High Country History Group

Philip Morant was born in Jersey in 1700, and after he was ordained in 1722 he took up a curacy at Great Waltham, near Chelmsford. As a member of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Morant proceeded M.A. in 1729. In 1724 he presented to Edmund Gibson, Bishop of London, a manuscript 'Answer to the First Part of the Discourse of the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion, in a Letter to a Friend.' The Bishop of London, impressed by Morant's argumentative power and antiquarian learning, conferred much patronage on him. On Gibson's recommendation he was, in 1732, nominated by Queen Caroline to the chaplaincy of the English Episcopal church in Amsterdam, which he retained until 1734.

He was presented to the rectory of Shellow Bowells (near Willingale) in 1733, to the vicarage of Broomfield in 1733-4, and to the rectory of Chignal Smealey (near Chelmsford) in 1735,

In 1737 he became both the Rector of St Mary-at-the-Walls, Colchester as well as Rector of Aldham. He retained the living of both parishes until his death in 1770

During his time in Colchester, Morant wrote The History and Antiquities of Colchester, published in 1748; and The History and Antiquities of the County of Essex, published in two volumes between 1763 and 1768.

He married Anne Stebbing in 1739 and they had a daughter, Anna Maria. In 1755, Philip Morant was elected to the Fellowship of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

On the recommendation of his son-in-law, Thomas Astle, Morant was entrusted by a committee of the House of Lords with the preparation for the press of the ancient records of parliament. His knowledge of Norman French and skill as a palæographer qualified him for the work. He was responsible for the text and notes of the edition of the 'Rotuli Parliamentorum' during the period 1278-1413.

He died at South Lambeth on 25 Nov. 1770, and was buried in Aldham Church.

What Morant says about the High Country Parishes

Greensted

The church was by Act of Parliament, in the year 1548, consolidated and united to that of Cheping-Ongar; and the reasons alledged in the Act., were, “because the profits of the church at Cheping-Ongar were not sufficient to find a Priest, being not above £6 in the King’s books; and because the charges of the repairs, ornaments, and other accustomed duties to that church, and the church at Grinsted, (which was of the same value, or little more, and stood but a quarter of a mile distant from it, and commodious for the access of the parishioners of Ongar), were much greater than could be raised or born among such poor parishioners. It was therefore enacted, that the church of Chipping-Ongar should be dissolved, and the church of Grinsted made the parish church, as well for the parishioners of Ongar as those of Grinsted; and the advowson of Ongar was thereby invested in the patron of Grinsted, viz. the Lord Rich, his heirs and assigns.”

But this consolidation, or union, was dissolved by another Act, made in the year 1554; in the preamble of which, it is said, that one William Morris, Esquire, then patron of the church of Chipping Ongar, and Member of Parliament, did, by sinister labour and procurement, get the Act for the consolidation.

This rectory was, for many years appended to the maner. Some time ago, it was purchased by Mr. Pratt, Minister of Saint Botolph’s, Aldgate; and settled so, that upon every vacancy, it is to be given to the Curate of that church.

There belongs to it a glebe of twenty-eight acres.

This parish is rated to the land-tax at £328.3s.0d.

Stanford Rivers

This valuable rectory was, from the first, in the gift of the Crown. Queen Mary 1 annexing to the Duchy of Lancaster, 15th of April 1558, the lordships of Stanford-Rivers, Stanford-hall, Traceys, Bridges, and Piggesland, from that time the advowson of this rectory hath been in the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The parish of Stanford-Rivers is rated to the land-tax at £2667.

William Green, citizen and merchant taylor of London, gave to twelve of the poorest inhabitants of this parish, 40s. a year, for ever, payable from certain lands and tenements in St Botolph’s Aldgate, London. The time of the donation is unknown; but Sir John Ayloffe, Rector of this parish, had seen a receipt for this charity, dated 18th of April, 1634.

Stapleford Tawney

Godric was possessed, in Edward the Confessor’s reign of this Stapleford; which Suene of Essex, and his under-tenant, Siric, held at the time of the survey. And Robert, [most probably Gernon, who had an estate in the other Stapleford], held one hide here, given him by William the Conqueror.

The parish is rated to the land – tax at £868.0s.6d.

On Stapleford common are two or three dwellings for poor people, but without any endowment.

