High Country History Group

Tree ring dating (or dendrochronology) has been with us for a number of years. The science has helped historians understand and sometimes reinterpret the history of an individual building, and its context within a community. This was the case at Blackmore a few years ago when Dr Martin Bridge was commissioned by the Parochial Church Council (with 100% grant support) to attempt to date the bell tower of the Priory Church of St Laurence.

The result, a construction date of 1400 or, at most, two years’ afterwards, was much earlier than anyone had previously thought and caused the understanding of the building’s history to change. Historians learned that the bell tower was almost contemporary with the construction of the roof over the nave and chancel (1381 – 97: being the date range of the 16 painted shields on the ceiling) and the likely piercing of a north door for parishioners’ use when the great west door was stopped up.

Almost seven years after the dating work was completed, Dr Martin Bridge gave a talk to the High Country History Group on his specialist topic. With every new and successful commission a greater understanding of timber use can be gleaned. Recent research has indicated the possibility that the timbers to build the ‘Mary Rose’ could have been sourced from many locations, from across southern England to the Welsh Marches. This makes stronger the discussion set forth in Dr Bridge’s 2004 report on Blackmore’s bell tower that its oak may have not necessarily been sourced locally.

“The very poor timber matching between the individual samples is remarkable, and again underlines the idea that timber may have been gathered from several woodlands, although the matching characteristics of the site chronology suggest the sources would have been relatively local. It is also of note that many of the sites with which the tree-ring series match best have monastic / ecclesiastical connections, matching is less good with close secular sites (for example Little Braxted, Dunmow, Good Easter and Fyfield, all within a 25km range).”

Martin Bridge also talked about the work his colleague did on St Andrew’s Church at Greensted. The results confirmed the date of construction to be much later than had been thought, destroying the age-old legend that it had been used as a resting place for St Edmund’s body in 1013. That said it remains one of the most ancient buildings in the county.

As the body of evidence grows on this subject, further insights may still be realised.

I am currently writing a biography of Revd. Edward Henry Lisle Reeve (1858 – 1936), who was Rector of Stondon Massey for 42 years and a local historian. In the Essex Record Office are many of his manuscripts but in the Church Safe is a certified copy of the Parish Registers for 1708 – 1791 in his hand. This article has been produced with thanks to the present Rector and churchwardens.

A stray, I understand, is someone who turns up in the records of other parishes. Stondon Massey has many of them. Rev. Reeve wrote:

“Out of 121 marriages between 1708 and 1754 entered in the book only 17 show one of the parties to have belonged to Stondon. In every other case both bride and bridegroom belonged to outside parishes. And this is the more strange seeing that in the succeeding 37 years after 1754 no fewer than 68 marriages are entered showing either a Stondon bride or bridegroom. Sometimes, again, a wedding is entered when a ceremony took place elsewhere. Mr Thomas Smith united the Curacy of Blackmore in 1756 to his other cures, but it is embarrassing to find the following in the Stondon books in 1744:
July 18th. “Married at Blackmore John Baker Batchelor and Martha Belcher Spinster, Both of the Parish of Danbury in this County”.

“One wonders whether other Rectors were as much in request for tying the nuptial knot as Mr Smith, and whether, in cases where the entries were merely records of their work done in other parishes, the parishes interested were favoured with a copy for their own books. Otherwise the work of hunting up materials for a pedigree must be felt to be a harder one than has been realized hitherto.

“It is, I fear, extremely probable that our Rector was known to be a man who would ask no awkward questions. Previous to 1754 any marriage performed by a priest was accounted valid, though it might not be legal; and, although the officiating clergyman was liable to heavy penalties in such a case, the law was not often put in force, if the parson could be found ready to run the risk. The increase in so-called “Stondon” marriages after 1754 points some way, and tends to show that somehow Mr Smith still contrived to remain a popular clergyman”.

Reverting to the ‘certified copy’, the following entries exist relating to people living in the High Country parishes.

Married Jan 17 1709/10. John Glascock of Bovingworth and Sarah Rust widow of Stanford Rivers parish.

Married Apr 20 1730. John Bridges and Sarah Thorougood both of the Parish of Stanford Rivers.

Married Feb 20 1730/1. James Crosingham of the Parish of High Ongar And Susannah Young of the Parish of Stanford Rivers.

Married May 6 1734. Richard Warne & Elizabeth King both of the Parish of Stanford Rivers by Licence.

Married June 22 1734. Benjamin Archer of ye Parish of Knavestock singleman and Rebecca Robjant of yr Parish of Stanford Rivers singlewoman.

