High Country History Group

Below is the list of residents and non-resident landowners who voted
in the 1836 South Essex Election and who each individual voted for.
The candidates were George Palmer, Conservative, who resided at
Nazeing Park and Champion Edward Branfill, a Whig-Radical who
resided at Upminster Hall.
Stanford Rivers Palmer Branfill
Charles Baker
Rev. Dowdeswell
Stephen Jones
William Martin
Henry Mott
John Mott
John Palmer
John Ray
George Smallpiece
William Smith
John Smitheman
Thomas Wilson Esq.

X
X
X
X
X
X

X

X
X
X
X
X

Stapleford Tawney Palmer Branfill
Forster Charlton
Charles Clark
Joseph Cooper
M. Freshwater
John Rumball
Edward C. Smyth

X
X
X
X
X
X

William West
James Wood
William Worters
John Worters

X
X
X
X

Greensted Palmer Branfill
Rev. A. Hatt, D.D.
Henry Lewis
Joseph Mann

X
X
X

Theydon Mount Palmer Branfill
Richard Hampton
Samuel Miller
Thomas Rumball
John Smith
James Spencer
Francis Tanner

X
X
X
X
X
X

As schoolmasters were required to be registered by their bishop until
the eighteenth century, it is possible to identify most of them from
diocesan records, now conveniently summarised on the Church of
England clergy database. In combination with other sources, it is
possible to identify the subsequent careers of most of them.
With one exception, all were ordained priests who concurrently or
subsequently were in charge of a parish in or not far from Ongar. The
exception was Christopher Glascock, a graduate of Cambridge
University; he was teaching in Ongar by 1637 and had four children
baptised here between 1639 and 1643. Between 1644 and 1650 he
was master of the more prestigious Ipswich grammar school, and in
1650 was appointed master of Felsted School, a post which he held –
presumably to the satisfaction of the governors - for nearly 40 years.
One Ongar schoolmaster, Benjamin Stebbing, is of particular interest
due to a cache of surviving letters which deserve more detailed study.
Stebbing was the first to benefit from the provisions of Ongar's
Joseph King Trust. He was said to possess a university degree,
though his name does not appear in the lists of Oxford or Cambridge
graduates, nor is there any record of his ordination as a priest.
However he combined his teaching with the curacy of the tiny church
of Berners Roding, and brought up a large family in Ongar where
nine of his children were baptised between 1670 and 1683. On
becoming rector of Stondon Massey in 1690 he resigned his teaching
post. Little else would be known about him but for the series of
letters (now in the National Archive) written by him, a pupil named
William Atwood, and the boy's parents in 1685 and 1686.
Willliam's father can probably be identified as the merchant of
Hackney whose will was proved on 21 March 1690. Though in
general boarding schools had barely developed at this date, it was not
unusual for schoolmasters to take private pupils into their
households, or to lodge them out elsewhere in the town. The letters
reveal familiar parental concerns about an absent son. His mother
worried about his clothes, suggesting ways of refurbishing his winter
outfit for summer use, and sending a tape measure and money to his
master. William was a typical boy, not averse to a bit of emotional
blackmail. He wrote to his father requesting a penknife, some bird
lime (a sticky substance used for catching birds), hooks, flies,
packthread and a tin box, so that he could catch a pike for his mother.
"I hope you will be so kind as not to deny me that, but if you have
any love for me, let me have it next Thursday or Saturday..." In
another letter his parents expressed concern that William had used a
gift of five shillings to purchase a half share in a gun.
Though William was clearly enjoying an active sporting life in
Ongar, his progress with school work was less satisfactory. Writing
to his "ever honoured father" he noted "I am sorry to hear so many
complaints, but I will do my best endeavour to mend them..."
Benjamin Stebbing, in a letter to the boy's father, noted sardonically
that "books and birdlime agree not well together. However the latter
may prove a good diversion if it will make him stick to his book..."
Included with Stebbing's letter was a punishment essay that he had
set William on the consequences of idleness. The schoolmaster asked
his father to emphasize to his son the benefits of book learning to
counteract "this folly he seems to find in that Latin will do him no
good for an Apprentice."
William was a spirited and rebellious pupil. He complained at length
about the harshness of his schoolmaster who detained him over his
books while his fellow pupils were at play which "doth make me so
dull so that I hate to goe to my book so that I cannot learn..." He
suggested that his father was wasting his money in sending him to
school. "I believe it is time for me to goe to learn to cast accounts for
almost all the boys in our form do, as I believe it is high time for me.
Pray send me a summing book from London for I believe my Master
has none."
Not surprisingly, William's mother took his side against the Ongar
schoolmaster. "I am infinitely troubled for poor Willie. I confesse it
is but what I had feared from the harsh and churlish carriage of his
master, and I am very sure that that is not the best way to deal with
such tempers." At this point the correspondence ends and there is
nothing to indicate whether the stern master or the rebellious pupil
ultimately had their way.
Several interesting points arise from these letters, apart from the
perennial disagreements about the benefits of academic learning in a
disinterested pupil, and whether punishment might improve results or
simply further discourage a child from learning. The letters show that
the Ongar schoolmaster was taking in pupils to board from some
distance away and that Latin was on the curriculum – and that book
keeping was not. In spite of the boy's complaints about his schooling,
he was free in his spare time – and probably more at liberty than his
modern equivalent - to enjoy rural pursuits, such as fishing for pike,
catching birds with birdlime and (presumably) shooting the larger
ones with his part-owned gun. It is also clear that the sardonic
humour of some school teachers – as well as their "harsh and
churlish carriage" - is nothing new!

The ancient parish church of Blackmore, built some 900 years ago,
was dedicated to St. Laurence and formed the heart of a small
Augustinian Priory founded in about 1160 by Richard Bishop of
London.
St. Laurence is thought to have been born of Christian parents in
Huesca, a town in the region of Aragon that was once part of the
Roman province that we now know as Spain. His name is derived
from the Latin: Laurentius, literally "laurelled".
As a youth he proved an outstanding student and was sent to
Zaragoza to complete his studies. It was here that he first
encountered the future Pope Sixtus II. He was a famous teacher of
Greek origin, in what was then one of the most renowned centres of
learning in the Roman Empire. Over time, a strong bond of master
and disciple developed between the two men and in 257 they
travelled together to Rome, where Christians were in serious trouble.
At this time, Rome and its Empire were pagan. Christianity was not
adopted as the state religion until 313, when The Emperor
Constantine was converted. In the hundred years or so before this
the Empire was under almost constant barbarian attack and suffered
economic collapse, political chaos and military revolt which nearly
lead to its destruction. It is fair to say that Christians, at this time,
were not very popular. As a matter of practice, they were
contemptuous of the pagan gods and detached themselves from
society; for instance, by refusing to serve in the Roman Legions.
Against this background, in 257 the Emperor Valerian began an
organised and vigorous persecution of Christians. This he perceived
as being good for his popularity with the gods, the people and, as all

10 | P a g e
Christian property was to be confiscated, good for his treasury.
Furthermore, all meetings of Christians were forbidden, with the
universal penalty for any transgression being death.
Into this maelstrom stepped Sixtus and Laurence. Within the year
following their arrival, the then Pope, Stephen II, had been beheaded
and shortly after, Sixtus was elected Pope on 31st August 257. One
of his first acts was to ordain Laurence as a Deacon and though he
was still in his early thirties, made him principal of the seven
Christian Deacons of the City of Rome. This was a position of great
trust, with sole responsibility for the wealth and treasures of the
Church and distribution of alms among the poor.
Laurence was not to see the year out, for on the 6th August 258
Valerian’s men caught up with Sixtus and summarily beheaded him
together with four Deacons. Laurence was taken into custody
together with the remaining Deacons and was offered freedom in
return for the surrender of the Church’s wealth. In reply, Laurence
asked for time; three days to assemble the treasure which he would
present on the fourth. On the acceptance of this proposal he set to
and instead of gathering in the Church’s property, he distributed it to
the poor and needy of Rome. So it was that on the fourth day, the
10th August 258, instead of treasure, Laurence presented the true
wealth of the Church, its people.
Enraged by this affront, Valerian’s Prefect there and then ordered
Laurence to be tortured and then chained to a gridiron over a low fire
and slowly roasted to death. It is recorded that during his suffering
over the fire, he invited his torturers to turn him over, as one side was
now done. Surely, one of the blackest jokes in history! Throughout
the hours of his suffering, he is reported to have prayed for the
conversion of Rome to Christianity until, eventually, he died. The
spectacle of his faith and courage made a great impression on the
people of Rome and as a result many were converted. Also, as the
details of his death spread, it greatly improved the image of
Christianity throughout the pagan population of the Empire.
Because of the manner of his death, the symbol of St. Laurence is a
gridiron and his remains are buried in The Basilica of Saint Laurence
outside the Walls in Rome.
He is the patron saint of innumerable churches, cities and countries
throughout the world and of the poor together with archivists,
bankers, comedians, cooks, librarians, tanners and many more.
John Riley
Chairman
Friends of St Laurence Church, Blackmore
(Registered Charity No. 1113888)