John Luther, who died in 1567, is styled of Stapleford Tawney, but he doth not appear to have had any estates here: what he possessed, then lying in Stanford-Rivers, North-Weald, Lambourne, Stapleford-Abbot, Little Laver, and in Waltham Holy Cross.

On account of its belonging to Suene, lord of Rayley, it was holden afterwards of that honor.

Theydon Mount.

This maner being a very fine one, and lying contiguous to Stapleford Tany, Richard de Tany, junior, obtained a pretended and fraudulent grant of it, and under pretence of that grant, seized some tenements in this parish, belonging to Robert de Sutton, the King’s enemy, during the wars between him and his Barons. But upon a trial before the King in 1265 or 1266, the fraud was discovered and Robert de Brywes remained in quiet possession.

The parish is rated to the land-tax at £985.1s.10d.

The Essex Record Office at Chelmsford holds records of reported incidents of enemy bombing. A separate file was kept for each area in which incidents occurred during a raid or period of raiding and all messages relating to incidents in any one area were included in that area's file. Messages received or dispatched about an incident after a raid were also attached to the appropriate incident file.

When incident files were no longer required for current reference they were bound together chronologically in volumes according to areas. Each volume contains an index to the dates of the raids and localities affected in the area.
The following is a list of some of the incidents that took place in the High Country area during 1940.

19 September
11.24 hrs

22.50 hrs
Stanford Rivers. Bomb dropped at bridge Farm. Damage to road. Blocked.

Greensted. Blake Hall Station. 3 H.E.’s. 21 cows killed and injured.

21 September
04.15 hrs
Stapleford Tawney: Parachute Mine. Green Farm. Extensive damage to farmhouse and property. No casualties.

25 September
01.00 hrs
Theydon Mount: Land Mine. Did not explode. Patients and staff evacuated from the Hill Hall Maternity Home. Last patient left at 03.35 hrs and staff left at 04.20 hrs. 40 patients and 30 staff.

29 September
17.23 hrs
Stapleford Tawney: H.E. bomb dropped opposite church and Tawney Hall farm. Road blocked. Cottages, church, school and farm damaged. Telephone and overhead cables down.

1 October
14.40hrs
Theydon Mount: A magnetic mine was detonated at Hill Hall. Considerable damage was caused to the property on the Hill Hall estate. No casualties.

5 October
Theydon Mount: Owing to presence of unexploded land mine reported in Mount Wood, road closed at Coopersale end of Banks Lane, opposite North Farm from Mole Trap P.H. to Mount Village, and Colliers Hatch to Mount village.
Theydon Mount village evacuated. 11 people accommodated at Cottage Home, Coopersale Common.
A search has been conducted all day but mine has not been located. The road closure is temporarily in abeyance.

6 October
20.00 hrs
Stapleford Tawney: Incendiary Bomb. Electric overhead cables damaged. Power would need to be turned off.

9 October
21.00 hrs
Stapleford Tawney: Incendiary Bombs have fallen at Tawney Hall, causing fire to house. Number of animals injured.
10 October
21.40 hrs
Toot Hill: H.E. I slight casualty.

13 October
22.45 hrs
Toot Hill: H.E. bombs. 2 cottages partially demolished. Rescue party sent to investigate. 2 slight casualties.

18 October
03.40 hrs

Stapleford Tawney: 3 H.E. Road at Colliers Hatch slightly damaged. Now repaired.
Ongar Park Wood: 2 parachute mines. Cold Hall badly damaged. Cottages at Ongar Park Wood also damaged.
Toot Hill: Unknown – suspected H.E. Ceilings down.

21 October
00.20 hrs
Stanford Rivers: H.E. Slight damage to property
22 October
21.30 hrs
Stapleford Tawney: H.E. Damage to overhead electricity cable.
30 October
About 21.00 hrs
Stanford Rivers: 1 mile NNW of church and ½ mile SW of Stewarts Farm, bomb crater 6 foot deep from hedge to hedge in narrow road.

30 October
21.05 hrs
Stanford Rivers: H.E. 2 ½ miles SE of Chipping Ongar. Berwick Lane blocked.

2 November
19.20 hrs

Stanford Rivers: H.E. Damage to telephone wires.
4 November
H.E. bombs have fallen in the vicinity of Greensted.

6 November
01.55 hrs
Tawney Common: H.E. No injuries reported. Damage to roof of cottage and things broken inside.
Stanford Rivers: 1 bomb exploded in centre of Toot Hill road. Repair services on spot and road now open.