Married Apr 16 1741. John Smith of Stanford Rivers Batchelor and Dinah Cox of ye same Parish Spinster.

Married Dec 17 1742. Ebeanezer Nichols of the Parish of Horn-Church singleman and Elizabeth Whybrew of the Parish of Stanford Rivers singlewoman.

Married Apr 17 1743. John Stanes, singleman of the Parish of Chipping-Ongar and Sarah Boulter of the Parish of Stanford Rivers singlewoman.

Married Nov 24 1749. Married Mr Matthew Webb singleman and Mary Eaton singlewoman both of the Parish of Stanford Rivers.

Married Dec 25 1749. Edward Brocas singleman and Elisabeth Barker singlewoman, the man of the Parish of Grinstead, and the woman of the Parish of High Ongar, both of this county.

Married 17 Dec 1749. Robert Halls singleman and Margaret Kelly singlewoman, the man of the Parish of Matching; the woman of the Parish of Stanford Rivers – by license.

I recently edited my last church magazine after six years in the role. I included these two snippets which I came across. They don’t relate to Essex nor, I believe, are a true reflection of the subject. I think!

Concerning Churchwardens

I do not recommend any of my readers to become churchwardens. You become a sort of acting aide-de-camp to the parson, liable to be called out on duty at a moment’s notice. No; a young man might with some advantage to others a credit to himself take upon himself the office of Parish Councillor, Poor Law Guardian, Inspector of Lunatic Asylums, High Sheriff, or even Public Hangman; but save, oh, save us from being churchwardens! To be obliged to attend those terrible institutions called “vestry meetings” and to receive each year an examination paper from the archdeacon of the diocese propounding such questions as, “Do you attend church regularly? If not, why not?” etc, etc, is the natural destiny of the churchwarden, and is more than human nature can stand: in short, my advice to those thinking of becoming churchwardens is “Don’t,” with a very big D.

Village Choirs

The village choirs do very well as long as their organist or vicar is not too ambitious in his choice of music. There is a fatal tendency in many places to do away with the old hymns, which every one has known as a boy, and substitute the very inferior modern ones now being found in our books. This is a great mistake, if I may say so. A man is far more likely to sing, and feel deeply when he is singing, those simple words and notes he learnt long ago in the nursery at home. And there is nothing finer in the world than some of our old English hymns.

The country organist, however, imagines that it is his duty to be always teaching his choir some new and difficult tune; the result in nine cases out of ten being “murder” and a rapid falling off of the congregation.

We have received the following letter – can anyone throw any light as to what deed AW Gardner did to receive a silver tankard?
I am researching some family history and thought you might be able to help.

My grandfather, Abram William Gardner, and his wife Ellen lived at Hillcrest in Toot Hill/Greensted. They are buried, with one of their daughters Gertrude, at Greensted Church. Abram bought a plot of land for Hillcrest in 1928 and built a wooden 'clapboard' bungalow which they moved into permanently after he retired. This has now been replaced. Abram died in 1949 and the house was sold in 1958 when Ellen went into a home.

My query relates to a silver tankard which has been passed down to me. It has the following engraving:

AW Gardner
1939-145 war
From the grateful villagers of Toot Hill Essex

Kind regards Kate Mellor

Can anyone throw some light be on Mr Gardner. We believe that he was not a policemen or special constable? Possibly an ARP?

In May 1836 the Guardians decided to maintain three workhouses in the Union, namely Stanford Rivers which was for the able bodied male and female; High Ongar for the aged and infirm and Chipping Ongar for the children of paupers.

The following appear in the minutes of the Guardians for 1837.

17 January:

Moved: “That William Halls and inmate of the High Ongar Workhouse be dieted on bread and water only during the week ensuing for having made use of profane language everyday during the last week.”
Carried unanimously.

31 January:

Ordered that William Halls, a pauper in High Ongar Workhouse be dieted for 3 days with bread and water for absconding from the workhouse and returning in a state of intoxication.

11 April:

Mr Palmer, the Relieving Officer be empowered to hire a room, or rooms for the reception of the children of George Perry, belonging to the parish of Willingale Doe, they being inflicted with scald head and that the overseers be directed to take measures for compelling the father to contribute to the support of the said children.

18 April:

Resolved that no person infected with any infectious or loathsome disease be admitted to the workhouses of this Union.

9 May:

Resolved that the children of George Perry, paupers belonging to Willingale Doe and now inmates of the Stanford Rivers workhouse be discharged thereupon and that such children be removed to the custody and care of Mrs Hartgrove of Willingale Doe for the cure of scald head and that ½ peck of flour for each child and 3/- per week for all the children until the recovery be allowed as out-relief.

Readers who know Theydon Mount Church will have been shocked to hear of the serious burglary in November 2010. Amongst the items stolen was a figure from one of several 17th century monuments to the Smyth family of Hill Hall, for which the church is historically renowned. The figure was that of a small child, set between two kneeling women above a recumbent man in armour. The clothing made the child look like a girl, but in fact it was a young boy, Edward Smyth. This article is an attempt to bring Edward back to life by uncovering what we know about his short but eventful life.

Edward – known to the family as Ned – was born in August 1630 and baptised on August 19th in St Michael’s church, which had been completely rebuilt after a fire some 16 years before. The baby’s father was Sir William Smyth, who had inherited Hill Hall when his own father, the old soldier Sir William, had died in 1626 . A year after inheriting, 27-year-old William had married the extraordinarily named Helegenwagh Conway, one of the daughters of Viscount Conway of Ragley in Warwickshire – a suitable match for the time. William and Helegenwagh’s first child was a daughter called Bridget, probably named after William’s mother, but the baby sadly died at seven months old. The birth of a healthy son just a few months later would have been an occasion for rejoicing, except that just a week after Ned’s christening, his young mother died. Strangely the monument inscription records two daughters, but there is no sign of another in the parish records, and not actually enough time in their short marriage for another birth.

Following the custom of the age, Sir William remarried as soon as possible, this time to Anne Croft, from an ‘ancient family’ in Herefordshire. However, any happiness was short-lived, as in March 1632 Sir William himself died, aged only 31. Young Ned was orphaned and was not yet two. His stepmother arranged for the unusually designed alabaster and marble monument to be made. Sir William lies in a conventional death pose, wearing armour and with a salamander – the Smyth emblem – at his feet. Helegenwagh carries a skull to indicate that she pre-deceased her husband. Anne herself wears widow’s weeds, mourning her husband. Between them, Ned was shown in skirts – the normal boy’s clothes of the time, worn until he was ‘breeched’ at about 6 – and a leather jacket with hanging sleeves, slit at the elbow for ease of movement. This is a rare example of this type of costume, and the level of detail given to a child was remarkable.

Having done her widow’s duty, Anne remarried as soon as decency allowed and left for Buckinghamshire. What happened to Ned at this time? It appears that he was being brought up by his maternal family, the Conways, who were still closely linked with Hill Hall and the Smyths. Helegenwagh had an older sister with the equally wonderful name of Brilliana, who was married to Sir Robert Harley of Brampton Bryan Castle in Herefordshire and already had seven children, mostly boys.

A whole series of Brilliana’s letters have survived, some written to her husband when he was away and many more to her eldest son, another Edward, at Cambridge University. She gives him family news including, in May 1633: ‘I thank God all the children are well and so is Ned Smith’. Ned would have been almost four at the time. References to ‘your cousin Smith’ are frequent if unenlightening; typically ‘your brothers and your cousin Smith are well’. Occasionally Ned has ‘the ague’ and then recovers. The boys of the family, including Ned, were being taught by a home tutor, Mr Ballam. In 1641 he left and, when he was replaced, Brilliana comments wryly: ‘Your brothers are well, and your cousin Smith, whose only sorrow is that I have got [some]one to teach school for Mr Ballam’. It was later arranged that they would go to ‘Mr Voil’s’ – presumably a school. By this time Ned was nearly 12 and Brilliana writes that the boys are away and have ‘a very good chamber’. However, in March 1642 Ned had a recurrence of the ague and a fit, and seems to have come home to be cared for by Dr Wright, the family physician, who actually stayed at Brampton during the boy’s illness. Clearly Ned was being well looked after in a stable and apparently happy family environment. In April he was better and probably went back to school, as Brilliana said she was going to hire someone to wait on ‘cousin Smith and your brothers’.

However, the rumblings of the imminent Civil War soon erupted in hostility and Edward is not mentioned again in Brilliana’s letters. The whole country was taking sides between King and Parliament, and many families were split in their loyalties. The Harleys were strongly Puritan, the religious view favoured by the Parliamentarians, whereas the Smyths and Conways (apart from Brilliana) supported the King. The ordinary people of Essex, however, including the villagers in Theydon Mount, were mostly for Parliament and Puritanism.

It is likely that when the first hostile skirmishes began in the summer of 1642, 12-year-old Ned was sent back to Brilliana’s brother, Lord Conway, who seems to have kept a base at Hill Hall in the 1630s and 1640s. There was local ill feeling and unrest in Theydon Mount, but it was certainly safer than Herefordshire, where the Harleys were the only Puritans in a sea of Royalist support. In July 1643 Brampton Castle was attacked and besieged for weeks, defended only by Brilliana and her household, as Sir Robert was away. Despite her heroic efforts, including a spirited counter-attack, Brampton Castle fell and suffered great damage. In her last letter in October 1643 Brilliana complained of a ‘great cold’, and died soon afterwards.

According to the historians J J Howard and H F Burke (of Burke’s Peerage fame), Ned served as a volunteer at the age of 16, under his uncle Lord Conway, who was the King’s General of Horse. They also claim that he served under the dashing cavalry colonel Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the King’s German nephew. Most of the main fighting was actually over by the time he was 16, but it’s possible he joined up at 12 or 13. Drummers, musicians and messengers were often boys. It is hard to imagine one so young taking part in one of Prince Rupert’s famous cavalry charges, as even grown men found it nearly impossible to control their horses, which were usually stallions. However, he could have been part of Lord Conway’s or Prince Rupert’s camp.

The main hostilities ended in 1646, but trouble flared up again in the summer of 1648, even having an impact on Theydon Mount. In June of that year, the parish registers record the death of John North (of North Farm), ‘being slain in the service of the Parliament in Epping’.

Ned, however, was not at Hill Hall at that time. In March 1648 he had been admitted as a Fellow Commoner at Trinity College Cambridge. Fellow Commoners were affluent students granted privileges like sharing high table with the Fellows of a college. He was almost 18, which was rather older than most new entrants then. There is no record of him graduating, but clues to what he was doing may be gleaned from a battered vellum-bound notebook, now at the Essex Record Office. This details his enormous debts in both Cambridge and London, to saddlers, innkeepers and above all to tailors and drapers. He had also borrowed extensively from Brilliana’s husband Sir Robert Harley. The debts totalled almost £7,725 – about £900,000 in today’s money.

In January 1652 Ned died, the parish registers (then kept by a disapproving Puritan rector) baldly recording in the burials: Edward Smith Esq of Hill Hall, Jan 24. Howard and Burke claim that he ‘died in the Civil War’, but by 1652 the fighting was all over. We know he was not at Hill Hall at his death because the first entry in the debt book was the cost (£1 5s) of hiring a coach to bring his body back to Mount. His uncle Thomas, who had unexpectedly inherited Hill Hall in middle age, had to sort out and pay off all the boy’s debts, which he did meticulously, although it took him over 6 years to complete. When Charles II returned to rule England in 1660, the family’s loyalty to the Crown and Edward’s active service were rewarded with a baronetcy for Thomas and all succeeding generations.

Young Ned was only 21 when he died. His life began surrounded by death, and he lived – at times to excess – through some of the most turbulent years in English history. Apart from growing up with his cousins at Brampton Castle, there was not much peace in his lifetime, and now sadly even his monument has not been left in peace.

In 1663, Samuel Hall became Rector of Theydon Mount and moved into the parsonage house (TQ491993) near the mansion of Hill Hall. He left amongst the parish records, a list of the improvements he made to the house over the next few years.

“The parlour of the parsonage house and the parlour chamber were glazed and boarded Anno 1663.
The garrets over the parlour and Hall chambers were boarded 1664.

The east side of the parlour and Hall and porch were lathed and covered with haire morter, 1664.
The kitchens end on the same side was done, 1666.
The Hall chamber was torched over between the gists, 1664.
The parlour and parlour Chamber was done so 1666.
The garret windows were new glazed 1666.
The brewhouse was built new from the ground and the wharfe made 1663.
The garden and court yard were new paled 1665.
All cost 130li By Samuel Hall, Rector who was inducted into this church June 1663.
The orchard and garden were gravelled and the quodling hedge made by him 1668.”

NOTES:
glazed/new glazed: It is unlikely that a house of this status would have had unglazed windows in important rooms as late as 1663. The glazing of the parlour and the parlour chamber must have been re-glazed, The garret windows though were ‘new glazed’ in 1666, i.e. for the first time.

boarded: This seems to mean that the floorboards were renewed.

torched over between the gists: Torching was a kind of daubing or plastering applied, in this case, between the joists. (It is more commonly mentioned in documents as being between rafters.) The undersides of the floorboards would originally have been visible from the room below, and they were then covered, either for insulation or visual appeal. Here it appears that the joists themselves were left showing.

wharfe: Was this some sort of terrace?

quodling hedge: This is a variant of codling of codlin, a type of apple.

A map of 1657 by Thomas Lane a detail of which is reproduced here, shows the parsonage as a medium-to-large house, facing east. Samuel Hall paid tax on seven hearths in 1671-3, a second only to Hill Hall in the parish. His predecessor paid only six, the new brewhouse probably accounting for the extra hearth. The orientation of the building confirms that only the most visible face was lath and plastered in 1664 and 1666.

Sadly the house has not survived. The grounds of Hill Hall were re-planned by Humphrey Repton, who suggested that the demolition of the parsonage would improve the mansion’s southern vista.

Today the site is covered by lawns. Not a trace remains above ground of any of the features so proudly listed by the Rector.

TO THE PUBLIC

“The general public does not have a very frequent opportunity of seeing the Royal Air Force at work, so the annual ‘At Home’ in commemoration of the Battle of Britain not only serves to keep that historical epic in your minds, but enables you to see for yourselves how the Royal Air Force functions in peace time conditions.

The Royal Air Force cordially welcomes you to make yourselves at home and, when in doubt about any point regarding the flying or the static exhibitions, ask – not a policeman – an airman.”

The invitation is quaint. Presumably a family member had attended. The well-preserved programme, in which the above is the introduction, of the “At Home” looked to be of some interest. It struck a topical chord since over recent months television has been interested again in the Battle of Britain, stimulated by its recent 70th Anniversary. For a while, archive film of the action produced a number of new insights into the episode.

One typical result was a television documentary on the work that women pilots carried out in the field of military aviation during World War II. My early years were spent living close to the airfield of Hamble, near to Southampton, a grassy field with no runway and few pretensions. Oddly, a single-track railway line, linked with an oil installation on Southampton Water, cut off a corner of the airfield, the corner being sufficiently generous to encourage a number of pilots over the years to misjudge the landing and forfeit their undercarriage. About fifteen minutes of this documentary referred to the women aviators who were based at Hamble and who flew aircraft across the country to deliver them to stations more strategically important to the nation’s defence than Hamble. These aircraft were usually ‘repairs’ and Hamble apparently repaired 2,575 of them between 1939 and 1945! Since my mother served as secretary to the administration of this grassy field, the documentary was of considerable interest. Here the recollection is perhaps incidental, but it does perhaps explain a wider interest in airfields whose heyday was during the Battle of Britain.

The “At Home” programme provided the running order for a flying display held at the Royal Air Force Station, North Weald, on Saturday, 17th September, 1949. It detailed both the flying and the static displays, comprising bombs, guns and cannons, flying clothing, parachute packing and so on. Starting at 2.00 pm, the flying programme was to last nearly four hours. It was headed by a fly past of Spitfires from Numbers 601 and 604 Royal Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons. An aerobatic display was included. This was followed by a fly-past of Handley Page Hastings in formation, de Haviland Vampire jets, Meteros and the Hornet aircraft, a derivative of the Mosquito.

Perhaps most notably at 3.20 pm a television outside broadcast commenced. This opened with Richard Dimbleby interviewing “well-known personalities”, which included Air Chief Marshal Sir Guy Garrod and Group Captain Douglas Bader. Then followed an “operational ‘take-off’ by No. 604 Auxiliary Squadron intended to repel an imaginary attack on the airdrome” and a “Tiger Moth and Chipmunk aircraft demonstration with Wynford Vaughan Thomas broadcasting from the Tiger Moth”. Some jet Meteors attacked an “Ack-Ack” Gun Site and some paratroopers dropped from a Dakota. Various other entertainments filled the remaining television time. The outside broadcast lasted 50 minutes in total.

After the broadcast, and before the afternoon concluded, further fly-pasts took place; Photographic Reconnaissance Spitfires; a Percival Prentice trainer, with aerobatics; Avro Ansons; aerobatics with Tiger Moths; and more Spitfires and more aerobatics. After some gliding and a few ground based demonstrations by physical training teams, the “At Home” was scheduled to finish at about 6.00 pm.

All this would have provided a spectacular show for the period and BBC television played its part, remarkably. Of course, television had yet to parade the Queen’s Coronation in 1953, for many the first memorable televised occasion. More mundanely perhaps for those with long memories, the first episode of The Lone Ranger (and Tonto?) was televised two days before the North Weald display while Come Dancing, when it was simply a vehicle for a regional dance competition, and not strictly, was still to make its debut nearly two weeks later. At this time outside broadcasts were unusual. The fact that North Weald had been selected for one of these adventures, as the subject of such a transmission, emphasised the importance of the airfield show. It was one of the very early such broadcasts post-war and from the platform of the Tiger Moth, it would have presented both an electronic and a logistical challenge.

