Acton Place was a large mansion built in the 1700s by Robert Jennens and pulled down in 1825, not far from Long Melford. Close to its former gates is a crossways called Nursery Corner, where tradition says a savage battle was fought in Roman times, since the Roman road to Coddenham ran through here.
Near the crossways was or is the Wimbell, or Wimbrell, Pond. Local belief said an iron chest full to the brim with gold and silver coins was hidden in it. Anyone who threw in a stone was said to hear it ring against the chest, and a little pale figure would appear in the water and call out in a pathetic voice, 'That's mine!'
The tale was recorded in the Bury and Norwich Post in 1852 and later by Allan Jobson in Portrait of Suffolk. The pond may be one that was filled in long ago in a nearby field. It is a treasure-guardian legend with no named witness, so it is tagged as traditional and the pin is approximate.
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