Env (M2000) Ponds - Stansted History

Local Ponds

The following section contains a photographs and descriptions of the various ponds in the local area.
Note: Clicking on an image will reveal a full-size version.

Fairseat Pond 2025 — Fairseat Pond in 2025. This probably started off life as a clay-lined dew pond with a smaller mirror image in the garden of the Old Post House. The pond is part of Court House Farm, and along with The Old Post House pond were part of the Waterlow estate. The new duck house was built and donated by Bart Holden in 2024. In 2023 great crested newts were seen in the pond. It is not an ideal habitat for newts as wildfowl, fish and road run-off harm their breeding cycle. Great crested newts travel between ponds, and a ghost pond (Honeypot pond) was restored by Natural England to provide a connected newt habitat (see Honeypot pond below).

Fairseat Pond 1851 — Fairseat Pond in 1851. In a hot Summer the driver was giving his horse a drink and, probably, filling the barrel on the cart. This is a very early image as photography did not really become a recognised medium until 1840.

Fairseat Post Office 1930s — The Old Post House and Pond, Vigo Road, Fairseat. The Post Office moved here in 1930 and the photo would have been from around that time. The pond in the foreground is almost a continuation of the Fairseat duck pond in Vigo Road and is now in a private garden.

A hard Winter in 1958 caused Fairseat pond to freeze solid. Tom Pasteur and his mother, Grisell are in the foreground with their backs to the camera. Polly Falconer is sitting on a toboggan in the centre being pulled by her aunt Sally Watney with their dog Neenah in the background. Polly broke her nose playing on the frozen pond in 1961 so the pond freezing over was a regular event in those days.

All Souls Pond in Hall Wood, Fairseat looking east in 2020. Honeypot Lane runs by this large spring-fed pond. It is just over the Parish boundary into Ash-cum-Ridley and was named as All Souls Pond on Thomas Fulljames’ survey of Ash in 1792.

Honeypot Pond. This is an old clay-lined dew pond that features on an 1860 map and is situated off footpath MR204 between Fairseat Pond and All Souls Pond in Hall Wood. Over the years it had disappeared although traces of it remained thus making it a ‘ghost’ pond. It is part of Court House Farm and was restored by Natural England in 2023 to provide a habitat for the Great Crested Newt. Further detail on this project can be found in a link that is below this photo gallery.

This pond was situated roughly where the driveway to Staples Cottage, Vigo Road now stands. The pond and the cottage in the background no longer exist but is testament to a time when villagers got their everday water from rainwater collected in cisterns and from ponds and wells. Frank Osborne’s first job was with Mr Lamparde who lived at the house now called Fairlight Lodge in Fairseat. Frank had to look after 6 cows. There was a dairy attached to the house, a cottage between the Manor and Fairlight Lodge, and a track ran from the road to the fields behind. Alongside the track was a long barn and a large pond, where the cows could drink.

One of two road drainage ponds in Wrotham Hill Road in 2020. This one is on the southern side and is about 150 metres east of the track to Hill Park Farm. Curiously, it has a brick built bank on the edge furthest from the road.

The second of the two road drainage ponds in Wrotham Hill Road in 2020. This one is on the northern side about 80 metres east of Grove Cottage. Local residents remember a parishioner crashing his new Porsche into it some years ago.

This pond is opposite the front of Coldharbour farm at the junction of footpaths MR204 and MR214.

This pond is to the north of Coldharbour farm just off footpath MR204.

A pond at the back of Stansted Lodge Farm, Tumblefield Road by footpath MR211 2020.

Plaxdale Green pond is a prominent road drainage pond which always has a duck or two resident. It was part of Plaxdale Green Farm until 1961 when it became part of the newly-formed Oakdale farm. The photograph was taken in 2020.

Road drainage pond belonging to the Old Rectory, Plaxdale Green Road looking west in 2020.

A pond on one of the holes of the London Golf Club in 2019. The land is part of Trochee, Hatham Green Lane.

This is a naturally occurring pond just inside the entrance of Oak Tree Farm in 2025. Wises Lane runs immediately to the left of the pond.

A road drainage pond just by the entrance to Crabdene Cottage, Hatham Green Lane in 2019

Google Earth satellite photos show that this ‘pond’ at the top of Martin Hill, Stansted (about 200 metres north of the water reservoir) was not in existence before 1940. It appeared some time after 1940 and before 1960. It has all the characteristics of a man made “dew pond”, but may well have been created where either a land mine (or more likely, a V1 doodlebug) exploded at 0053 hrs on Sunday 18th June, 1944 damaging Stansted school and the cottages at the foot of Martin Hill. This event is covered in more detail under “Landmarks>Stansted School”. Over the years the crater has become shallower and shallower and today it is a damp depression in the middle of a field.

These days (2025) this old road drainage pond in Tumblefield road just uphill from Tumblefield estate is no more than a muddy depression,but in 1928 it was the site of a near-fatal drowning of a 2 year old boy.

Stansted Hill pond in 2019. This was known as Windmill pond until the 1970s and was the top drover’s pond for Windmill Hill; the other being situated where the war memorial now stands.

A road drainage pond about 400 metres along Fairseat Lane (Ridley) from Turkins Corner in 2020.

Information about the Great Crested Newt project in Honeypot field, Fairseat, from Medway Valley Conservation and Natural England is available via the following link. Please note that part of the attachment is out of date so far as grants are concerned.