High Country History Group

On 4 December members and friends of the High Country History Group enjoyed a special evening given by Richard Rigby, Secretary of the Magic Lantern Society. Richard and his wife, dressed in costume, took the audience back to the days before wireless and television showing a variety of slides dating from the Edwardian era and before using a contemporary projector. Members saw a comedy slide show of a short and tall man going on a picnic only to be chased by a tiger; the traveller in bed at Epping, who when he snored swallowed a rat - it causing outrage to the sensitive Victorians; scenes of London and a story warning of the dangers of 'The Bottle'. Seasonal refreshments were served and profits for this ticket event were divided between the Essex Air Ambulance and Haven Hospice.

Magic Lantern Evening Charities

The "Magic Lantern Evening" held at Toot Hill Village Hall on Thursday, 4 December, raised money for two charities. Haven House Children's Hospice, Woodford Green, and the Essex Air Ambulance both received donations of £80. Richard Rigby and his wife, who staged the evening, are to be thanked for their generosity in the presentation.

Sir Thomas Smith, a statesman of very different calibre, a true scholar of high attainments, and author of a classic volume upon the constitution of England, was born at Walden on December 23rd, 1547, of a family then in high position, claiming descent from Sir Roger de Clarendon, son of the Black Prince. At eleven Smith went from Walden Grammar School to Cambridge, and soon held several appointments in his university, where he was known as a staunch Protestant.

He entered the service of Protector Somerset, was employed on diplomatic missions abroad, became Ambassador to France, Provost of Eton, and Dean of Carlisle. He represented Essex in Parliament, and reached his highest honour as Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth, over which capricious lady he gained, indeed. considerable influence. Smith acquired Hill Hall with his second wife, Philippa, widow of Sir John Hampden, of Theydon Mount, and in 1557 and 1568 rebuilt portions of this fine old manor house. which is still in the possession of the descendants of his brother George, for he had no children of his own. He is buricd in the chancel of Theydon Church.¹

The ceremony of blessing the geese is described by a lady who was staying about two miles from Epping some twenty-five years ago (Folk-lore, 1903):

"One morning while standing at my window I saw a flock of goslings come out of a lane, driven by an old woman who was dressed in the style of the pictures of Old Mother Goose. She drove them to a piece of grass at the side of the road, and walked up and down in front of them, spreading her arms over them and bowing first one way and then the other, at the same time saying some words which I could not catch, but they evidently formed some kind of incantation. I asked my maid (a country girl) if she knew what the old woman was doing. 'Oh yes' (said she), 'that is old Mother Jenkins. Otherwise they would never prosper.'

The girl assured me all the breeders of geese patronised this old woman, who was paid a fee for her services, and that she made the principal part of her living in this way. 'Now '(said the girl)' they will grow strong and flourish.' I ought to add that the old woman held a kind of wand in her hand, which she waved over the geese whilst muttering her incantation."

²

Part One: A General Introduction

Preface

Like many people, I descend from a family of agricultural labourers. I wondered what life was like for my ancestors and began to read the few books available on the subject and original documents held at the Essex Record Office. I considered the general context of farming in nineteenth and early twentieth century Essex (taking 1840 to 1920 as the period of study) and how it affected the lives of the agricultural labour - the ordinary family - in terms of health, housing etc .. This is a series of extracts from a 44 page book that I have written.

Introduction

It is easy to assume that life changed very little during the Victorian and Edwardian era. Villages were largely self-sufficient. In most country parishes there was a network of trades built up to serve the farmer and farm labourer: the butcher, baker, wheelwright, blacksmith as well as the doctor (for those who could afford treatment), and publican (where men might spend what little leisure time they had). The talk around villages was about the weather, crops and prices. It was an era of oil lamps, large families, wash-days and home baking from meagre resources. There was no running water and the privy was up the garden.

The horse and plough was a common sight with groups of labourers working in the fields. The countryside, unlike today, must have been a busy place. The labourer supplied his own tools for the job. It took a man one day to plough an acre of land with a horse. By dusk he had walked eleven miles.

To suggest that the work was unskilled performed by ignorant and simple people could not be more untrue. Great skill was necessary, for example, in the use of the scythe and, with a team of horses, ploughing a straight furrow.

This was a very different age to our own, but still one of great change.

Farming from 1840 to 1920 - A brief chronological history

Throughout the era, and indeed probably in every age down to 1945, those who lived in country parishes were engaged directly or indirectly in the 'agricultural industry'. Lives revolved around tending animals or the planting, growing and reaping of crops.

To understand rural life at the beginning of the Victorian era we need to sketch the economic situation in Britain. In 1840 the lives of many were affected by the Corn Laws. During the Napoleonic War, England was effectively blockaded and became reliant on producing its own food. Britain was on the verge of famine by 1812. The price of wheat rose steeply. There followed two good harvests in 1814 and 1815 and, as hostilities ceased, food imports resumed. The price of wheat halved between 1813 and January 1815 which threatened the livelihoods of farmers. Parliament passed the Corn Laws to keep the price of wheat artificially high by banning grain imports until the price of wheat rose above £4 per quarter. It was in effect a self-imposed blockade on foreign grain.

While the Corn Laws helped ensure employment for the agricultural labourer, it also affected the price of a loaf of bread, a basic foodstuff. There were many protests but the ordinary working man had no say because he had no voting rights. A working class movement in the late 1830s (Chartism) failed to make any impact. It was not until 1846 that the Government were forced to repeal the Laws because of the Irish Potato Famine.

William White (1848) described the soil and produce of Essex as having "Every species of loam, from the mildest to the most stubborn ... The county is on the whole fertile, and possesses some particularly fine land. The greater part is well enclosed, and rendered highly productive by the skilful management of agriculturalists. The farmers of Essex are reckoned among the best in the kingdom, and many of them hold farms in different parishes. ... Besides the usual crops of wheat, barley, oats, peas, beans, potatoes &c., a considerable quantity of rape seed is grown, and also mustard, rye-grass, trefoil, and all sorts of garden seeds and vegetables". Today farmers will still testify that the Rodings "strong wet loam" grows the best wheat in the whole of East Anglia. Miller Christy (1887) wrote, "their soil is a heavy clay, good for wheat-growing, and offering difficulties to horseman well recognised by those who ride to hounds"⁴. Thomas Wright (1836) noted that without drainage and good management the land "yields very little"³. In this respect, Essex farmers were innovative and ahead of their time.

Around Chelmsford was "very good turnip land" and between the Hanningfields and Waltham Abbey there was "every sort of soil to be met with". Growing peas was also common around the Chelmsford area, as was market gardening.

White records that the Epping area was "famous" for its cream from cattle, and pigs were fattened for the London markets. Livestock fairs existed until the end of the nineteenth century. Two of the most well-known locally were at Ingatestone (on 15 December) and at Bush Fair, Harlow. In 1880, David Smith's grandfather, who farmed at Liok House, West Hanningfield, "went to Ingatestone Fair and, after baving bis pocket picked, bought twelve bullocks",

The proximity of the county to London helped the county's fortune. The coming of the railways, locally to Brentwood in 1839. Chelmsford in 1840, then via another route to Ongar in 1865, had a major impact on the nation's prosperity. It was "the most stupendous social tevolution that has occurred in Engiand at any time"". Markets opened up because goods could be moved with relative ease. By the end of the century there were very few parishes in Essex more than ten miles from a railway station.

Wheat was an important crop in Essex, evidenced by rent levels levied to farmers which changed according to the price of the commodity in the local market. After poor harvests the tithe (payment to the church) was sometimes reduced; for example, in 1835 at Patch Park, Stapleford Tawney.

Growing industrialisation abroad meant that by 1875 England was being inundated by cheap grain from overseas, mainly America. There were also a series of bad harvests, especially in 1878 and 1879. The Government chose not to place a tariff on imports. Consequently there began an agricultural depression.

Lord Ernle wrote that. "Land deteriorated in condition. The counties which suffered most were the corn-growing districts, in which high farming had won its most signal triumphs. On the heavy clays of Essex, for example, thousands of acres which had formerly yielded great crops and had paid high rents, had passed out of cultivation into ranches of cattle or temporary sheep-runs"". These heavy clay soils required 'three horses' to plough and were therefore more expensive to cultivate.

Land to the east of the London to Colchester railway was badly affected. "Many farmers were unable to bear this continued loss, farms began to stand empty ... which, in many cases, had been farmed by the same family for hundreds of years" ⁹. Farms went out of business and work in rural parishes dwindled. Nationally a third of the labouring population left the land in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

The price of wheat was especially low in 1894 and 1895 but showed signs of improvement in 1897. It was not until 1907 that the price rose above 30 shillings (£1.50) per quarter but by then the acreage farmed had declined. In Essex in 1904 there was a reduction of over 21,000 acres of wheat (20.9%) against the previous year.