It is generally credited that one of the first live outside broadcasts after the end of WWII also had a flying theme, covering the first flight of the Brabazon aircraft. This plane was conceived as a luxurious, long-range, passenger plane. It is difficult now to conceive the size of the plane. The wing-span was 230’, or 35’ more than a Boeing 747; the fuselage was 177’ long. The date of first flight was 4th September 1949, less than two weeks before the North Weald “At Home”. Filton was the site of this debut and large crowds gathered for the flight, which was captured on film, the film being eventually recovered from its resting place in a shed. Although a second Brabazon was commissioned, it was soon realised that a large, slow aircraft, when compared to the new, expected jet airliners, carried little economic justification. It had a short life and in October 1953 all development of the Brabazon ceased. Surely hastening this closure was the first test flight of the Comet jetliner in July 1949, to be introduced to passenger service in May 1952.

So the “At Home” at North Weald Air Station, just after the first Brabazon flight and Comet introduction, must have been one of the first truly live BBC outside broadcasts after the war. The display was a blend of the pre-war and conventional Tiger Moths and a confident future Royal Air Force, represented by Meteor and Vampire jet aircraft. It was also an exciting time for an United Kingdom aircraft industry faced with the challenge of providing faster passenger transport.

Reminding the Museum at North Weald of the “At Home”, a transcript of the programme was found in an orderly file. The intention of the museum is now to write to the BBC to enquire about remaining footage of the filming.

The Annual General Meeting of the High Country History Group will be held on Thursday, 24 March 2011, commencing at 8.00pm.

Following the AGM, we intend to hold an evening where members have the opportunity to contribute. We have hosted a number of these before; one remembers evenings on the theme of “My Favourite Ancestor” and “The Fifties”, for example.

Following such evenings held in earlier years, one or two short, prepared presentations will kick off the evening. In “School Days”, members might pursue at least two separate lines; maybe with no local link, general changes in member’s experience of the methods of schooling; and recollections of actual teaching in the High Country. So under the first theme, discipline or the teaching of arithmetic might be considered, while under the second theme members might wish to shed light on the village school during the war, and its aftermath, and the eventual closure of the school in Stanford Rivers. How has schooling changed in Stanford Rivers?

So please come to the evening with a story, reminiscence, idea or some other contribution on the topic. Everyone has had some contact with education. A little thought should be enough to rekindle some experience of “School Days” to bring to the meeting. Recollections may be postive, perhaps even rose-coloured, remembering perhaps a close-knit community involved in the life of the village school, or they might be controversial and aggrieved in relating to the loss associated with the school’s closure.

Many members will have strong opinions on modern teaching. In the wider view, education seems to be on a merry-go-round. Educational development seems constant yet national standards are seem as slipping when measured against those of other nations. What part has the Stanford Rivers village school played in this over the years of member’s memories.

Please, come along to “School Days”!

Oh yes, and please do not forget the AGM together with the usual refreshments.

1586 Essex Lent Sessions and General Gaol Delivery holden at Chelmsford 3rd March 28 Eliz.

Anne Joyce, wife of John Joyce of Stanforde Ryvers, labourer, 0n 20 Apl.,27 Eliz., at Stanforde Ryvers bewitched to death 6 sheep and 6 lambs of the goods and chattels of John Fuller of Stanford Rivers.

And on 28 June, 27 Eliz., at Stanforde Ryvers, bewitched to death 2 cows of the goods and chattels of John Fuller.
Endorsed – Billa vera. Po se non cull.

On 1 Apl., 26 Eliz., at Stanforde Ryvers bewitched to death 9 hogs and 1 cow of the goods and chattels of John Herd. And on the 4 Apl., at Stanforde Ryvers 1 mare of John Hare which languished. Endorsed – Billa vera. Po se non cull.

On 20 Dec., 28 Eliz., at Stanforde Ryvers bewitched Elizabeth Elles, who languished for 7 days.
Endorsed – Billa vera. Po se non cull.

NOTE:

'billa vera', or a true bill.

In the 1841 Census, John Barnard is shown as the Licensee of the White Bear Public House in Stanford Rivers. Residing with his wife Elizabeth and 4 children.

In the 1851 Census, Barnard is no longer at the White Bear but living in Hare Street, Stanford Rivers where he is described as a Baker and Shopkeeper. Living with him is Elizabeth and two children, Peter who is aged 22 and himself described as a Baker, his daughter Elizabeth, aged 13yrs., and a Charles Owers, 21 years, described as a Journeyman Baker.