(Continuing a series of stories from Don Sharp)
How us country people relied on those people when I was a
youngster. All our shopping was brought to us, to our door. Now we
have to go into Ongar, or whichever town is the nearest.
Monday the Baker called at dinner time, this one had a motor van.
Two more bakers called, one had a horse and van and the other had a
horse and cart – three bakers.
In the afternoon the Paraffin Oil man called on us, washing powder,
matches, pegs, candles, pails and bowls – how that van smelled with
primrose soap and oil, it smelled gorgeous – was polishes, brushes.
Tuesday saw the man from the Insurance on his bike, then the man
from International stores on a bike, with his case strapped on the
back. He came to the door and knocked. ‘Come in grocer’, mother
would say. ‘I spouse yea like a cup of tea?’ in her Suffolk talk. The
case was opened on the floor, out came the order book – it was
always marge, lard, tea, sugar, cheese, the first items. Special this
week, as he opened the case again, ‘two jellies for 6d, very good
offer.’ Then you gave him last week’s bill. He would recount, no
calculator, you used your head in those days ‘ten shillings and
sixpence three farthings, please, sugar is down a farthing this week.’
as he stuck the receipt paid on the bottom of the bill. Out came the
cloth money bag with the string to keep the money from falling out.
‘6d on my Christmas club grocer,’ mother would say. ‘Your
groceries will be along Friday’ as he tipped the last of the tea cup up.
Then the butcher came Tuesday, 11lb of beef sausages 8d. was the
limit here. ‘What would you like for Saturday please?’ – ‘A little
piece of beef, about 4s to 5s please – that owd bit you sent last week
was tough.’ As my Aunt used to say, ‘I reckon boy that was bit of
old boxer.’
Wednesday would see the miller come, he was a little short thick set
man. He brought the flour in his horse and van, and ran through his
goods – chicken food, flour, rice, tapioca, maize oil, peas, harricot
beans. There was another miller who called on Saturday. The bakers
called as I wrote, one or other called every day, and we also had the
village stores to go to.
Thursday saw the man with the horse and van round with fish. Pair
of kippers - 6d. There were two greengrocers, calling on different
days. Fridays saw the groceries delivered, all done and packed in a
large brown paper parcel tied up with string, with the bill tucked in
the top of the parcel.
There was another little man with a soft trilby hat on a trade bike
who sold cottons, needles, writing paper and envelopes. Saturday
also saw the butcher come, tying his pony to the side of our gate.
Two more butchers used to come by our gate, so you see we were
never short. Mother would say, ‘I’m going to shut the door today, I
cannot spend with all these people.’ There were two coalmen come
round, that was where we had to cut the budget, coal was 2s 6d. per
cwt., we was sent out as children to gather wood from under the
trees.
Now about every six weeks or less we would get the gypsy people
call. They had brooms, brushes, wicker baskets, mats, all tied to the
side of the caravan. Then there was the old man who sat in his cart
and called out ‘Old rags, rabbit skins, old iron.’ Yes it’s all changed,
no service given to the country people now.
Oh there was another service, we used to call them tally men. They
would sell you clothes from a big suitcase. A pair of men’s trousers
ten to twelve shillings a week. ‘Pay me two shillings a week lady,
buy the old man a new pair of cord trousers.’ This kind of payment
my parents had nothing to do with. ‘What we can’t afford we will go
without,’ was their motto.
Now us old folks and the young ones are worse off, living in the
country than 60 years ago, if you don’t have a car and no bus to get
to town. It would be nice to have our tradesmen back.

Rolls Park was built in the 17th century and is best remembered as
the family seat of the Harvey family who owned it for many
generations.
Among their famous members was Dr William Harvey who
discovered the circulation of the blood in 1628, but perhaps the most
famous occupant of the home was Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey.
During his time at Rolls Park the manor house was one of the most
richly furnished in England and housed a collection of world-class
paintings. Its rococo interior decoration was much heralded. The
music room at the mansion contained oval paintings of the seven
brothers of the first generation of Harvey’s, and the portrait of
William Harvey now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
Rolls Park’s last famous resident was Lieutenant General Sir Francis
Lloyd who organised much of the defences and recruitment
campaigns in London during the First World War.
During Sir Francis’s time at the estate, Winston Churchill was a
visitor and the future prime minister stayed over during his 1924
election campaign for the Epping seat in parliament.
Rolls Park was requisitioned by the army during the Second World
War, and its troops caused considerable damage to the interior. The
building was also affected by blast damage from bombs dropped in
its garden.
The house’s final owner Andrew Lloyd took the decision to demolish
it in 1953. He described the £8,000 compensation offered to him by
the government as not enough to repair one tenth of the damage
caused to the building.
All that remains of the site today is the stables, a cottage and the
orangery, which was rebuilt, although the area of the estate, near the
end of Chigwell High Road, is still known as Rolls Park Corner.
Rolls Park is mentioned in historian Giles Worsley’s ‘England’s Lost
Houses’ as one of the great stately homes to be demolished after the
war.

Admiral Sir Eliab
Harvey GCB was an
eccentric and hot-tempered
officer of the Royal Navy
during the French
Revolutionary and the
Napoleonic Wars who was
as distinguished for his
gambling and dueling as
for his military record.
Although Harvey was a
significant naval figure for
over twenty years, his
martial reputation was
largely based on his
experiences at the Battle of
Trafalgar.