As our era drew towards a close it was observed, "Dairy farming is the only kind that is really profitable, and yet Essex is far more suited climatically for wheat-growing, being sunny and dry in the summer - too dry for the best pasture"¹¹.

The Essex Chronicle took a more upbeat view. "If anybody has lingering in his mind the word 'derelict' in connection with the county of Essex, he would well run though the returns just received for produce of crops in Great Britain issued by the Board of Agriculture"¹². This is summarised in the table below. Comparative figures for 1848 are given, showing that the yield in wheat per acre had dramatically increased.

aaaet markets for

In Edwardian Essex, the county had one of the strongest markets for selling corn. In Tindal Square, Chelmsford, was the Corn Exchange, "a large, handsome, glass-roofed building, 100ft. by 45, with offices &c., ranged round it, erected by a company in 1856, at a cost of £10,000. The busy scene to be witnessed in it on Friday afternoons resembles the more widely known one at Mark Lane. The building is also largely used for theatrical performances, chrysanthemum and poultry shows and other entertainments"¹⁵. There was also a sizeable market for livestock, "one of the best in the Eastem counties"¹⁶, which moved from the High Street in 1879 to occupy several acres behind the Corn Exchange. The building was demolished in the late 1960s to make way for a shopping precinct.

Reginald Beckett (1901) observed that, "There is no busier place in the world than Chelmsford on a market-day. Here the broad-shouldered husbandmen, clad in tweed and homespun, whom you may have met on their lonely farmsteads or in the warm parlours of village inns, bring samples of their produce, and in a babel of homely speech determine for the rest of the world the price of its daily bread"¹⁷.

Chelmsford market in 1913 was the third largest in the country selling 106,831 quarters of wheat, after Norwich (123,859) and Cambridge (107,440).

The increased use of transport also had an effect of the rural economy towards the end of our period. Comn could be sent by lorry outside the village. The role of the miller diminished. In 1940 C Henry Warren wrote, "From being a friendly focus of village life, the wind-mill has dwindled to an 'ancient monument""¹⁸.

The outbreak of the First World War (1914) again raised the possibility of a food shortage. The Com Production Act 1917 set minimum wages for agricultural labourers (nationally 25s per week) and guaranteed a minimum price for wheat (60s per quarter) and oats (38s.6d). A survey was carried out, demanding that where production was deficient that this be remedied by the ploughing up of meadow land. Stringent state control lasted until 1922, when legislation was repealed.

But there was another landscape which changed forever. Many skilled agricultural labourers were called up to serve in the War. Some did not return.

More on the association of Piggott Brothers with the development of flying .. .

PROGRESS OF FLIGHT ABOUT THE COUNTRY

Acroplane Building and Flying Soc. (8, Manchester St., W.). Arrangements have just been concluded with Mr. W. Ecclestone by which the Society are to have the use of the Kensal Green Athletic Ground for flying purposes. As the ground does not show a hill or slope suitable for gliding, it was necessary for the Society to get over the difficulty, and the matter was taken in hand by the Secretary, who has evolved an inclined wire cable tramway to answer the purpose.

This device is now in the hands of Messrs. Piggott Bros., of Bishopsgate, and the idea has developed to such an extent that it looks like giving quite a novel turn to gliding. The inventor, who is applying for a patent, has great hopes of seeing every landowner in England with a portable hill fixed up on the lawn, where the "rising" generation may enjoy the exhilarating swoop through the air that is characteristic of gliding on a good machine. In the course of a few weeks the Society hopes to demonstrate what can be done on their own hill with their own glider.

Flight, October 8, 1910

There is a memorial in St Mary's church, Stapleford Tawney, erected to the memory of Henry Soames, who was Rector there in the nineteenth century.

The Reverend Henry Soames was Rector of Shelley (nr Ongar), from 1812 until 1860, and Rector of Stapleford Tawney with Theydon Mount from 1839 until his death in 1860. He also held the livings of Little Laver [1821] and Brent with Furneaux Pelham in Hertfordshire 1831-1839]

He was born on the 15th January, 1785, the son of Nathaniel Soames, a shoemaker, of Ludgate Street, London. Educated at St Paul's School, and Wadham College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1803, graduated BA in 1807, and MA in 1809.

He became deacon in 1808 and was ordained by the Bishop of London in 1809. He held the post of assistant to the high-master of St Paul's School from 1809 to 1814, and was appointed chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral by Bishop Blomfield in 1842.

In the 1851 Census he is shown living at the rectory with his sister and 3 female servants.⁹ He was appointed Chaplain to the Sheriff of Essex in 1852.

He lived in the rectory at Stapleford Tawney with his sister, Sarah, Street Soames (born 1791), until his death on the 2131 October 1860. He wrote many books on church history. One of his more notable works was a revised edition of James Murdock's translation of J. L. von Mosheim's Institutes of Ecclesiastical History (1832). In addition he concentrated his labour and learning on English ecclesiastical history in Anglo-Saxon times and in the sixteenth century. His book s included, History of the Reformation of the Church of England (1826-8) and Elizabethan Religious History (1839, An Inquiry into the Doctrines of the Anglo-Saxon Church (1830), The Anglo-Saxon Church: its History, Revenues, and General Character (1835; revised, augmented, and corrected, 1856). and The Latin Church during Anglo-Saxon Times (1848). He also publíshed two sermons and The Romish Decalogue (1852).

A book, a Christmas present, can sometimes provide a lead to an unexpected local connection. In this case, the book recorded the development of the rules of sports in Britain.²⁰ In describing the development of the game of football in the mid-nineteenth century, early reference is made to Epping Forest - and the context is unexpected at least to me.

On 26 October 1863, fourteen individuals met in the Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street, Covent Garden. They represented a number of organizations and clubs. As individuals they were generally from prominent public schools, as they were the emerging participants in football. The organizations attending the meeting were various and included Barnes (a club of mainly rowers), the War Office, the Crusaders, Perceval House Blackheath, Blackheath School and the Blackheath club itself, Crystal Palace and Surbiton. Another club present was the oddly titled N. N., or No Names, from Kilburn. Forest, based in Epping Forest, and the point of this note, was also represented. The public school of Charterhouse merely sent an 'observer'. Geographically, the flavour was strongly southern, the important northern clubs being excluded!

At the time, there was no single set of rules to govern the game of football and the purpose of the meeting was to draw up a unifying code.²¹ Cambridge University, for example, played by their own Cambridge rules', although perhaps surprisingly they did not attend the meeting. Agreed rules would allow teams to play each other under a common understanding and in comparative safety, a consideration in a game which then permitted considerable physical violence. The group's first action was to form the Football Association (FA), 'with the object of establishing a definite set of rules for the regulation of the game'.²² The initial draft of the code continued to allow running with the ball, tripping and hacking. thought to maintain the overtly masculine element of the game.²³ Subsequently, running with the ball and hacking were made illegal but catching the ball and claiming a free kick was still then permitted.

Forest Football Club, originally formed in 1859, was also known as Forest of Leytonstone where they appeared to be based later. However in 1864 the local link was severed when the club moved to a ground in Battersea Park, London. This move was accompanied by a change in the club name to the Wanderers, appropriately.

The club progressed to become arguably the leading club in the country, a position that was reinforced by the fact that Charles William Alcock, a member of the club, and Captain of their football team, became the Secretary of the Football Association around 1870. He is credited with being the creator of the Football Association Challenge Cup, the first knockout competition and the oldest football contest in the World. Twelve teams entered the first running of the competition, and the Wanderers became the first winners, captained by Alcock, thereby presumably fully justifying his personal support for the cup. On 16 March 1872 they defeated the captains and lieutenants of the Royal Engineers by 1-0 at the Kennington Oval.²⁴ The following year the Wanderers won again, this time beating Oxford University.

Alcock later became Chairman of the FA until 1895. It should also be noted in passing that another celebrated member of the Wanderers, A. G. Guillemard, has been referred to as the father of the Rugby Football Union. It may therefore be claimed that Epping Forest had some influence on the development of the two major sports of these islands. The link is perhaps tenuous now that the Wanderers had assumed their new title and moved away from the area, but the name of Epping is linked with the very carliest steps towards the establishment of the most popular game in the World.

1611 Stapleford Tawney

Wardens of Tho. Wall. Their bell is broken, and know not who pulled it down.

1611 Theydon Mount.

Gard. That they want a strong cheste or box for the almes for the poore.

George Mott warden. For deteyning a chest in his custody belonging to the church - alleged that the chest was broken open when their church was robde, and that it was cast broken into a field.

ONGAR (CHIPPING) is a small and remarkably clean and neat market town, pleasantly situated betwixt and near the confluence of the river Roding and the Cripsey brook, on the London and Dunmow road, 20 miles North East of the former, 14 miles South by West of the latter, 7 miles North North West of Brentwood, 7 miles East by North of Epping, and 11 miles West by South of Chelmsford. It gives the name to Ongar Union and Hundred. lis parish has only 870 inhabitants, and 452 acres of land, but the town popularly called ONGAR, has a large suburb, in the parish of High Ongar, on the opposite side of the Roding, and a smaller one in Greensted parish, on the opposite side of the Cripsey brook, so that the total population of the town and suburbs is about 1800. The Market, formerly held on Tuesday, is now held on Saturday, and has much improved of late years. Petty Sessions are held on the same day, in the Town Hall, over the Market House, which was repaired some years ago. A statute fair, for hiring servants, etc., is held on Oct. 12th. The appellation chipping is a corruption of cheap-ing, and was derived from the field where the market and fairs were held in ancient times.

The town is lit with gas, and consists chiefly of one long and wide street, in which are many good houses, most of which are cemented, whitewashed, or constructed of white brick. It is approached on one side by a bridge or three arches, over the Roding; and on the other, by a bridge of one arch, over the Cripsey brook. In some records, it is called Angre, Angria, and Aungre; and, from its castle, it was sometimes called Ongar de Castrum. At the Domesday survey, the manor was held by Eustace, Ear! of Boulogne, whose granddaughter, Maud, conveyed it in marriage to King Stephen, whose son, William, gave it to Lord Richard de Lucy, of Diss, Norfolk, together with Greensted and several other manors. This nobleman was Lord Chief Justice of England, and his manors in this neighbourhood were created into an Honor.

He built a Castle here, on the summit of a high artificial hill, surrounded by a deep and broad moat; but Mr Gough supposes this fortress to have been formed out of a more ancient and extensive work, cither Roman or Saxon origin, the entrenchments of which are supposed to have encompassed the site of the town. The moat which surrounded the keep is generally filled with water, and the sides of the mount are planted with trees and shrubs, through which a steep winding path leads to the summit, where the chief part of the building stood, but being ruinous, it was pulled down in the reign of Elizabeth, by William Morice, who erected on the site a brick building. The latter was taken down in 1744, by the then owner, Edward Alexander, Esq., who built on the site a handsome summer house, but it is now in ruins. The summit of the hill commands extensive prospects over the surrounding country, and at the foot of it, on the opposite side of the moat, is the Castle House, and farm yard, now occupied by Mr. William Coe. From the Alexander family the manor and the site of the castle have descended to their present owner, E. Alexander Bennett, Esq., but part of the parish belongs to Capel Cure, Esq., John Barnes, Esq., and several smaller proprietors.

The Church (St. Martin,) is a small neat structure and has many Roman bricks worked up in its walls. It has a belfry, crowned by a wooden spire; and at the west end, a new porch has recently been erected. Among the monumental inscriptions in the interior are several belonging to the Alexander and other families, and one in memory of Jane, daughter of Oliver Cromwell, who died in 1637. Foundations of Roman buildings are said to have been dug up in the churchyard, and, as a collateral proof of the antiquity of the town, the principal road from London to Colchester is recorded to have passed through it. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in K.B. at £6, and in 1831, at £159. It was augmented in 1721 with £598.10s., obtained from Queen Anne's Bounty, and the gifts of Edward Colston and the Rev. Houblon. It is in the patronage of E.A. Bennett, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Edmund Fisher, M.A., who has a small ancient residence, and Sacres of glebe. The tithes were commuted in 1842, for £144 per annum.

Here is an Independent Chapel, and a new parochial school room has recently been erected. A Mechanics' Institution was established in the town in March, 1848, and it already comprises about 90 members, including those who had been some time associated under the name of the Ongar Mutual Improvement Society. C. Cure, Esq., is president; Sir J.E. Swinborne and Henry Bullock, Esq., are vice-presidents; and Mr. J. Wright is secretary of this useful institution.

Ongar Labourers Friend Society was established about five years ago and hold an annual ploughing match in September. Sir E.B. Smijth, Bart., is the patron, and H. Bullock. Esq., the president. Ongar General Friendly Society instituted in 1828, has 58 honorary and 661 subscribing members, and a capital of about £2600. Mr. Charles Mott is the clerk. Ongar and Epping Building Society meets on the first Saturday of every month, at the Crown, and Mr. J. Wright is its secretary. The Savings' Bank, for Ongar and the neighbourhood, is open every Saturday, from 1 till 2, and Mr. T.S. Richardson is the actuary. The Board of Guardians meet every Tuesday, at the Town Hall, but the Union Workhouse is at Stanford Rivers.

List of Inhabitants

• William Baker, solicitor, union clerk, and clerk to magistrates
• James Barlow, carpenter
• Ammon Barltrop, smith, wheelwright and coach maker
• Francis Boyer, wine and spirit merchant
• Mrs. Mary Ann Boyer
• Stephen Clements, carrier
• William Coc, farmer, Castle House
• Mrs. L. Collins
• Mrs. S. Crooks
• Nathan Cook, wheelwright
• Robert Crabb, farmer
• Ann Darby and Harriet Darby, milliners
• Rev. Edmund Fisher M.A., Rectory
• Henry Flood, police superintendent
• Charles Foster, plumber, painter, ctc.
• William Gibson, solicitor and clerk of the peace; house Greenstead Hall
• Miss F. Gidley
• Mrs. E. Mason
• William Hart, fishmonger
• Richard Havers, Esq., agent to London and County Bank
• Captain Thomas Bowes Kersteman
• William King, veterinary surgeon
• Jonathan Lewis, auctioneer and surveyor, Water End Farm
• Charles Mott, stationer, stamp seller, and glass china, etc.
• Richard Noble, builder
• Richard Noble, jun., surveyor
• Mrs. Ann Oldham
• Richard Oliver, veterinary surgeon
• Catherine Parker and Jonah Parker, Berlin wool dealers
• Jeremiah Playl, sen., green grocer
• Mrs. A. Powell
• Mrs. J. Shadrack
• William Rand, brick and tile maker, superintendent of Gas Works
• Thomas Reynolds, furniture broker
• Thomas Stockwell Richardson, book-seller
• William Scruby, stationer and postmaster
• Joseph Spurgin, druggist, dentist
• John Suckling, blacksmith
• Maria Sweetinbourg, dressmaker
• Rev. Charles Jenner Tyrell, Marden Cottage
• John West, coach owner
• Henry Wood, carrier

Inns and Taverns.

• John White, Blue Anchor
• Richard Cooper, Bull
• Francis Starkey, Cock
• William Mulley, Crown Inn
• Elizabeth Rawlings, King's Head
• Joseph Fuller, Lion Inn
• Thomas Holt, White Hart

Academies.

• Thomas Champness
• Mrs. S. Champness (and organist)
• Richard Stokes, boarding

Butchers.

• Stephen Clements
• John Cooper
• Thomas Cowell
• Thomas Gidley
• Elizabeth Perry

Corn Dealers.

• H.A. Johnston (and maltster)
• James Loud
• James Webster

Boot and Shoe Makers.

• Jeremiah Bridge
• John Brown
• Edwin Derham
• George Griffin
• William Hancock
• Mary Mitchell
• Thomas Wood
• William Wood

Bakers.

• Mary Gowee
• Henry Starkey
• Arthur Webster

Drapers.

• George Pollard
• Thomas Sandle
• William Waterhouse

Hair Dressers.

• James Drake
• Thomas Kemp
• Samuel Leah

Grocers, ctc.

• Charles Brown
• Thomas Dobbs
• Philip Haines
• Mary Nottage
• Edward Sammes (and broker)
• John Upton

Ironmongers.

• James Penson
• John Wright

Surgeons

• George Keane, M.D.
• Rupert Pincott
• Frank Dodson Potter

Tailors.

• Edward Darby
• Thomas Cowee
• William Pavitt
• Jeremiah Playl

Saddlers.

• William Parker
• Jonathan Silcock

Watchmakers.

• Bonner Griffin
• John Turner

Five weeks after Easter is the ancient celebration of Kogatone when the fields are blessed within the parish boundary in the hope of a good harvest.

At that time of year the Annual Perambulation (or 'beating the bounds') was held. It marked the area of the parish and declared the territory which was subject to tithing to the Rector. This custom continued until about 1834 when it was superseded by the Tithe-Rent-Charge Map. The payment of tithes ceased in 1936.

In May 1909 Revd. Reeve, the Rector of Stondon Massey and a keen local historian, decided to re-enact this event using the perambulation of 1828. "I myself was still in good health", he wrote, "and in possession of perhaps an unusual store of minute and local information: our new lord of the manor, Mr Herman J Meyer, has just succeeded to his responsibilities and was anxious to see what he could of the Parish, and a number of Parishioners were willing to give up the day to accompany us".

The party assembied at Stondon Piace at 10am. "The round was, of course, taken at a leisurely pace, as we wanted if possible to identify all the old land marks. We did not think it necessary, as no legal issues were involved, to beat literally every corner and to crawl along brambly ditches or brave the Roding's flood; but we took care to go so near to every boundary as to satisfy ourselves of it. We probably walked about seven miles in accomplishing the round.

"The Ancient Religious aspect of the Perambulation was observed in a short service of a few special Prayers and Collects held before luncheon at Wooimonger's Farm".

Reeve tells of the capital luncheon provided by Mr Brace and the loyal toasts given to the lord of the Manor and himself.

"It was many times remarked that a suitable time was this of Rogationtide for a Perambulation, the country was looking at its best, and yet the crops not being sufficiently advanced to impede progress".

The Times ~ Jan 31 1837

On Wednesday an old tiler, who resided at Ongar, in Essex, died of the prevailing epidemic, leaving £7,000 in cash and notes, and a similar amount invested in the Bank of England. The deceased lived in the most penurious manner, and during his illness would neither have a fire in his room nor apply for medical advice, for fear of the expense.

On examining the boxes and drawers in his house the money and documents were found to amount of £14,000. The notes were discovered hidden between the leaves of books, and in some bags were penny pieces and farthings, to the amount of £30, which must have been hoarded up for many years.

A will was also found, bequeathing the whole of his immense treasure to his relatives, about 12 in number. His niece, who was his greatest favourite, displeased him by marrying a second time, and he has not left her a shilling, but has bequeathed £1000 to each of her for children.

The Times ~ 27 September 1999

582 Pathfinder Squadron RAF

Major-General W.A. Evans, representing the Essex Lieutenancy, unveiled a plaque during a memorial service held yesterday at Greensted Church, near Ongar, Essex. The plaque was dedicated to the aircrew of Lancaster PB 512 J from 582 Pathfinder Squadron RAF based at Little Staughton, Bedfordshire, which crashed on September 23, 1944.

The Rev Tom Gardiner officiated and Group Captain Jon Lamonte read the lesson. Among others present were: Wing Commander J. B. Jones, representing the High Commissioner for New Zealand, Wing Commander S. Sheedy, representing the High Commissioner for Australia, and relatives of the crew. Before the service the only remaining Lancaster bomber from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flew over the church.

Eclectic Review, July, 1865

On Wednesday 1st, after many weeks of great suffering, borne with Christian resignation, the author of Natural History of Enthusiasm closed a long career of usefulness at the advanced age of 77.

Originally trained as an artist, Isaac Taylor at an early age abandoned his profession for that literary career in which so many members of his family had attained distinction. His father, the Rev Isaac Taylor, of Ongar; his uncle Charles Taylor, the learned editor of Calmet; his sisters, Ann and Jane Taylor, the joint authors of Original Poems and Hymns for Infant Minds; his mother, Ann Taylor, and his brother, Jefferys Taylor, have all written works which have attained a wide popularity.

In 1838 Mr Taylor gave to the world the thoughts which had suggested themselves while a large family was growing up around him in his country seclusion at Stanford Rivers. This work, Home Education, bas had an extensive popularity, and has induced many parents to endeavour to promote the enjoyments of children - to educate rather than to instruct.

In the following year Mr Taylor was induced to take part with the Rev Robert Traill in bringing out a new translation of Josephus. This costly and magnificent work was accompanied with numerous illustrations engraved by some most ingenious and elaborate machinery, the invention of which had been the amusement of Mr Taylor's leisure hours. The inopportune death of Dr Traill at the eve of the publication of this work brought upon Mr Taylor ruinous pecuniary responsibilities, from which for many years he was unable to extricate himself. The engraving machine was patented in England, Scotland and America, and, though, productive of small benefit to the inventor, has realised large returns in the hands of others.

About this period the Tracts for the Times were creating an unexampled excitement in the religious world. Mr Taylor had long made himself familiar with the whole range of patristic literature; he felt that the writers of the Tracts were giving an essentially perverted view of the tendencies, doctrinal and ritual, of the early Church. As a layman, standing clear of any secular embarassments of an ecclesiastical kind, Mr Taylor felt himself impelled to come forward and state the results to which his independent and unbiased study of the Fathers had led him. This he did in a work entitled Ancient Christianity, a work which was virulently attacked, and as warmly defended, by the respective partisans in the great controversy which was then shaking the English Church. Some of the leaders of the succession which ensued have acknowledged that the facts and reasonings of this work did more than anything else to drive them over to Rome.

After an interval of seven years, Mr Taylor published essays, partly philosophical, partly historical, on the lives of Loyola and Wesley. Shortly afterwards a volume on the Christian argument was published anonymously at Cambridge, entitled the Restoration of Belief. Two volumes of essays - Logic and Theology, and Ultimate Civilisation - a series of lectures, originally delivered in Edinburgh, on The Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, and a series of autobiographical papers published in the last year in Good Words were the last occupations of his declining years. To the end his mind retained all its power. He leaves, we believe, a large family.

A work by his eldest son, the Rev Isaac Taylor, entitled Words and Places, we recently had occasion to notice very favourably in these columns.

As you walk through the churchyard towards St Margaret's church, just on the left hand side of the path is a tomb, with ornate ironwork surrounding it. It bears the inscription 'The Family Vault of Augustus Berkeley.' No other inscription appears on the grave and there are no other indications as to who Augustus Berkeley was. However a little research and we can discover something about him and his family.

Augustus Berkeley was born in 1822 in Stanford Rivers, the son of William Berkeley and Lucy Frederica Comyns. At the time of the 1841 Census they were living at Coopersale Hall, Theydon Garnon. Augustus married on the 3rd October 1847, Matilda Jane Owen.

They were to have 8 children, namely,

William Augustus, born 1849; Edmund Comyns, born 1851; Jessie Matilda, born 1852; Lucy Mary, born 1854; Emily Myra, bom 1858; Julia Margaret, born 1859; Thomas Rowland, born 1860 (died 1882 of meningitis) and Charles Clement, born 1865.

On the 1851 Census they are shown as living at Blakes Mansion. Augustus is described as a farmer employing 3 men. There are also 2 female servants in the houschold. Jessie's birth in 1851, is recorded as 'Balkes Mansion,' which may be a misspelling of Blakes. By the 1871 Census Augustus was living at Wayletts, Stanford Rivers, (sadly burnt down several years ago.) Matilda had died in 1870. Augustus at this time was described as a 'Coal Merchant, employing 7 men and 5 boys.' His sons William and Edmund are described as Clerks and Travellers - Coal Trade.' They had 1 servant at this time. Jessie, who was 19 years old, was described as 'a teacher to her younger brothers and sisters.'

Sometime between 1871 and the Census for 1881, the family had moved from Stanford Rivers to Hackney. Augustus at this time is described as a 'Coal Merchant and Farmer with 35 acres.' By the time of the 1891 Census, Augustus was described as 'living on his own means.' Edmund was living with him and was described as a 'Colliery Agent'. They are looked after by 1 servant.

Augustus passed away in 1901. I am sure there is much more to be discovered about the Berkeley family and my rescearches will continue.

Annual General Meeting

- followed by the showing of
Archive Film of Essex
8.00pm, Thursday, 26 March, 2009
Toot Hill Village Hall

A short Annual General Meeting will be followed by the showing of some historic film clips from Essex locations. Cheese and wine will be served to accompany the entertainment at a cost of £2 per head. There is no charge for attendance at the AGM and the entertainment. We hope that you will support the AGM of your local history group. The showing of these films is by permission of the Archive Film Shop.

Essex Gardens

by Sue Brice
8.00pm, Thursday, 23 April, 2009
Toot Hill Village Hall

Sue Brice is a garden designer and lectures for the WEA. In recent years, Sue Brice has carried out research into notable Essex gardens, particularly those that may have also supported a large house at one time. Prominent among these are Warley Place and Easton Lodge, both reasonably close to Chipping Ongar, but of course both now lacking their fine mansions.

All meeting in Toot Hill Village Hall commencing at 8pm
Coffee and Biscuits
Members £1-Non members £2