High Country History Group

A Hatchment is a funeral escutcheon or armorial shield enclosed in a black lozenge-shaped frame. The custom was to hang the hatchment on the house front of the deceased for a period of mourning, which might last as long as a year, and then transfer it to the interior of the parish church.

The custom, which may have been imported from the Netherlands, was in vogue from the early seventeenth century to the mid-nineteenth, and had not entirely died out in the 1920s.

St Michael's church has a number of hatchments to the Smith/Smyth family.

The East End Maternity Hospital was founded in 1884 as the Mother's Lying-in Hospital in Shadwell, an inner city area which lies between Wapping and Limehouse. In 1889 the hospital moved to Commercial Road and became known as the East End Mothers Home. By 1930 it had about 60 beds. The hospital was established for the treatment of poor married women during childbirth and also for the training of midwives and nurses.

At the outbreak of war in 1939, the hospital was closed and the authorities needed to find suitable premises in a safe location and Epping was considered such an area and Hill Hall, which at the time was owned by Edward, Lord Hay seemed an ideal building. Lord Hay agreed that part of Hill Hall could be used for the war effort and the servant's wing was considered the most suitable part for the location of the maternity hospital.

The servant's wing faced south-west and was two storeys high. The ground floor contained three main rooms and a storeroom, whilst the first floor contained seven bedrooms and a bathroom.

In September 1939, staff patients and equipment was moved from the east end to Hill Hall and the training school was also transferred following the approval of the Central Midwives Board. Provision was also needed for those expectant mothers who had been evacuated a suitable hostel was found at Spriggs Oak, Palmers Hill, in Epping, prior to their confinement at Hill Hall. Spriggs Oak which was offered by its owner, Councillor William Trent¹, a member of the Epping Urban District Council, consisted of a 3 storey building, with tennis court, croquet lawn.

An Evacuation Committee took charge of the running of the hostel on behalf of the council and it preparations made to accommodate between 30 and 35 people. A paid resident cook/superintendent was put in charge of the hostel, which opened on the 23 September 1939, the cost of running it being estimated at £1,100 per annum.

Meanwhile the Management Committee of the East End Maternity Hospital led by the Chairman, Lady Margaret Ebbisham, held a meeting at Hill Hail in late September where it was decided that Doctors would be allowed to send patients from the East End dircotly to Hill Hall for treatnient.

With the 'phoney war' the expected air raids did not materialise and it was suggested to the Ministry of Health that the Eaf End Maternity Hospital should re-open, which was agreed. However Hill Hall and Spriggs Oak continued to receive expectant mothers in the autumn and winter of 1939/1940.

Expectant mothers were expected to pay 1/6d per day towards their keep, and those experiencing financial problems being advised to seek help from the Ministry of Labour.⁶

In November the Evacuation Committee braced themselves for an expected large influx of expectant mothers that were due to arrive in Epping under the Government evacuation scheme. Much effort was put in place to receive them, but the mothers did not arrive and the committee later expressed its annoyance at the situation.

Relationships between the Evacuation Committee and the Management Committee were also strained, due to the arrival of a number of expectant mothers who arrived at Hill Hall from the East End and were taken to Spriggs Oak. As none of these women were part of the official Government scheme, they were deemed to be 'late evacuees' and none were asked to make any contribution to theit keep. Of the six women who arrived on the 12" December, three were unable to pay the 1/6d for food. When the matter was referred to the Ministry of Labour, an official said he was unable to treat them as evacuees and they therefore did not qualify for financial assistance, a decision that was confirmed by the Ministry of Health.

At a meeting of the Epping Urban District Council Evacuation Committee on the 13 January 1940, they regarded the situation as intolerable and in its summing up questioned why the ratepayers of Epping should be paying the costs of maternity services for persons living in the East End, while they were denied such facilities themselves.

To be continued.

The following is taken from Revd. Alfred Suckling's book, 'Memorials of the antiquities and architecture, family history and heraldry of the County of Essex' (John Weale, London, 1845). Revd Idigo Suckling (1796 - 1856), a Suffolk man and writing of several volumes of 'antiquities' on that county, came to Margaretting (near Ingatestone) in 1834 to be its Stipendiary Curate.

