About the Barham Lakes
The Barham Lakes was formally owned by a financer in London before its sale to a local angler in 2018. Over Many years local people and anglers have expressed their desire for the lakes to be ‘invested in’ and for them to realise their true potential as possibly the best fishing venue in the country.
About us
Until 2018 the venue was in danger of falling in to disrepair and was attracting attention from landfill companies.
The new direction in which the venues future now lies will offer sustainability for the Barham Lakes for many years to come, substantial investment in bank repairs, predation defence and fish stocks have already been made.
Extraction History
The pits were extracted for aggregates in the 1950s to 1970s and left once the natural resources had been exhausted. Local angling clubs maintained the venue to the best of their ability for a number of years but due to the venues sheer size it was always a struggle.
During its excavating process gravels extracted here by AH Eastall & Co Ltd in the 1950s – 1970s, produced abundant mammal fossils of Devensian age, many of which can be seen in the Ipswich Museum collection.
The Devensian cold stage of the Pleistocene ‘ice age’ is dated between approximately 120,000 to 10,000 years ago. The river terrace gravels showing coarse, angular flint gravels with quartz, sandstone, limestone and igneous erratics, indicating glacial origins can be seen in the slopes and spoil heaps around the site.
The Barham fauna may date to a minor amelioration in the climate about 40,000 years ago with sparse plant cover and cool summers. The grey silty stratum at the base of excavation has yielded seeds of aquatic plants and mammal fossils: