Before railways brought the sea so near, such ponds were very useful.

At that time almost everything consumed came from the estate itself: the bread, the beef, the mutton, the venison, game, fish, all was supplied by the adjacent woods, the fields, or the water.

The lord in old days hunted the deer on his own domain, brought down game with a crossbow or captured it with nets, and fished or netted his own streams and ponds.

These great parks and chaces enclosed everything, so that it was within easy reach of his own door.

Sometimes the lord and his visitors strolled out to see the fishponds netted.
This pond had originally been one of a series, but the others had been drained and added to the meadows.