He was born in 1758 at Rolls Park, the second son of William Harvey
MP. He was educated at Harrow and Westminster schools and at the
age of 14 entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman aboard the sloop
HMS Lynx and spent the next two years in the West Indies.
He was Commander of the Essex Sea Fencibles between 1798-9.

By 1795 he had taken command of the ship of the line HMS Valiant,
initially in the Channel Fleet and later in the West Indies under Sir Hyde
Parker.
In 1803 he was appointed Captain of HMS Temeraire2

, and he took part
in the Battle of Trafalgar. At the onset of Trafalgar, as Nelson's two
columns sailed slowly towards the French and Spanish combined fleet
newly come out of Cadiz, it was nervously suggested to Nelson that he
shift his flag from the "Victory". It was obvious, from his plan of battle
that the first ship to break the enemy line would be subjected to massive
fire. Nelson refused to change his ship but he did -for a while- agree that

the "Temeraire" should lead "Victory" into battle. Then he counter-
manded his order. Meanwhile Captain Harvey of the "Temeraire"

struggled to overtake the "Victory". In Carola Oman's account: "when,
half an hour before the "Victory" opened fire, the "Temeraire", having
been signalled at 12.15 to take her place astern, ranged up on the
Victory's quarter, Nelson, said, “I'll thank you Captain Harvey, to keep
in your proper station, which is astern of the "Victory".
Captain Harvey was advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral; and on the
change of administration in the ensuing spring, he hoisted his flag on
board the Tonnant, of 80 guns, in the Channel fleet, under the orders of
Earl St. Vincent. He attended the funeral of Lord Nelson, and appears to
have been one of the supporters of the pall on that melancholy occasion.

In his civilian life, Harvey pursued political interests and spent three
spells as a Member of Parliament for Maldon and later Essex3
. During
this period he was also knighted. However, Harvey was not a peaceable
man and his life both in and out of the Navy was frequently punctuated
by disputes with fellow officers and politicians. One such dispute, a
consequence of the Battle of Basque Roads, eventually cost Harvey his
career. Following a bitter exchange with Lord Gambier in 1809 he was
court-martialed for insubordination and dismissed the service, although,
in recognition of his great services, was later reinstated by Order in
Council.

He was made a full Admiral in 1819. Although reinstated a year later,
Harvey was never again employed in an official capacity and further
promotions were only bestowed as a matter of seniority.
He was a Verderer of Waltham Forest and Governor of Chigwell
School.
Harvey was also notable in his time for his extravagant lifestyle. The
deaths of his father and elder brother while he was still a young man
provided Harvey with a considerable fortune, much of which he
squandered gambling in London. Harvey's exploits at the gaming
tables became legendary, one story claiming that he once bet
£100,000 on a single game of chance and lost, only to win most of it
back on the following throw. Despite his dissolute lifestyle, Harvey
was married and had numerous children; he was survived by six
daughters and had three sons who predeceased him.
Harvey died in 1830 at his family estate of Rolls Park and was buried
in the Harvey family crypt at St Andrews Church at Hempstead in
Essex, which contains the remains of over 50 family members,
including his ancestor's brother, Dr. William Harvey. His coffin is
still in the crypt. On the wall of church is a hatchment in his honour
originally placed shortly after his death and restored in 1958 after it
was destroyed in the partial collapse of the church in 1884. A large
wall memorial to him is also visible in the church.

Bound Diocesan records for the period 1877 to 1914 are held at the
‘Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies’ at the County Council
offices in Hertford. Whilst searching for information on Blackmore, I
came across the following information relating to the High Country
parishes.
Stapleford Tawney
Stapleford Tawney. Co Essex. Petition for consecration of addition
to churchyard. [1882] To the Right Reverend Father in God Thomas
Legh by Divine Permission Lord Bishop of St Albans – The humble
Petition of the Rector Churchwardens and certain Inhabitants of the
Parish of Stapleford Tawney in the county of Essex and your
Lordship’s Diocese –
Sheweth that the Churchyard of the Parish of Stapleford Tawney
aforesaid is so full of graves that it requests enlargement – That by a
Deed dated the twentieth of July One thousand eight hundred and
eighty two under the hand and seal of Sir William Bowyer Smyth
Baronet of Hill Hall in the parish of Theydon Mount in the said
County and under the authority of the “Consecration of Churchyards
Act 1867” a piece of ground in the parish of Stapleford Tawney
aforesaid containing one the North side or end thereof next
Stapleford Tawney School House Garden sixty feet or thereabouts on
the East side or end thereof next the High Road, running from
Passingford Bridge to Stapleford Tawney Common one hundred feet
or thereabouts on the south side or end thereof adjoining part of
Stapleford Tawney Churchyard seventy five feet or thereabouts and
on the west side or end thereof next to and adjoining the other part of
the said Churchyard ninety five feet or thereabouts and which said
piece of ground is more particularly delineated ... That the said piece
of ground so conveyed as aforesaid is suitably situate adjoining the
said Churchyard and has been properly levelled and added to and
enclosed with the said Churchyard and is now fit and proper
condition for interments and may advantageously form part of the
said Churchyard.
Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray your Lordship will be
pleased to consecrate the said piece of ground ...
Lewis W Prance Rector of Stapleford Tawney and Theydon Mount.
Chas Smith. A Churchwarden for the parish of Stapleford Tawney.
W Sworder Churchwarden. John Lovell Fry. Cornell Fitch. Daniel
Miller. Miller Bros. Jacob Miller

[Essex Review Extract from No 232 Volume LVIII (October 1949)]

The Epping Railways Company is not well known. This is not
surprising since it never built a mile of railway. There had been, of
course, many railway companies remarkable mainly for their lack of
achievement but they were more uncommon by the 1860’s. This
company’s real interest is that it is a local example of elbowing for
position, parliamentary manoeuvring and wasteful expenditure that
characterised railway promotion in England generally.
The Act of Incorporation, which received the royal assent on 13
August, 1859 empowered the company to make an extension of the
Loughton Branch of the Eastern Counties Railway to Epping and
Chipping Ongar and to raise capital of £100,000 in £10 shares with
the customary limited liability.
The directors, who were George Parker Bidder (chairman), John
Chevallier Cobbold, M.P., E S Cayley, M.P., and George Josslyn,
explained the purpose and prospects to the proprietors at the first
half-yearly meeting at Epping on 25 February, 1860. Promotion had
been supported by the Eastern Counties as a protective measure
against a competing line which was threatened from London,
avoiding Epping, to Ongar, Dunmow and Bury. When this line was
withdrawn the Eastern Counties said the Epping line was intended
only ‘as a foil’ and should be abandoned. The Epping promoters
therefore carried their Bill through Parliament against the opposition
of the Eastern Counties.
The directors held out the prospect of a highly remunerative line,
arising from the beauty of the locality, the close proximity to the
metropolis and the ‘fertile and populous district beyond Ongar.’ The
estimated cost from Loughton to Epping was between £52,571 and
£54,571 for construction and land not including the, always
considerable, item of parliamentary and legal expenses. The
company’s own common seal was duly approved.
The conflict with the Eastern Counties involved the Epping men in
expensive courses. Faced with a refusal to co-operate they deposited
a Bill, as a protective measure, to obtain independent connection to
Fenchurch Street by a line to the Barking extension of the Tilbury
Line; this was the Epping Railways Ilford Bill. They also promoted
a Bill to extend from Ongar to Dunmow. Both Bills were opposed in
parliament by the Eastern Counties. Negotiations were then begun.
The proposal was that the Eastern Counties should come to a fair
working arrangement in return for withdrawal of the Ilford Bill,
provided the Eastern Counties withdrew opposition to the Dunmow
Bill.
The Ilford Bill was accordingly withdrawn. The legal costs had been

£1,245. 12s. 11d., the engineering costs about £500. The Ongar-
Dunmow Bill was passed since parliament considered the Eastern

Counties had no locus standi for opposition, but it never produced a
railway. In this case the legal costs were £1,682. 6s. 4d., and the
engineering costs about £700.
The end of the conflict came with the approaching amalgamation of
the Eastern Counties, Eastern Union and Norfolk companies into the
Great Eastern Railway. An agreement between the companies
provided that the Epping-Ongar and Ongar-Dunmow lines should be
made by the associated companies, the Eastern Counties to deposit
five-sevenths of the money required for the Loughton-Epping line.
But the Ongar-Dunmow line was to be reconsidered and so it was.
The Epping Company was not quite dead. It had its interests, its
assets and, more important, its liabilities to hand on. Its interests
were protected by a separate Bill to vest its powers legally in the
associated companies, before the proposed amalgamation.
Then, its manoeuvres had been accompanied by other difficulties. In

order to dispose of unsold shares it had offered a commission of one-
eighth of each share to ‘some of the professional gentlemen of

Epping.’
The purchase of land created problems. Notice had been served, in
the usual way, on landowners, the chief of whom was the Revd Mr
Maitland mentioned by William Addison in Epping Forest as the first
clerical lord of Loughton Manor, contracts of sale had been entered
into, but the company was not ready or able to pay. And so when the
Revd Mr Maitland owners amounting to £9,650 had to be passed
with the rest to the associated companies and so to the G.E.R..
Lastly the local people became impatient. They, shareholders and
residents in Epping, memorialised the company to start the works.
This too was handed on.
In 1863, then, the new Great Eastern Railway inherited from the
Epping project firstly legal and parliamentary expenses of £5,029.
10s. 2d., and engineering expenses of £2,525, a total of £7,554. 10s.
2d., of which only £3,414. 11s. related to the line to be actually built,
secondly a railway on paper and thirdly a certain amount of local
discontent. The Great Eastern became the L.N.E.R. and today the
Eastern Region.
This story deals with only quite a small affair but it could be repeated
many times over. It is based on the minutes of the Epping Railways
Company.

An entry in Domesday Book5

of 1086 records the existence of a mill
in Greensted. The entry appears under the Hundred of Ongar, and
within the estate of a landowner named Hamo the Steward. Within a
longer entry for the parish, it is stated that:
".... [There is] woodland for 400 pigs. [There are] 16 acres of
meadow. [There is] now 1 mill ...."
In total, the woodland of Greensted supported 520 pigs. Domesday
woodland in East Anglia was measured according to its capacity to
support pigs, fed from the available acorns and beech mast. This
method of estimating the value of woodland would have been quick,
and maybe more relevant to the intended purpose of Domesday, than
assessing area in acres since the number of pigs would have been
known closely. Pigs may be translated to a measurement of area if it
is assumed that one pig required roughly one acre of woodland. This
conversion from pigs to acres can only be a rule of thumb, but there
is some analyses to justify this, based on otherwise quantified
acreages of woodland within Essex6

. Therefore, the woodland in
Greensted may have amounted to around 500 acres, leading to the
conclusion that Greensted was considerably more wooded then than
it is today.
Domesday records not only the condition and structure of a
settlement, but also the changes in the settlement during the 20 years
of the Norman Conquest, between 1066 and 1086. Thus the mill was
in existence at Domesday, but the use of "now" in the entry implies
that it was built during and not before the Norman Conquest. About
one in three settlements in Essex were recorded as having a mill7
. A
few of these places are recorded as possessing a fraction of a mill,
generally the result of sharing a mill with a neighbouring settlement.
Other settlements possessed several mills, Ham, now East and West
Ham, was even recorded as having eight mills, just one less than
existed twenty years before.
Analysis of the sites of these mills suggests that all the mills were
watermills, invariably aligned along watercourses. Darby states that
the distribution of these mills is sometimes a puzzle, with some of
the larger settlements being without a mill, suggesting that some
mills might not have been noted.
A later reference to a mill in Greensted is to be found in the Calendar
of Inquisitions Post Mortem of 1349. Such inquisitions were set up to
establish the extent and ownership of an estate following the death of
a tenant-in-chief, holding an estate directly from the king. The
inquest was held before a jury of twelve local men of high standing.
During this process, the inheritance of the estate would have been
confirmed. The entry of the inquest into the estate of Robert
Burghcher (Bourchier) includes property in Grenestede:
"Greenestede. A messuage, 60a land, 8a. meadow, 15a. pasture, a
wood, and l9s. 3 1/2d. rent, a watermill, a windmill, and pleas &c. of
court, with the advowson of the church, held of Ralph, baron of
Stafford, as of the manor of Aungre, service not known."
A "messuage" is a homestead. The "advowson" carries the right to
appoint a priest to a benefice, usually associated with a parish
church. A watermill still operates and a windmill has now been
added to the estate.

Greensted is a small parish. One stream passes along the length of
the parish, forming the border of the parish before entering the
Cripsey Brook at the E end of the parish. The position of the
watermill on this stream is easily determined from the existing
landscape. Extensive alterations must have taken place to change the
course of the stream. The distance from the Hall to the site of the mill
is about 200 yards. Since there is no other evidence of a watermill on
the stream, this site is likely to be the Domesday site.
The details of the site of the Mill have changed, as shown on recent
OS series maps. The current topography confirms the construction of
the millpond and defines the millrace, together with the development
of a banked island, possibly for the actual site of the mill itself. There
is a noticeable drop in the stream at this point, so much so that
previous owners of Greensted Hall have constructed small waterfalls
by the addition of groups of stones in the stream. The site is now well
wooded, more so than shown in the OS survey of c.1870, and the site
is obscured.
My thanks are due to Mrs Clare Cox for the tour of the site.