Had we not the concurrent testimony of writers to confirm the fact, it would be natural conclusion, that the public buildings of barbarous nations would be constructed of the same materials as their private dwellings unacquainted with the science which could teach how to shape the rough stone of the quarry, or to raise in air the self-suspended arch, the softer substance of wood at once would offer a more efficient material for the hands it artless workmen. Temples, in honour of their heathen deities, we learn, were so framed previously to the conversion of the Scandinavians, and after that event, their churches were hewn from neighbouring forests; indeed, timber appears to be the material most usually employed by the Northman for this purpose. One very remarkable building thus constructed is yet in existence in Norway - it is the church at Hitterdall, in Lower Tellemark, erected about the twelfth Centurv ; it is reared in balks of fir, now hardened and blackened by time, and decorated with carvings of scales and lozenges. The same fashion prevailed in this kingdom. "There was a time", says venerable Bede, "when there was not a stone church in all the land, but the custom was to build them all of wood. Finan, the second Bishop of Lindisfarne, of Holy Island, built a church in that island, A.D. 652, for a cathedral, which not yet of stone, but of wood, and covered with reeds". At York, we learn, the earliest cathedral was constructed of like materials, and a church f stone, erected at Lincoln, by Paulinus, was esteemed not only a prodigy deserving historical mention, but a work of art so wonderful, that healing miracles were wrought by it for the benefit of those whose faith led them to gaze upon it. The Abbey Church of Aethelingey, erected by the great Alfred, and of which the historians of that day speak in rapturous terms, was built only of wood. Edgar the peaceable, who flourished after the middle of the tenth century, observed that, at his accession to the throne, all the monasteries in England were in a ruinous condition, and consisted only of rotten boards and shingles. That this method of constructing sacred buildings was not totally abandoned even at a still later period, is evident from the circumstance that, previously to the foundation of the present cathedral at Salisbury, in the thirteenth century, the first business of the monks was to erect and consecrate a wooden chapel for temporary use.

We are not, however, so much surprised at this method of construction, as astonished at its durability; a very remarkable instance of which presents itself in the little church of Greensted, erected about the year 1013, and whose timber walls remain so strong and sound as to defy conjecture as to their probable duration. It is a mere log-house, built of the trunks of trees, like those described by the Anglo Saxon writers, and was originally erected as a sort of shrine, for the reception of the corpse of St. Edmund, which, on its return from London to Bury St. Edmund's, in the year 1013, was, as Lydgate, a monk of that monastery, informs us, conveyed in a chest. In a MS. entitled "The Life and Passion of Saint Edmund," preserved Lambeth Palace, it is recorded, that in the year one thousand and ten, (thirtieth Ethelred.) the body of Saint Edmund was removed to London, on account of the invasion of the Danes, but that at the expiration of three years it was returned to Bedriceworth, (Bury St. Edmund's, in Suffolk,) and that it was received on its return from London at Stapleford. And in another MS., cited by Dugdale in his Monasticon and entitled "The Register of Saint Edmund's Burr," it is further added, "he also sheltered near Aungre, where a wooden chapel remains as a memorial unto day." The parish of Aungre, or Ongar, herein mentioned, adjoins that of Greensted, where this church is situated, and through which the ancient road from London into Suffolk passed; and no doubt has ever been entertained that this rough and unpolished fabric of oak is the "wooden chapel near Aungre." A tradition has ever since existed in the village, that the bones of a Saxon monarch once rested in this church; and although tradition does in some cases, as I willingly allow, nourish erroneous opinions, yet when, as in the present case, it is found to be divested of all and conforms itself so exactly to the records of history, and to existing monuments of antiquity, it must be granted to afford very strong additional testimony.

As a view of the church accompanies this notice of Greensted, with a ground plan, and detail of a portion of the edifice, on a large scale, I trust that a few words will suffice to make any one, unacquainted with the building itself, perfectly comprehend its peculiarities and construction. The timber walls, which 1 take to be of oak, though some imagine them to be of chestnut wood, are but six feet in height on the outside including the sill; they are not, as usually described, "half trees", but have had a proportion of the centre or heart cut out, probably to furnish beams for the construction of the roof and sills ; the outside or slabs thus left were placed on the sill, but by what kind of tenon they are there retained does not appear; while tile upper ends, being roughly adzed off to a thin edge, are let into a groove, and which, with the piece of timber in which it is Cut, runs the whole length of the building itself; the door posts are of squared timber, and these are secured in the above-mentioned groove by small wooden pins, still firm and strong - a truly wonderful example of the durability of British oak. The wall on the south side, besides leaning a little out wards, inclines somewhat towards the eastward, hut further declension is prevented by the erection of brick buttresses, as these, with a modern porch of wood, in some measure conceal the original face of the south side. I have preferred taking my drawing from the north-west, where nothing intervenes to obstruct a complete view. By a reference to the ground plan it will appear that the east end has been destroyed, to admit access to a more modern chancel, and thus we are unable to determine whether, like most Anglo Saxon churches, this ended in a semicircular sweep. At the west end, a way has been cut to a tower, and here I had an opportunity of examining the very heart of the timber; to the edge of an exceeding good pocket knife it appeared like iron, and has acquired from age a colour approaching to ebony, but of a more beautiful brown; and if any conclusion may be drawn from the appearance of the whole building. I see no reason why it should not endure as long as it has already existed. The outsides of all the trees are furrowed to the depth of about an inch into long stringy ridges, by the decay of the softer parts of the timber, but these ridges seem equally hard as the heart of the wood itself; the north doorway, which measures only four feet five inches in height, by two feet five inches in width, is at present closed with masonry, but the aperture must have been original. It is generally thought that the wood work of the roof is coeval with the walls, and it was most likely formerly covered with thatch, as Bede describes, and as may still be seen on many village churches in the county of Norfolk.

The body of the church is lighted by windows in the roof, but these are decidedly of a recent date; what little light its interior enjoyed in its primitive state was probably admitted from the east end, if any windows existed at all; but if we consider the lawless state of the times, and the sanctity, and consequent value of St. Edmund's bones, it will not be hazarding a conjecture devoid of reason, to suppose that it was illumined solely by the flame of torches.

How the interior was originally finished, cannot be now determined; at the present moment it is kept in a very neat and reputable state; its walls and ceiling are plastered and whitewashed, and its area affords sufficient accommodation for the population of this parish. Let us hope, that having escaped demolition during the dark ages which have immediately preceded us, no one can be found tasteless enough to meditate its demolition. The chancel is of red brick, and in the style characteristic of the latter days of Henry the Seventh's reign; at the south-east angle is a piscina of a very unusual fashion, but no other architectural embellishment attracts our attention.

Monuments:

Sacred to the memory of Mary Smith, the deservedly beloved and affectionate wife of Craven Ord, and daughter of John Redman, both of Greensted Hall, Esquires, who, after enduring with Christian fortitude and patience a long and painful illness, calmly resigned her life to Him who gave it, on the 1st day of March, 1804, aged 39 years, leaving a deeply afflicted husband and seven children to deplore the irreparable loss of her conjugal affection, her maternal tenderness and her pious example. A tribute of the most tender affection, and an earthly memorial of those virtues which, through her Redeemer's merits, are recorded in Heaven; this tablet is erected by her ever lamenting husband.

With the arms of Smith:

Here lieth Jone, sister to Sir Thomas Smith of Mont, Knight, second wife of Alune Wood of Snodland in Kent, Gent., who livinge vertuouselie 66 yeeres, died godly the xx of August, 1585.

Prope jacet Richardus Hewyt, A.M., hujus ecclesim quondam rector, in villa Eccles apud Lancastrienses natus, ubi natus etiam fuit celeberrimus ille Theologiae Doctor Johanues Hewyt, qui ob fldem Carolo 2. exulanto, nefariâ perduellium sententiâ securi percussus est. Richardus patruo tam illustri nepos non indignus obiit 26 April. A.D. 1724.

With the arms of Warren, with an inescocheon:

Underneath lie the remains of the Rev. William Hamilton Warren, A.M., late rector of this parish, who, for 31 years, discharged the duties of his ministry in this place. He departed this life the 9th of November, 1825, aged 64. This small tribute to his memory is placed by his affectionate widow, Sarah Sindry Warren.

Died on the 29th ult., in Ongar union workhouse, James Battle, a chimney sweep, aged 100 years, who had resided at Stanford Rivers nearly his whole life. About twelve years since, Mr Potter, sen., formerly an eminent surgeon at Ongar, but now deceased was called upon to attend Battle, and accompanied by his friend Dr. Rowe (now of Cavendish-square, London), they found their patient in most intense agony, and tried all the most approved remedies to obtain relief; but all their efforts were unavailing, and death appeared inevitable, when Mr Potter, with his usual promptness and decision, suggested the operation of puncturing the bladder, which was immediately adopted, and as speedily the patient’s sufferings were relieved. From Battle’s advanced age, neither Mr Potter and Dr Rowe anticipated that he could long survive the operation, which was only adopted with a view to his temporary relief.

However, upon his medical friend calling the next day he learnt with surprise that Battle had taken his daily walk, to enjoy his customary glass of ale at a public house half a mile distant. The deceased frequently underwent the same operation by the late Mr Potter, with similar success, and outlived the latter many years.

In Essex rural villages, the lives of individuals were regulated by the changing seasons and the weather. Agricultural labourers were, quite literally, the backbone of the local economy and, unlike now, the countryside was a busy place.

The farming season began in September when wheat for the next year was sown. The grain was either drilled or dibbed.

Barley was sown from January to May, though usually in March. The seed was broad-cast on the land. Clover seed was also broad-cast late in the spring. Oats were drilled around the same time.

Peas were drilled in March after much mucking of the ground. Turnips were also drilled.

Typically farms followed a rotation of crops: "first fallow, second wheat, third fallow, fourth barley"'.

Each crop had to be tended. Often charlock, a weed, grew through the wheat. It was controlled by the scything of its flower which grew above the height of the crop. Removing thistles by hand from the field was another laborious job. Wild onion was also a menace to the farmer because it changed the aroma of the grain. One remedy was to deeply plough the field after harvest and keep the infected grain separated lest to taint the flavour of the remainder and affect the selling price.

Work on the farm was generally a combination of manual labour in teams, the horse and plough and, later, a hired steam driven threshing machine. This was a service in its own right. In census returns we find 'threshing machine proprietor' as an occupation. The team would arrive on the farm by 5.30am so that a fire could be lit in the steam engine in readiness for a 7.00am start. Belts from the steam engine operated the machine. The sheaves were loaded into the top of the contraption which separated the grain. The corn came out of one end and the chaff and dust from the middle. A water cart was always kept nearby to ensure that there was enough steam for the operation.

Steam power was introduced on farms during the middle of the nineteenth century: a Tiptree farmer, I. J. Mechi, was a leading advocate.

Harvest was the culmination of the working year. A man was appointed 'Lord of the Harvest' to negotiate with the farmer the wage for getting in the crops. He acted as supervisor, determining the pace of reaping. H. H. Abbott (1925) penned lines in 'An Essex Harvest':

"And Gaymer tells of harvests that he's known
At Castle Hedingham when he was boy -
How that the harvest had a chosen lord,
Who used to draw the 'lowance of the ale,
And portion out the work amongst the men,
And fine all those that broke the harvest-laws;
How the last load was decked out with green boughs,
And how when harvest-time was done, the men
Were given largesse-money for their work"⁸.

It was cause for celebration when the last of the harvest was safely gathered in. In some parts of Essex a green bough was hoisted onto the last wagon to symbolise the end of the harvest. Gleaning, the practice which allowed people to search the fields for uncollected grain etc was followed by Harvest Thanksgiving at church and the horkey or harvest-home, a feast with meat sometimes provided by the farmer, ale in large quantity and communal singing. Such events, as held at Great Waltham on 20th September 1883 are recorded in Edward Knights' book, 'Essex Folk' (1935).

By the turn of the century gleaning and harvest suppers wets "190 fast dying customs" but survived in the Stambourne and Finchingfield area in the north of the county. Perhaps the semoteness from the railway was one reason why some communities were Sess progressive.

Abbott's poem mentions a locai dialect word, largess. This was a tip given to workers' after the harvest so that it might be spent on celebrations at the local public house. Revd. Andrew Clark (Great Leighs) wrote in his diary on 18 September 1915, "damage to me 2s.6d."¹⁰. Other words in common parlance were beaver, being a ploughman's lunch taken about 11 o'clock (elsewhere known as elevenses) and fours, a dinner taken at that time. S J Bensusan (1943) wrote, "The Great War (as we learned to call it) killed the Essex dialect, the young men forgot and the old men died"¹¹. Revd. Clark noted on 18 September 1917, "The man, - Parish, asked for 'a harvest thanksgiving'" 2 not largesse.

The weather played a major part in deciding when to harvest crops. Rain just before or during harvest time could affect the yield tremendously. In 1903 there was a downpour which lasted for forty-eight hours causing extensive flooding and ruined crops. Bad weather in 1879 meant that harvest in West Hanningfield was not completed until October. "The wheat and barley in many cases yielded only three sacks to the acre"¹³. This was 12 bushels, well under half the amount for an average year.

Cutting barley at the optimum time commanded a good price from the maltster. But if overnight rain fell on cut but un-ricked barley, the crop would quickly be ruined. "A good barley sample is some sort of proof of how successfully the farmer has been even to outwit the weather, and he is justly proud of his accomplishment"¹⁴.

Open almost any historical book on Essex published before 1960 and you will see extensive coverage regarding St Andrew's Church, Greensted, the oldest wooden church in Europe, attributed to be the resting place of the body of St Edmund in 1013. The building is a national treasure, its nave hewn from ancient timber, depicted on a First Class stamp (3p) in a set of Village Churches. P.H. Reaney described the church as "primitive and homely, typical of Saxon England ... upright tree-trunks, untrimmed but for the stripping off of the bark" (Reaney. p49). He includes "Greenstead Church. As it was in 1748" (illustrated here).

In the middle of the twentieth century it was thought that the church was built in 845. However, in 1995 the timber was tree-ring dated. Called dendrochronology, a sample was taken and its tree-rings compared to an existing dated sequence. A date of construction of 1060- 1063 was established, destroying the previous story.

Simon Jenkins writes, "My prize for the best amateur guide goes to Navenby (Lincs), and for honesty to Greensted (Essex), for an insert confessing that recent tree-ring scholarship has lopped two centuries off its date" (Jenkins. p.xxxv).

"Even so it remains the oldest wooden church, indeed the oldest standing wooden building, in the country". (Bettley / Pevsner. p436)

This small but heavily illustrated book is loaded with facts about aviation in Essex. It attempts to show the influence of the county on the development of aviation prior to the Second World War. There are several themes; the introduction of balloon flights; the early days of the manufacture of aircraft (some of which flew) following the Wright Brothers visit to Europe and prior to World War I; the airborne contest with the Zeppelins in that war; the setting up of the RFC and RAF; the use and allocation of the 'flying grounds' or airfields throughout the county; the amazing growth in leisure flying, joy riding and the travelling air circuses; Hillman Airways and the first steps in commercial flying; the military preparation for World War II; and the colourful personalities that were involved in flying throughout the period, and so on.

And that is the problem with the book! There are fascinating stories here, all of which deserve a fuller consideration. Worse, the ordering of the material is chronological so all these themes are run together making the text at best hard to follow, at worst confusing. Unfortunately, because the author has sought to make the book comprehensive, and include all necessary details, the book reads rather as a catalogue. This may be acceptable if references lead the reader to other sources, or if comprehensive indexing allows details to be recovered, but both are sadly missing.

