Peter Pond is just west of Emsworth at Hermitage and was originally a working mill pond, supplying water to drive the old flour mill.
Peter Pond is a ‘saline lagoon’ that is just under 3 acres in size. It is tidal, being connected to Chichester Harbour, and it naturally mixes fresh water with saltwater. The lagoon is home to bass, mullet and trout.
Did you know?
Mr and Mrs Kinloch were Emsworth architects. A lady came in their office one day in 1980 and said the mill pond was up for sale so they went to the town quay mill pond, but were then told it was actually the northern slipper mill pond up for sale (another name for Peter Pond). The rumour was Havant Council was going to buy it for a car-park for Emsworth. Mrs Kinloch was so furious she told her husband ‘they are not going to do that!’ Mr. Kinloch said ‘We do not want to buy a pond, we don’t know anything about ponds. She said ‘ I have my money and I am going to buy it’ And so she did, saving this beautiful wetland area. She named it ‘Peter Pond’ after her father. What a heroine!
The pond consists of variable habitats and is home to many fauna, flora and insect species, offering a high quality of biodiversity. There are large areas of standing reed beds consisting of Seaclub Rush (Bolboschoenus Matitimus) and tall Thatching Reed (Phragmite Australis).
Did you know?
Reed-Warblers (Acrocephalus Scirpaceus) return from Africa every year in April to build their nests on the tall thatching reed stems. Reed Warblers nests are also the favourite nest of the Cuckoo (Cuculus Canorus) that invades the nest and their one large chick then evicts the reed warblers own offspring from the nest!.
Dave Gatrell has been the manager of Peter Pond since the 1980s. His team manages the Phragmite reeds by cutting them on a 3 year rotation, between November and March each year, to strengthen the stems. Cut reeds are then removed to prevent nutrient build-up, which would encourage weeds to grow in the reed-beds. Water Voles (Arvicola Amphibius) live in the side streams on Peter Pond.
When the old Emsworth flour mill was working, the miller would open the mill gates to drive the mill using the mill pond water, emptying the pond each day. This would also clear the pond of the silt which builds up in all ponds. Without the working mill silt has built up over the years, as seen below, so it has to be actively managed.
Did you know?
The Slipper Mill Preservation Society, who manage the lower Slipper Pond, open the sluice gates and drain both ponds for about a week from September to February every year. This clears the silt and allows various fish species like trout to run through the series of ponds and up the river to spawn.
- Read more about the two Hermitage Mill Ponds – click here
- Read about the Slipper Mill Pond Preservation Society – click here