HISTORY OF DECOYS. | |
| The following notes of this Decoy have been kindly supplied to me by Mr. Henry Birch of Thame, to whom I am also greatly indebted for similar notes on the Boarstall Decoy above quoted. | |
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WINCHENDON DECOY. | |
| The parish of Over or Upper Winchendon is situated in Bucks, 7 miles west of Aylesbury. The Manor up to the time of the Dissolution belonged to the monastery of St Frideswide. It then passed into the hands of the Goodwyns, who built a house there, called "Winchenden House," and subsequently the estate became the property of the Whartons. The estates of the last marquis were forfeited, and the Winchendon Estate was purchased by the second Duke of Marlborough, who in 1760 pulled down the house (save part of one wing, which is now occupied as a farm-house, and which, together with the walled garden, is called "The Wilderness," a name which originally belonged to a grove adjoining the ancient mansion). The wood called "The Decoy" lies in the valley, about one mile from the site of the house. The pond in the centre is dry, but is very clearly defined, and covers about 2 acres of ground, whilst the wood surrounding it measures 5 acres, and is octagonal. There are three distinct pipes; the principal one runs from the south corner, whilst there are others equally well preserved, but shorter and narrower, to the east and west. Towards the north there are signs of another channel, but as the ground falls away on that side it is improbable that it was more than a drain. The ground rises considerably to the south and east, and the Decoy was evidently supplied with water from a spring on the hills to the southeast; indeed there would be no difficulty in filling it at any time. The estate was purchased from the Marlborough family in 1872 by the Rothschilds. The present tenant, Mr. Cooper, came to the farm thirty years ago when he was a boy. One of the wooden traps which was made to hold the Decoy ducks and to entrap the others was then in existence, and was given him to play with, and was turned by him into a rabbit-hutch. | |