There is a further difficulty. In general, flying is not constrained by county boundaries. What was the actual relevance of Essex to a flying circus that happened to visit the county, or to a celebrity who just crossed the county boundary? How did this assist Essex in its race for the skies? The inclusion of such details expands the scope of the book without the book really having time to add to the reader's understanding.

There might be further concern over the reliability of some of the facts. For example, again referring to Piggott Brothers as one of the few Essex manufacturers:

"The small and sleepy village of Stanford Rivers, to the south of Chipping Ongar, might be considered to be one of the more unlikely places in the county to be the site of manufacture of several aeroplanes during 1910 to 1912 but it was at this village that Piggott Brothers and Co Ltd of Bishopsgate Street, London decided to enter the world of aviation."

Unlikely, definitely, since their current premises functioned as the Ongar Union Workhouse until 1930!

So the author has tried to write a short, popular introduction to the subject. It is not a comfortable read but it will enable the reader to narrow his search further into Essex aviation books, focusing on just one of the interesting themes introduced; Zeppelins, landing grounds, etc. As suggested at the outset of this review, the many illustrations form the most entertaining part of the book. They are well chosen to support the text.

Dear Editor,

It was good to see the East windows of Greensted and Stanford Rivers in the last magazine, and I thought I would add a little more information about them.

The window at Greensted is Victorian and was created by Nathaniel Westlake, a renowned and skilled stained glass artist. The scene depicts the Last Supper with each disciple having a different patterned halo, except Judas who does not have one but carries a bag of silver. The women are shown in medieval costume. The date of the window coincides with the restoration at the time of the Reverend Philip Ray.

Landing in an adjacent field, a bomb removed the glass in Stanford Rivers. The present window was given by the Millbank family in memory of Henry William Millbank, my grandfather, who died in 1950. He was church warden for 44 years. The design shows the central figure of the Good Shepherd. On the left, St Margaret of Scotland kneels holding her crown in obeisance; she is the church's patron saint. On the right kneels St Walstan, a patron saint of farmers, with a calf and a scythe; there are only two churches in Essex depicting this saint. Beneath are St Edward the Confessor, the Good Shepherd giving his life for his sheep, and Caedmon who had charge of the horses at St Hilda's monastery at Whitby. All the glass had a special meaning to my grandfather. The window was dedicated on June 22d 1950 by my father, The Very Reverend George Martin.

The stories in stained glass give us an insight into the area and people at the time.

Yours sincerely,

Anne Brooks

A pauper of the name of Killula, belonging to the parish of Bishopsgate-with-out, was brought before the Lord Mayor at the Mansion house, at the instance of the parochial authorities, in order that his lordship might decide as to the proper course to be adopted in a case of compulsory marriage between two paupers, under circumstances of a more extraordinary nature than have ever been made public. Mr Smart, the vestry clerk, stated that the pauper at the bar had been on the parish of Bishopsgate since 1817; that some time since the poor-house was full and that Killula among others, was sent to the parish farm-house, at West Ham. There the pauper became acquainted with a female pauper belonging to Theydon Mount parish, Essex, the result of which was that the female became pregnant.

As soon as the parish-officers of Theydon Mount knew this fact, they learnt who was the father; and as Killula had returned to Bishopsgate, a warrant was obtained, and the boy (for Killula is not yet of age) was taken into custody, carried down to Theydon Mount, and preparations commenced for marrying the parties. It was found necessary to use special haste as the period of the female's accouchement was near at hand, and it was essential to fix the parish of Bishopsgate as the residence of the child by "tying the knot," before it came into the world. A licence was obtained, but then it was discovered that parties were under age; and the gay Lothario dissented from the marriage, on the grounds that he had no money, no business, no clothes, nor a place to put his head in. The banns of the parties were put up but before the customary time had elapsed the nymph gave birth to a child. Killula the whole time remaining under strict custody, a person sitting up with him all night, to prevent escape.

