Duck Decoys on Crowle Moor

In the “History and Topography of the Isle of Axholme”, by the Rev. W. B. Stonehouse, M.A., written in 1839, p. 422, the author remarks :-

“A small Decoy yet lingers on part of the common (parish of Crowle), where wildfowl are occasionally taken, just sufficient to remind the modern sportsman what a diversion the ancient fowler found in these extensive and wild resorts of the feathered race.”

Duck Decoy on Crowle Moors, to the west of the town (1853)

Before the drainage of the marsh lands adjacent to Thorne, at Hatfield and Goole Moors, by Sir Cornelius Vermuyden, of drainage fame, who having spent £200,000 in doing so, died in poverty at Crowtrees, near Thorne, the district abounded in wildfowl of every description. It was near here, at the mouth of the Trent, that the last Avocet’s nest found in England was discovered in 1840. Thorne Waste or moor lies 8 miles south of the River Humber at Goole, and between the small towns of Crowle and Thorne, and on the north side of the Stainforth and Keadby Canal.
This waste is an extensive morass of about 6,000 acres, 500 Of which have been apportioned to Crowle; its depth averages 12 to 15 feet, and in some places many more ; a fact attributable to the fine qualities of the soil beneath. Below are the remains of an extensive forest consisting of oak, beech, birch, willow, and other trees, and which forest evidently at one time covered an immense tract of ground in this part of the country. Generally speaking, these trees are in a remarkable state of preservation, and the wood is used for posts, rails, and laths. The destruction of the forest will in a measure, no doubt, account for the existence of the moor. Anyhow, its formation is an interesting subject, and was probably aided by a subsidence of the land, for at the depth at which these trees are found they could not by any possibility now grow. In various parts of the moor, especially the central, are small lakes or pools of water, upon the margin of which Wild Ducks and the Blackheaded Gull (Larus rirdibundus) breed. Wild Geese also frequent the moor, as do Plover and other birds. Several kinds, however, that formerly made their appearance are not now to be seen. Amongst reptiles, the adder or viper (Pelias berus), and the common snake (Natrix torquata) are to be noted. Dragon flies abound near the pools, and, on a still summer or autumn evening, what are here called “midges” (the Culex reptans a very small black gnat with transparent wings , ), are very troublesome, not so much on account of their bite, but because of their creeping over the skin of the face and neck.

Decoy on Thorne Waste near New Zealand Farm.

Some information on the decoys is included in the Book of Duck Decoys, published by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey in 1886.

Keadby Decoy

Keadby Decoy, 2 miles SE of Crowle, WNW. of Keadby, a village on the left bank of the Trent. The Decoy is situate a mile N. of the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. Little trace of it now remains, as the waste ground on which it was then placed is now drained and cultivated.

Keadby Decoy – http://archive.org/stream/bookofduckdecoysx00payn#page/124/mode/2up

The Crowle Decoy is described as Thorne Waste

Thome Waste is 4 miles S. of Goole, and in the West Riding of Yorkshire. There existed a productive Decoy here, north of the Keadby Canal, on the moor some 2 miles west of Crowle, which small town is situated on what is known as the Isle of Axholme, at its NW. extremity, near the River Don, just over the border of Yorkshire, in Lincolnshire. There are no records of the Decoy or its successes, but Mr. Henry Ellis, of The Manor House, Crowle, distinctly recollects it in use, and to him I am indebted for what few notes I can supply of it, as well as for the interesting account of Thorne Waste appended. In 1836 the Decoy was in full work ; it ceased to be used about the year 1840, as by that time a considerable extent of the moor had been drained. The Decoy was an acre in extent, and had three pipes as well as a Decoyman’s hut close by. Its site is now almost undistinguishable, and is covered with small beech-trees, and various mosses and other products of the moor ; but Mr. Ellis tells me that, knowing its exact position, he has no difficulty in finding it. In the ” History and Topography of the Isle of Axholme ” (an island formed by three rivers, the Trent on the east, the Don on the north and west, and the Idle on the south), by the Rev. W. B. Stonehouse, M.A., written in 1839, p. 422, the author remarks : — ” A small Decoy yet lingers on part of the common (parish of Crowle), where wildfowl are occasionally taken, just sufficient to remind the modern sportsman what a diversion the ancient fowler found in these extensive and wild resorts of the feathered race.” Before the drainage of the marsh lands adjacent to Thorne, at Hatfield and Goole Moors, by Sir Cornelius Vermuyden, of drainage fame, who having spent ^’200,000 in doing so, died in poverty at Crowtrees, near Thorne, the district abounded in wildfowl of every description. It was near here, at the mouth of the Trent, that the last Avocet’s nest found in England was discovered in 1840. Thorne Waste or moor lies 8 miles south of the River Humber at Goole, and between the small towns of Crowle and Thorne, and on the north side of the Stainforth and Keadby Canal.

New Zealand. — In 1880 the late Mr. Durham, who owned a large part of Thorne Waste, partly constructed a small Decoy on a portion of the moor known as ” New Zealand,” near Thorne. It was made on the plan of the Decoy at Ashby, but was never properly worked, and is now out of order.

Thorne Waste – http://archive.org/stream/bookofduckdecoysx00payn#page/184/mode/2up/search/crowle