London Gazette -21 June 1850

Whereas a Petition for an adjudication in Bankruptcy bearing date the 20th day of June 1850, has, been filed and entered of record against John Barnard, of Stanford Rivers, in the county of Essex, Baker, Dealer and Chapman, and he being declared a bankrupt is hereby required to surrender himself to Joshua Evans, Esq. one of Her Majesty's Commissioners of the Court of Bankruptcy, on the 28th day of June instant, at eleven in the forenoon precisely, and on the 1st of August next, at twelve at noon precisely, at the Court of Bankruptcy, in Basinghallstreet, in the city of London, and make a full discovery and disclosure of his estate and effects; when and where the creditors are to come prepared to prove their debts, and at the first sitting to choose assignees, and at the last sitting the'said bankrupt is required to finish his examination. All persons indebted to the said bankrupt, or that have any of his effects, are not to pay or deliver the same but to Mr. Bell, No. 3, Colemanstreet- buildings, the Official Assignee, whom the Commissioner has appointed, and give notice to Mr. Rawling, Solicitor, No. 7, John-street, Bedford-row, and Romford, Essex.

London Gazette - 30 August 1850

WHEREAS the Court, authorized to act In the prosecution of a Petition for adjudication of Bankruptcy, filed against John Barnard, of Stanford Rivers, in the county of Essex, Baker, Dealer and Chapman, bearing date the 20th of June 1850, has, on the application of the said bankrupt, appointed a public sitting under such Petition to be held before Joshua Evans, Esq. one of Her Majesty's Commissioners of the Court of Bankruptcy, on the 28th day of September next, at eleven of the clock in the forenoon precisely, at the Court of Bankruptcy, in Basinghall-street, in the city of London, for the allowance of the Certificate of the said bankrupt's conformity to the laws now in force concerning bankrupts, according to the form and subject to the provisions of the Statute, passed in the Parliament holden in the twelfth and. thirteenth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, intitled "The Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act, 1849;" this is to give notice that such Court will sit, at the time and place above mentioned, for the purpose aforesaid-; when and where any of the creditors of the said bankrupts, who shall have given due notice of his intention to oppose, may be heard against the allowance of such Certificate, 'and the same will be allowed, unless cause be then and there shewn to the contrary, or such other order will be made therein as the justice of the case may require.

London Gazette - 1 October 1850

THIS is to give notice, that the Court acting in the prosecution of a Petition for adjudication of Bankruptcy, filed against John Barnard, of Stanford Rivers, in the county of Essex, Baker, Dealer and Chapman, bearing date the 20th day of June 1850, did, on the 28th day of September
1850, allow the said John Barnard a Certificate of the second class ; and that such Certificate will be delivered to the said bankrupt, unless an appeal be duly entered against the judgment of such Court, and notice thereof be given to the Court.

London Gazette - 25 February 1851

JOSHUA EVANS, Esq. one of Her Majesty's Commissioners authorized to act under a Petition for adjudication of Bankruptcy, filed on the 20th of June 1850, against John Barnard, of Stanford Rivers, in the county of Essex, Baker, will sit on the 20th of March next, at half past twelve in the afternoon precisely, at the Court of Bankruptcy, in Basinghall-street, in the city of London, to make a Dividend of the estate and effects of the said bankrupt; when and where the creditors, who have not already proved their debts, are to come prepared to prove the same, or they will be excluded the benefit of the said Dividend. And all claims not then proved will be disallowed.

The Living Landscape has been written by members of the Essex Gardens Trust Research Group. It represents a notable achievement.

The volume contains ten research papers. The subject of each paper has been carefully chosen so that the volume forms a coherent and comprehensive review of the historical evidence and the utility of animals in park and garden landscapes. The papers often give fascinating insight into the management of animals for both consumption and pleasure. Seven papers relate directly to animals; fish and fishponds; rabbits and warrens; dovecotes; honey bees; cattle; horses and stabling; aviaries and menageries. Two papers examine specific aspects of particular estates; the evolution of Braxted Park from a medieval deer park into a landscape park and an investigation of the typography of the Thorndon Hall estate to understand the accommodation of diverse groups of animals (including a menagerie). A further paper records those references to Essex deer parks in court rolls, drawing on a wider, national exercise. Wherever possible the focus is towards Essex parks and gardens. Some illustrations from the papers may help to demonstrate the special relevance and wide scope of the work.