At length some of the parochial officers, the banns having been duly asked, accompanied the paupers to church, married them, and gave the husband a shilling, and told him and his wife to go about their business. They came to Bishopsgate parish, and now the Lord Mayor's interference was asked to compel the parish of Theydon Mount to afford support for the child. The Lord Mayor said that the case was a more gross one that he had ever heard - it was little less than a conspiracy to have taken the parties from the workhouse, and to have kept Killula under coercion till he was married. Such conduct was most extraordinary. The parish of Bishopsgate had clearly a right to receive from the parish of Theydon Mount means to support the child. The case was a most disgraceful one. He thought it would be better for the parish of Bishopsgate to intimate to Mr. Tanner, the churchwarden of Theydon Mount parish, that some provision must be made for the child.

Under the circumstances this was the best course of action at present to be adopted. Mr Smart consented and retired.¹⁷

Chelmsford, Friday

Yesterday between the hours of one and two, a.m., a most daring outrage was committed in the dwelling-house of Mrs Christiana Waters, in the parish of Stanford Rivers, in this county. It appears that, at the hour above named, Mr Charles Clarke (brother to Mrs Waters, residing with her), was awoke by hearing some person in his bed-room. On asking who was there, he received no reply, and on attempting to get out of bed, he saw a man standing in the room, in the act of pointing a gun at him, at the same time saying, "If he didn't lie still be would blow his brains out," the fellow almost immediately fired, severely wounding Mr Clarke in the left arm and face, and the shot tearing away a large portion of the flesh of the upper part of the arm. Not withstanding this Mr Clarke courageously grappled with the ruffian, and held him until the arrival of his (Mr Clarke's) two nephews, who slept in another part of the house, who had previously been aroused by the report of the gun.

The robber proved to be a young man named Wm. Green, a loose character from Ongar, who was convicted of felony at the quarter sessions in January last, and sentenced to three months' imprisonment. The gun used by green was the property of Mr Clarke, and had been placed in one of the lower rooms through which the fellow passed on his way upstairs. The prisoner was shortly after given into the custody of Superintendent Flood, by whom he was taken before J.F. Wright, Esq., and Mr Clarke, being unable to appear against him, he was remanded to Epping till Saturday next.¹⁸

We continue our look at the neighbouring parishes in the High Country area. This time it is Navestock.

A pleasant scattered village, from 4 to 5 miles South of Chipping Ongar, and from 5 to 7 miles North North East of Romford, is partly on the south side of the vale of the Roding, and partly on the cultivated heath, which has a hilly surface, and extends southward to the bounds of Havering. Its parish contains 887 inhabitants, and 4152 acres of land, nearly all the property of the Countess of Waldegrave, the lady or the manor, which was granted by Queen Mary, in 1553, to Sir Edward Waldegrave. whose descendant, Sir Henry, was created Baron Waldegrave, in 1626. The son of the latter was created Earl of Waldegrave, in Northamptonsbire, in 1729, and built Navestock Hall, which was a huge and handsome building, which stood in a well wooded park, and was the seat of succeeding Earls, till 1811, when it was pulled down, and the park converted into a farm. The present Earl resides at Strawberry Hill, Middlesex.

The remains of ancient fortification are apparent on Navestock Common, near a high embankment, which has a deep ditch on each side of it.

The Church dedicated to St Thomas is an ancient structure, with a wooden belfrey, containing five bells, and surmounted by a spire of the same material The north door is in the Saxon style. The nave has a south aisle, and in the chancel is a large and handsome mural monument in memory of the two first Earls of Waldegrave, with a long inscription written by her Royal Highness Duchess of Gloucester and Countess Dowager of Waldegrave, relict of the second Earl. Nearly opposite this is a beautiful monument, executed by Bacon, and erected in 1812, in memory of the Hon. Edward Waldegrave, who, after distinguishing himself as a lieutenant under Sir John Moore, in Spain, was shipwrecked of Falmouth. The monument represents a mother weeping over the canteen of her son, which has been washed ashore, and in the background is seen a boy unfurling the British standard. Here are several other memorials of the Waldegraves, and under the north side of the chancel is their family vault, where many of them are interred.