Even by the eighteen the century, illness was not regarded as a
circumstance which necessarily required much positive action.
There remained the notion that it was imposed by God, and it was
largely a matter of waiting until the affliction was removed.
Self help was the first resort, and the main care of the sick came from

within the family circle. Treatment was based on traditional home-
made remedies passed down from mother to daughter. The houses of

the wealthy still maintained physic gardens, and Flora Thompson
tells us that as late as the 1870s, the village women of Juniper Hill,
cultivated corners of their gardens with herbs and made their own
therapeutic drinks:
‘peppermint, pennyroyal, horehound, camomile, tansy, balm,
and rue for physic. They made a great deal of camomile tea which
they drank to ward off colds, to soothe the nerves, and as a general
tonic. The horehound was used with honey in a preparation for sore
throats, and colds on the chest...and the women had a private use for
pennyroyal. As well as garden herbs, still in general use, some of the
older women used wild ones, which they gathered in their season and
dried. But the knowledge and use of them was dying out.’
Country law and recipes for cures were part of everyday
conversation. In Dagenham, in 1822, John Prior asked the Overseers
for relief’ as his arches (of his feet) were so bad’ and was told by Mr
Britain that he had heard that threshing with nettles would cure
rheumatism.
Old medical recipes often appeared in parish registers such as the one
left by Thomas Gilbey, vicar of St Mildred’s, Tenterden, in Kent
(1701-51) as a prophylactic against the plague. Private receipt books
were compiled by the literate, and medicinal remedies were part of a
body of household knowledge which included cures relating to both
human and animal diseases. Bassom, an Essex plumber, even wrote
them down at the end of his account books for 1807-11. Documents
relating to the Convent of the Holy Sepulchre, at Boreham, include a
specific medical book with general cures, and medicines prescribed
at various times for the community.
Household manuals were published such as The General Receipt
Book or Oracle ofKnowledge (1825) which covered ‘every branch of
science’ including practical household advice and medicine, while
publications of Wesley’s Primitive Physick (1741) and Buchan’s
Domestic Medicine (1769) ran into many editions.
For those who chose to use them, mainly the poor, there were
supernatural aids to be invoked. Belief in the curative power of the
Medieval Church had survived the break with Rome, and alongside
petitionary prayer, debased versions of Catholic prayers were used as
charms, and the invocation of the Divine was incorporated into the
incantations of ‘cunning’ mean and women. Faith in magical cures
lingered on into the nineteenth century (and probably beyond). In
1856, it was noted that in Lincolnshire:
‘Those who are not in daily intercourse with the peasantry
can hardly be made to believe or comprehend the hold that
charms, witchcraft, wise men and other like relics of heathendom
have upon the people.’
A wide range of innovative patent and proprietary medicines and
prescriptions were to be had from the chemists and druggists, and
there were few aids to ‘health’ that could not be furnished by quacks
selling their wares at fairs and markets, or by public advertisement.
Apart from the rich who could afford the services of a physician from
a town, medical care was available from men and women who had
learned their skills from their forebears and who practised medicine
alongside their usual daily occupations – apothecaries, herbalists,
bonesetters, blood-letters, cutters of the (kidney) stone, and the like –
and who had had no formal education. Some had no medical training
at all. A Presbyterian minister, John Clegg (1679-1755), practised
medicine to feed his family, and a farmer. George Winter who, by
chance inheritance of his uncle’s medical manuscripts and textbooks,
treated the poor free of charge three days a week and bore a
remarkable similarity to Mary Russell Mitford’s village ‘doctor’ of
the 1820s, Dr Chubb:
‘inventor and compounder of medicines, bleeder, shaver, and
physician of man and beast...His skill he had...inherited from his
aunt Bridget, who was herself the first practitioner of the day, the
wise woman of the village, and bequeathed to this her favourite
nephew her blessing, Culpeper’s herbal, a famous salve for
chilblains, and a still,’
Women were traditionally the backbone of medical care. They were
the ‘wise women’ who were called in to assist in childbirth, illness,
and the last stages of life. Although increasing displaced by
professional practitioners, many men and women versed in
traditional remedies continued to practise, like Elizabeth’s Gaskell’s
country-born Alice Wilson, who :
’In addition to her invaluable qualities as a sick nurse... added a
considerable knowledge of hedge and field simples much used by the
poor.’
.. A scathing observation by William Farr, the Registrar General, in
1877, suggests that despite the inroads of ‘orthodox ‘ medicine,
traditional medicine was alive and well, and had many takers:
‘a considerable number of people die without the attention of a
qualified medical man...and hundreds and thousands are treated by
quacks, ignorant midwives, unqualified attendants, and chemists and
druggists.’
The fact that most professional medical men could offer little better
hope of a cure than the traditionalists is another story.