Honey bees? Essex has a long tradition of bee-keeping, well documented even in the Domesday Survey of 1086. The unit of management of the honey bee was the ‘skep’. A traditional skep is a closed basket constructed from coiled rope. Larger colonies with several skeps would be accommodated in bee-houses. These were usually wooden garden structures, becoming increasingly elaborate and decorative with some designs incorporating glass windows to enable viewing of the bees. The protection of bees in adverse conditions is necessary, often effected by some suitable wooden construction but sometimes utilising a bee bole, a brick or stone alcove in a wall sufficient to take a skep. Much interest has been shown in surviving bee boles and a national register for them has been compiled. Fourteen, out of 23 early surviving structures, related to bees in Essex, are listed and described in The Living Landscape, but just one of these is a possible bee house, the remainder being boles. It is hinted that discoveries of such boles are still to be made, but it must be anticipated that these, like many of those listed, are privately owned.

Consider the prominent ‘fishponds’ at Leez Priory. Fishponds are stated to require four general design features; a ready supply of fresh, aerated water; means to provide effective, independent sluice control of the pond levels to circumvent flooding; means to drain a pond for maintenance of both pools and fish stocks; provision of varied habitats within the pools for the needs of breeding fish etc.. Although now silted, the 12 ponds at the priory still form a visible chain along the course of the River Ter to the north of the priory. Were the ponds really fishponds associated with the monastery?

Although there are examples of such chains in other monastic fishponds, none approach the extent of that at Leez Priory. However, the priory was not wealthy and it is unlikely that such an expensive chain was affordable, and in any case the complex would have been too productive for the needs of the monastery. Furthermore, the situation of the ponds does not demonstrate that they could have been independently drained and managed. An alternative purpose for the chain of ponds must be sought and some documentary evidence suggests that it might have been a landscape feature associated with the enhancement of the estate by Sir Richard Rich, who was granted the priory in 1536. (This departs from the conclusion of one earlier commentator that the ponds were prehistoric!)

There are many results throughout the volume that are the product of diligent, thorough research. For the deer park seeker, the study of references to deer parks in the Calendars of Letters Patent and Charter Rolls has generated seven ‘new’ Essex parks, candidates for further investigation, to add to around the 160 already listed. For a further eight parks an earlier date is discovered which predates the anticipated date of imparkment already suggested.

The agricultural revolution and the increasing importance of profitable agriculture meant that cattle gradually replaced deer in the park. This change is explored by close examination of both textual sources and paintings. Repton is often found commenting on the attractive dynamic introduced into the parkland scene through the movement of the cattle. Furthermore, Repton was aware that the use of smaller breeds of cattle, for example Alderney cattle, could enhance the illusion of the extent of the park. In 1837 Hillyard in a book, Practical Farming and Grazing, wishing to maximise the decorative effect, promotes the use of the breed because of their ‘generally gay colour, red and white’.

A further example of an intriguing list records historical references to warrens and warreners that occur in documents in the Essex Record Office. Although the warren might support game as well as rabbits, in the majority of these entries rabbits are specifically noted. The records are listed against parish and seventy parishes are included, sometimes with more than one warren or warrener. The earliest Essex warrens are attributed to the Bishop of London in 1241 in the parishes of Clacton and Horsey Island. Most entries are late-sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, reflecting the transition from the noble ownership of a warren to the later widespread and commercial success of the rabbit.

These scattered extracts from The Living Landscape can only hint at the well-planned, scholarly and readable volume that is the result. The volume contributes much to our awareness of the garden and park landscape in Essex. The common theme linking the papers, of course, is the influence of animals on the landscape and in this respect the organization of the volume ensures that the ground is well covered. The opportunity for the interested reader to add to the understanding and interpretation of the subject is invited by the work. Tight editorial control and production has ensured that the research carried out by the contributors is presented in the best possible manner. All involved should be congratulated on their achievement.

A must buy and at a bargain price!

Programme 2011

Thursday, 24 February 2011

"Honey bees, skeps, wax and bee boles - a brief foray into the history of bee keeping"

By Tricia Moxey

Just a single hive of bees appears in the Domesday record for Fyfield, but Essex is a county with a long tradition of beekeeping. This talk will reveal some of the woes which befell past beekeepers, how they adopted improved methods of bee husbandry and will consider their economic value within the county.

Thursday, 24 March 2011

Annual General Meeting and "School Days"

Thursday, 21 April 2011

"Brickmaking and Brick Buildings in the High Country"

By Anne Padfield

How were pre-industrial bricks made? Where were the local brickfields in the High Country? Examples of local brick buildings of various dates will be discussed. How the bricks have changed over time will be shown.

All the meeting are in Toot Hill Village Hall commencing at 8.00pm.
Coffee and Biscuits
Members £1 – Non Members £2.
Visitors are always welcome.