The vicarage, valued in K.B. at £13.3s.9d., and in 1831 at £461, is in the patronage of Trinity College, Cambridge, and incumbency of the Rev. James Ford, B.D., who has an old residence with neat pleasure grounds, and 13A. 30P, of glebe. The great tithes, which belong to the said College, were commuted in 1840 for £574 per annum. The vicar is a lessee, and pays a small quit-rent to the College, and a fine certain of £60.

In 1625. Job Green bequeathed for the use of the poor parishioners, the following property, viz., a house and yard at Brentwood, let for £20; a cottage at Navestock, occupied by paupers; Heathfield Meadow, 4A.3P., let for £10.19s .; Bunn's Field, 4A.25P., let for £7.8s .; Pinksty Field,2A.3R.9P.,let for £4.7s.6d .; and three pieces of meadowland, (3A.2R.18P.) let for £6.3s.3d.The yearly rents amounting to £48.17s.9d., are distributed in shoes, jackets, and fagots. Mr. D. Hicks and others are the trustees. In 1669, Lewis Betts left to the parish two yearly rent-charges out of the Red Lion Inn, at Romford, viz., £1 for the four oldest labouring men, and £2, for apprenticing a poor child. The poor parishioners have a yearly rent-charge of 20s., out of Dycott's Farm, (belonging to Sir R.D. Neave,) left by an unknown donor; and eight poor persons, not receiving alms of the parish, have the dividends of £275 three per cent. Reduced Annuities, left by Elizabeth Prince, in 1796. The vicar and churchwardens are trustees.

List of Inhabitants - 1848

• John Crouchman, baker and shopkeeper
• Rev. James Ford B.D., Rectory
• James Harris, schoolmaster and parish clerk
• William Heslop, carpenter
• James Hide, blacksmith
• Henry Knightbridge, butcher
• Lucy Lash, victualler and shopkeeper, Plough
• Richard Roach, gentleman
• Thomas Sadler, corn miller
• James Smith, victualler, Green man
• John Stearn, baker, etc
• Henry Toulmin, Esq., Dudbrook House
• James turner, shopkeeper

Farmers.

• John Bull, Hall Farm
• Cornelius Fitch
• John Dove
• Daniel Hicks
• John Mott
• John Hicks, Gold Hall
• Robert Jackson, Hawlets Hall
• Charles Pratt, Loft Hall
• Joshua Pryor
• Thomas Randell
• Charles Seal
• William Seal
• Litchfield Tabrum, Bois Hall
• Henry Tyrell
• Robert Weatherall

The Essex Way is a long-distance path stretching right across the County of Essex from Epping in the south-west to the port of Harwich in the north-east. Following footpaths and ancient green lanes it covers a distance of 81 miles.

The path leads you through ancient woodlands, open farmland, tree-lined river valleys and leafy green lanes, unveiling historic towns and villages along the way.

"Here begins
THE ESSEX WAY
A long distance path belwcen
Epping and Harwich"

The walk, which is way-marked by dark green plaques and helpful arrows, begins in Epping, the last stop on the Central Line of the London Underground. From here, ramblers cross the line of the Roman road from London to Colchester, before reaching Greensted, the site of what is believed to be the oldest wooden church in the world.

The Essex Way continues through Good Easter, Pleshey, Sandy Wood and Stockley Wood towards Coggeshall, a delightful former lace-making village, which offers stunning scenery and picturesque strolls along the meandering banks of the River Blackwater. From the village of Great Tey, the Essex Way continues past Old Mary's Church, through Great Horkesley, by West Bergholt Brewery and onto Langham Hall, which was once home to Sir Walter Tyrell who is suspected of killing King William II, whilst hunting in the New Forest in 1100.

The journey through Essex is not over: from Dedham, The Essex Way travels along the 'Pennypot' footpath, through Manningtree (one of the country's smallest parishes covering only 22 acres), by Wrabness Bell-Cage, through Stour Wood and by the Seawalls, which protect the south-east coast from constant attack from the waves. The final stop along the Essex Way is the High & Low Lighthouses of Harwich. Built in 1818, the Low Lighthouse is now home to the Maritime Museum, whilst the High Lighthouse marks the end of the Essex Way