What's wrong with your pond?
In the design of the pond and wetland, there had to be an element of trade-off between conservation aspects and visual amenity. We felt and still feel that the former are more important and therefore gave priority to adding to the reserve's wildlife and education value. From the start, therefore, the pond and wetland has been intended to be attractive to wildlife. When it's a few years older, it will even start to look attractive to humans, too.
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At the moment, the result does not conform to the picture-postcard stereotype of a village pond. Lingfield already has one of these, in the village centre. Called variously Gun Pond, Gunpit Pond or The Gun Pit (old records differ), it comes complete with seats, ducks and water lilies.
As you can see from the photograph, it's very picturesque. The boundary Oak in the background is reckoned to be 400 years old. (See here for a photograph of it from another angle.)
That hard surround, though, is an obstacle to any creature trying to crawl out on to dry land. There is no mud or wetland surrounding the water, nor the subtle changes in shore gradient needed to make small puddles. Except for under the tree, there is no marginal vegetation to feed or shelter birds, small mammals or invertebrates. In wildlife terms, it's a rather unfriendly place.
(It was not always like this, see the note below.)
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These sorts of thing have been designed into our pond and wetland, which is intended to be as natural as we can make it. For example, it is built to accommodate wide fluctuations in water level. These are typical in nature. Many aquatic invertebrates require water only in spring and early summer in order to complete their life cycles. Also, certain plant species, such as Water Mint, thrive on seasonal inundation.
Within three years of its construction, there were plenty of Diving Beetles, Water Boatmen, Pond Skaters and Newts visible in the pond. These are what is known as indicator species, since they are carnivores and are at or near the top of the food chain. There must therefore be healthy populations of other creatures for them to feed on.
Battling against stereotypes
We tell people these things, to reassure them, but from time to time still get asked, "What's wrong with your pond?" The answer, of course, is "Nothing; that's how it's meant to look".
This illustrates one of the greatest educational problems we have –- not with children but with those adults who view nature reserves as large gardens. They do not understand why the Wildlife Area is not filled with colourful flowers all the time, why the grass is usually uncut and why neatness is not a prized characteristic. We even get offers of Koi carp for the pond.
Coping with the well-meaning
Weaning these (mostly) well-intentioned folk off their 'parks and gardens' mentality takes time. For instance, we ask people not to put any of their own plants, fish or other creatures in the pond and wetland. Some still do, alas. (See here for a list of plants not to put in a wild pond.)
Although people's generosity is appreciated, their actions risk introducing unwanted species. Purchased water plants, especially from garden centres, often carry with them the seeds of invasive alien plants and the eggs of unwanted organisms. Any fish much larger than a Stickleback would kill the invertebrates and amphibians that we are trying to encourage into the pond.
Getting these points over is a long-term task.
How Gun Pond used to be
In his A History of Lingfield ("Typed at Maidstone, 1973"), Francis Hamilton Napier says that Gun Pond appeared some time after 1864. Once it had been dug, it was used by drovers on their weekly trip to East Grinstead market, from places like Tandridge, Crowhurst, Oxted and Horne.
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When the Pond came, the droves stopped to drink at it, and the cows and horses from Magnus Deo [a nearby farm] were hardly ever out of it. Thus its approaches were turned into an appalling quagmire.
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After 1893, the pond was enclosed with railings and subsequently lined with brick. An artificial island was built, flowers planted, a gravel walk laid and rustic seats installed. Later, the "old white posts and rail" were replaced by a wall. Napier did not approve.
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The rude old cattle pond has become respectable.... I hope I may be forgiven if my heart still lingers with the white rail and the duckweed.... Yes, on the whole I prefer the old Pond... to the immaculate tidy oval of today.
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One wonders what he would have thought of our definitely maculate pond and wetland in Bloomer's Field.
There's a small image of an 1895 Francis Frith photograph of the Old Cage and the pond here. How sterile it looks. Even the passage of nine years did not help, according to this later Frith picture, dated 1904. What's more, the water level had dropped, exposing large areas of mud.
There is still no marginal vegetation to see in this 1926 Emil Hoppe picture, reproduced on Steve Madkins' LovelyLingfield site. (You'll need to scroll to the bottom of the page.)
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Finally, here's a (blurred) photograph of the cage and pond, probably taken in the 1940s. There's not much change on the margins to be seen there, either.
The vegetation on the water surface is likely to be Water Lily leaves and Duckweed.
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Perhaps we should show these pictures to the doubting Thomases. Our pond's only five years old and has made much faster progress!