY OF DECOYS ( continued ).



CHAPTER XI.

DECOYS IN THE COUNTY OF NORTHHAMPTON.
THIS county is frequented by wildfowl, in any number,only in its NE. extremity, near which portion it is bordered by Lincolnshire and Huntingdonshire, and more or less encompassed by the sluggish rivers Nene and Welland. In former times, when the great meres of Whittlesey and Ramsey, and the Fens of Crowland, Deeping, Stilton, Holme, and Farcett were uncultivated, wildfowl frequented the low-lying lands that border the Nene and Welland in Northamptonshire in large numbers. This area is, however, restricted to the extreme NE. point of the county, and reaches from Oundle to Wansford and thence to Crowland. Between Crowland and Peterborough exists the only fen in the county, that known as Borough Fen, and here is placed an old and well-known Decoy. The only other Decoy in Northamptonshire is Lord Lilford's, at Aldwinckle, on the Nene near Oundle.

Decoys in use. Aldwinkle. Borough Fen.	Decoys not in use. None.
Aldwinckle, near Lilford Hall, Oundle, 3¼ miles NE. of Thrapstone. A Decoy was constructed here last year (1885) by T. Gilbert Skelton for Lord Lilford. It is triangular in form, and has three pipes, one at each corner, and is a very perfect example of a Duck Decoy, as no expense or trouble has been spared in its construction. The Decoy being situated in the valley of the River Nene, is likely to succeed, as fowl frequent and pass over this valley in large numbers, and also rest on their migration in it, especially when the river floods, as it sometimes does extensively.