16 November
22.35 hrs

Toot Hill: Parachute mine. 8 people evacuated.
22 November
06.10 hrs
Stanford Rivers: 4 H.E. bombs. 2 houses (40 and 41 Berwick Lane) extensively damaged. 1 person slightly injured

Toot Hill: damage to roof of buildings. 1 bull injured.

24 November
20.00 hrs
Greensted: 3 H.E. bombs. Damage to water main and telephone wires. Damage to houses. Road closed 80 yards west of church.

27 December
20.30 hrs
Stapleford Tawney: 2 H.E. bombs. Damage to cottage, occupants evacuated.

If you visit the churchyard at St Mary’s, Theydon Bois, you would be excused if you did not take a second glance at the gravestone under a yew tree near the church. Indeed the lettering on the stone is almost worn away. But is does warrant a second glance as this is the grave of Joseph Boulcott.

Joseph was born in 1776, the fourth child of six to Joseph and Ann Boulcott, in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. Sometime between 1778 and 1790, the family moved to Birmingham. This was the start of the industrial revolution and there were better work opportunities. Little is known of Joseph’s early life. He probably attended school as he was able to read and write. Joseph on leaving school was employed as a button maker; brass buttons were then in great demand. In 1798, together with his brother William he enlisted in the 3rd Battalion 1st or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards.

Joseph signed up for unlimited service and was described at this time as 5ft 2in tall, with dark brown hair complemented by his hazel eyes and dark complexion.

He was promoted to the rank of Corporal in 1800 and to Sergeant in 1803.

He served in the Peninsula with the 3rd Battalion from October 1808 until January 1809, and from April 1811 until April 1814. He was present at Corunna, Cadiz, Burgos, Bidassoa, Nivelle, Nive and Bayonne. He had also served at Helder in 1799, Sicily in 1806, and Walcheren in 1809.

He was present at the Battle of Waterloo in Lt. Colonel Fead’s Company, the Capture of Paris and with the Army of Occupation. He received the Waterloo Medal (commissioned on the 10 March 1816).

He was also awarded the Military General Service Medal, 1793 – 1814. This was not awarded until 1848, and then only to those who were still alive. He was also awarded three clasps, CORUNNA, NIVELLE and NIVE.

He was discharged from the Army on the 1st August, 1817, after serving 21 years and granted a pension of one shilling and ten pence per day. (2 years service was added on for Waterloo)

Boulcott was then taken on to the Duke of Wellington’s personal staff and became his baggage master until the withdrawal of the army from France in1818. In that year The Duke of Wellington appointed Joseph as Clerk of the Cheque under the Board of Ordnance in the Tower of London, until he finally retired on pension in 1849.

Joseph wife, who he mentions in a letter to his mother in October 1815, died sometime before 1845, for in that year he is described as a widower, gentleman, residing at ‘Saint Peter within the Tower of London’ he marries Jane Palmer, spinster at St Marylebone Parish Church. 5 years later Joseph died. According to his death certificate, he died at Theydon Common, Theydon Bois ON THE 22ND October 1850, of ‘disease of the bladder and old age’. His age was given as 74 and his occupation as ‘gentleman’.

He was buried in the churchyard at Theydon Bois. Fortunately a transcription was made in 1910.

The inscription reads:

SACRED
TO THE MEMORY OF
JOSEPH BOULCOTT/
LATE CLERK OF CHEQUE TOWER, LONDON
WHO DIED OCTOBER 22nd 1850
AGED 74 YEARS/SERVED IN HOLLAND UNDER THE LATE
DUKE OF YORK
WITH THE ARMY IN SICILY
AND SIR JOHN MOORE AT THE BATTLE OF CORUNNA
AND ALSO IN SPAIN PORTUGAL AND FRANCE
HE WAS THE CONFIDENTIAL ADHERENT OF
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON
FROM THE FIRST VICTORY OF WATERLOO
UNTIL THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE ALLIES FROM
PARIS 1818

After a pious verse the tombstone also records the death of his wife, Mrs Jane Boulcott, on the 14th January 1862, aged 63 years.

In the 1861 Census Jane is shown as living at Sycamore Cottage, near Epping Common, Theydon Bois. She is described as a ‘Proprietor of Houses.’

Clerk of the Cheque:

The clerk is responsible for issuing the orders of the Body Guard’s attendance at such functions as the State Opening of Parliament, Garter Services, Royal Weddings and other ceremonial events.

Tithe was a tax fraught with difficulties both in fair administration and efficient collection. Its origins date back to the earliest days of the church, when the parish priest - in exchange for looking after the spiritual welfare of his parishioners - claimed for his support one tenth of the crop produced by the parish. In some places “tithe in kind” persisted into the nineteenth century. The rector or, more usually, one of his agents) having been given notice by the farmer, arrived at the harvest field to collect one tenth of the crop. This was an expensive and inconvenient arrangement as the rector’s share had to be carted away, stored and marketed - particularly troublesome with perishable products like milk. By the eighteenth century it was more usual but by no means universal) for “tithe in kind” to be commuted for a cash payment. This could be a lump sum, or modus, often at fixed level over a very long period, or at a set rate per acre for a particular crop. Both systems were insensitive to improvements in yield due to new agricultural methods. There could be problems in years when the crop was poor - the farmers felt penalised - but also in good years, when the rector felt that he had not received his just desserts. It took little or no account of yearly fluctuations in market prices, a major problem with crops such as hops where this varied markedly from year to year. Disputes were frequent and when the rector felt particularly aggrieved about the inequity of cash payments, he was entitled to demand a return to the very unpopular “tithe in kind”. Legal costs could be very high, but so were the benefits of winning - either a much improved income for the rector and his successors, or, for the landowner, the continuation of a fixed payment at an unrealistically low level.

John Redman was the owner of Greensted Hall and its estate near Ongar from 1771 till his death in 1798. His will suggests that he was a somewhat unusual individual, directing that his grave was to be 10 feet deep was this a precaution against body snatchers?) and that he was to be buried at 7 o’clock in the morning with “neither gravestone, hatchment, escutcheon, mutes, nor porters at the door”. Careful instructions including travel arrangements) were left to his executors to spend 6 weekends in the year after his death at Greensted Hall “to help drink out the wine in the Vault”. After a year, any remaining wine was to be distributed equally amongst them.

Only fragments of what appears to have been a lengthy and acrimonious tithe dispute have survived. In 1786, Redman noted “Parson Harris, having demanded an arbitrary and undue Tythe for the pts. of Woodland which he strove to establish as a Precedent”. Parish precedent was extremely important in tithe collection as it established a right in subsequent years, and was therefore likely to be opposed by parishioners. The rector, the Rev. John Harris, had clearly been reluctant to agree to arbitration as Redman added “after much Altercation, Evasion and Jesuitical Shuffling on the part of that Old Church Leech (he) agreed to be left to arbitration”. The final agreement was for 6s 9d per acre, presumably).

An undated memorandum throws further light on the problems associated with tithe, as well as Redman’s somewhat intemperate language. Headed “Rules in regard to Tythe in kind or alms for the support and maintenance of the parish priest & catchpenny couple beggar of Grinstead” he noted ironically “Apples his Holiness is above claiming Windfalls. They are claimed by the parish Hoggs, but the tenth barrel of good apples for the good man’s cheer at Xmas must be strictly preserved and carried to the Church porch”.

Another memorandum written by Redman in 1795 indicates that there had been further trouble over the Greensted woodland. He noted that it had been partly cleared but that trees (?standards) had been left, making it impossible to plough or cut hay. The land was only suitable for “soiling” horses ie. feeding them on cut fodder). “The timber Trees not only draw the ground, but No Grass can grow - it produces Great Crops of all kinds of Weeds”. There are further very unflattering references to the rector, “a haggling wrangling drunken parson”, “a parish couple beggar” and “a low scrub fellow”. It appears that this bombast was the result of the partial clearance of the woodland perhaps those fields called First Stub Piece and Second Stub Piece in the 1839 Tithe Award). The rector, “like a Thief in the Night”, had employed a surveyor to measure up the land without the consent of either Redman or his tenant “Mrs P”. The result of this was an increase in tithe from £28 per annum to 60 guineas. Redman implies that another of his tenants, Mr Lawrence, “by Lying, Swearing, Drinking - for which he was unparall’d) had colluded with the rector possibly in exchange for a bribe) and agreed to a similar increase, thereby establishing a precedent. It was common practice though usually without a bribe!) for a rector to persuade one amenable parishioner to agree to an increase which could then be imposed on the rest of the parish. The document is not easy to follow, possibly because Redman was beside himself with rage! However he firmly advised his tenant, “Mrs P”, to offer no more than £40 “as the utmost the farm can bear”. There is nothing further in the papers to indicate how this dispute was resolved.