Bridge Cottage
Cottage. C17/18. Timber framed and plastered with wing at rear.
Plain red tiled roof with 2 gabled dormers. 2 window range of small
paned casements. Central 3 board door with plain red tiled porch and
brackets. External red brick chimney stack to right.
Brook Cottage, Mutton Row
Cottage. C18. Timber framed and rough rendered, weatherboarded at
rear. Hipped red pantile roof. 2 storeys. 2 window range of C19
casements. 2 vertical boarded doors. Central red brick chimney stack.
Burrows Farmhouse, Clatterford End
House. Probably C16 and C17 with later alterations and C18/19
additions. Treble range. Mainly timber framed and rough rendered
with red plain tiled roofs. 2 storeys and cellar. 4 window range of
small paned vertical sliding sashes with pentice boards over. Original
6 panel door with flat canopy and brackets. Incorporated to the left is
a single storey brewhouse with copper and bread oven, horizontal
sliding sash window and red brick chimney stack. Off- centre and left
red brick chimney stacks, the off-centre stack possibly has original
back to back fireplace behind modern fireplaces. Stop chamfered
beams throughout. Late C18/early C19 staircase. Fine corner
cupboard with lion mask and internal painted dome. Original
floorboards. C17 windows and a fine iron Venetian window at rear,
one pane of which is inscribed Eliz. Rayner 1776. Various other
original features.
Cartlodge to East of Widows Farmhouse, Clatterford End
Cartlodge/Cowshed. C18. Timber framed with corrugated asbestos
roof, and vertically boarded walls. 4 bays. Side purlin roof. Hanging
knees to tie beams.
Cartlodge to S of Weald Farmhouse, Toot Hill
Cartlodge C18. Timber framed and weatherboarded with red pantile
roof. 3 bays. Side purlin roof with ridgeboard. Through bracing.
Stable doors to left and right.
Cesslands Farmhouse, Berwick Lane
House. Late C17. 3 bays and chimney bay. Timber framed and
plastered with double range, hipped, red plain tiled roof. 2 storeys, 3
window range of C20 casements Cl9 door with surround and flat
canopy. Central red brick chimney stack with original brick fireplace
with iron support bar.
Clarks Farmhouse, Mutton Row
House. C14/15 Hall and crosswing with C20 crosswing to right.
Timber framed and rough rendered. Red plain tiled roof with 3
gabled dormers. 2 storeys. 1:3:1 window range first floor, 1:4:1 range
ground floor of small paned casements and small paned vertical
sliding sashes. 6 panel door in plain surround with plain frieze over
to left and stable type door to right. Two red brick chimney stacks to
centre range. The Hall with cross-quadrate crownpost roof and
heavily sooted timbers. Inserted original fireplace. Crosswing
originally jettied to rear with brackets still intact. Much exposed
timber throughout with chamfered and stop chamfered beams.
Halved and bridled scarfs visible. Mullion window.
Clement Cottages, opposite Mill Lane
House, with gabled crosswing to left, now 2 cottages. C16 or earlier,
with later additions and alterations. Timber framed and plastered,
with plain red tiled roof. Exposed joists to crosswing jetty. 2 storeys
1:2 window range of C20 small paned casements. Two C20 part
glazed doors. External plastered chimney stack to left.
Cold Hall Farmhouse, Kiln Road
House. C17 or earlier with later additions and alterations. Wing at
rear. Timber framed and plastered. Hipped red plain tiled roof. 2
storeys. 3 window range of diamond leaded casements. Central open,
hipped red tiled porch with 2 timber supporting columns. Plank and
muntin door. Red brick chimney stacks to left and right.
Colemans Farmhouse, Clatterford End
House. C16 or earlier. Timber framed, part plastered and part
weatherboarded. Red plain tiled roof with 2 storey crosswing to left
and 1 storey and attic house to right. Red tiled porch with plank and
muntin door to right of crosswing. Crosswing with C19, 3 light
window ground floor and a small paned casement with a plaster, 2
centred drip hood over. 2 gabled dormers with bargeboards and 3
light windows, 3 light and 2 light windows to ground floor with
mouldings over windows. Louvre to right. Off-centre red brick
chimney stack.
Cottage at rear of Murrells Farmhouse, Romford Road
Cottage C18/19. Mainly brick built with red plain tile roof and
dentilled eaves. 2 storeys. 2 window range of small paned casements.
Central C18/19 board door. Board lining internally and stick
balusters to stairs. Chamfered ceiling beams.
Dial House, Ongar Park
House. C17, timber framed 2 bay house, converted late C17/early
C18 into a double range, later bricked-up house, with a single storey
C19 lean-to extension to left. Hipped red plain tiled roof. 2 storeys. 2
window range of horizontal sliding sashes to first floor. Ground floor
with C19/20 3 light bay to left and glazed door to right. Central, red
brick chimney stack. Stop chamfered beams and jowled storey posts.
C18/19 beaded vertical boarding to hall and room. Several early
doors and other features.
Does Farmhouse, Epping Road
House. Late Cl6, brick faced early C19, with weatherboarded stair
tower at rear. Timber framed with red plain tiled roof and open,
gabled porch with vertically boarded door. 2 storeys with single
storey extension to left. 3 window range of diamond leaded
casements. The central, first floor window is blocked. One matching
window to left extension. Dentilled eaves. Original central red brick
chimney with 5 octagonal shafts. Internally, the original newel stair
survives, and there are some original doors, and fireplaces.