The Ongar Rural District Council was created in 1894 with the passing of the Local Government Act of that year.

It comprised the following parishes;

Abbess, Beuchamp and Berners Roding
Blackmore
Bobbingworth
Doddinghurst
Fyfield
Greensted
High Laver
High Ongar
Kelvedon Hatch
Lambourne
Little Laver
Moreton
Navestock
Norton Mandeville
Ongar
Shelley
Stanford Rivers
Stapleford Abbotts
Stapleford Tawney
Stondon Massey
Theydon Mount
Willingale

In 1955 Ongar Rural District council amalgamated with Epping Rural District to form the Epping and Ongar Rural District. The Local Government Act 1972 which came into force on the 1 April 1974 created the Epping Forest District Council. However, Blackmore, Doddinghurst, Kelvedon Hatch and Navestock and Stondon Massey (from the Ongar RDC) were transferred over to Brentwood District Council.

Ongar RDC built a council office for themselves on the corner of Castle Street and the High Street in 1896.

In 1897 Ongar RDC was asked by Essex County Council to establish a 26 bed isolation hospital to serve Ongar, Chigwell, Epping and Buckhurst Hill. However attempts to find a suitable location proved difficult. In November 1899 the owner of ‘Two Acre Shot’, a field in Stanford Rivers, was willing to sell it for £600. Progress was slow and Dr Quennell who had been appointed local medical officer of health in 1891, wrote in a report in 1900;

‘erection of an isolation hospital is under consideration, but without powers of compulsory purchase, it seems impossible to acquire a suitable site. The matter is one of urgent necessity, for the isolation of infectious diseases in small tenements is impossible.’

Purchase was not finally completed until 1903, when the vendor held a celebration dinner. However events had moved faster than plans, and in December 1901, a smallpox contact from Little Yeldham was arrested in a public house in Beauchamp Roding. He was detained overnight in a contractor’s hut at the new sewage treatment works, and removed the next day to a tent behind Holly Tree House, Stanford Rivers, for 14 days observation.

Pressured to take action Ongar RDC established the Ongar Smallpox Hospital by purchasing seven tents at a cost of £168. One could accommodate up to 10 patients, one was for nurses, another for caretakers, and four for ‘sanitary and other conveniences’.

These tents were erected on land in Stanford Rivers rented from a council member, but after local protests, were removed in February 1902 to a remote site near Ongar Park Wood. By this time several other urban and rural districts in Essex had made similar provision.
[Chelmsford had purchased a four-bedded tent hospital from Piggott Brothers in 1893 for £72.9s.4d.]

In March 1904 it was reported that there were eleven cases of smallpox at the workhouse infirmary. Those infected were removed to the tents at Toot Hill.

Born in Theydon Garnon, Thomas was the son of John Dimsdale, a surgeon, and his wife Susan. The family were members of the Society of Religious Friends (Quakers). The Dimsdales were from Hoddesdon but a branch of the family settled in Theydon Garnon in about 1640. Robert Dimsdale (Thomas’s grandfather) was a surgeon and doctor and treated his patients at Kendalls on the site of what is now Kendal Lodge in Hemnall Street. He bought the 30 acre farm at the end of the 17th Century and may have been in the group who helped build the first Meeting House in Epping.

Robert accompanied William Penn on a visit to America in 1684, to help establish the colony where a greater degree of religious freedom could be practised. He died in 1713 and left his estate to his two sons John and William.

Thomas was trained in medicine by his father John, and later attended St Thomas hospital to complete his training. He began practice in Hertford in 1734.

In 1745 Dimsdale served as a doctor with the Duke of Cumberland's army on its march north to suppress the Jacobite rising. He was present at the siege of Carlisle, but after the town's surrender he left the army and returned home.

At around that time Dimsdale inherited a fortune from his cousin (upon the death of the cousin's widow) which enabled him to stop practicing medicine, but he later returned to his medical career. In 1761 he took the degree of MD at King's College, Aberdeen.

Before long, he became interested in the emerging practice of inoculation against smallpox. His first treatise on the subject, The Present Method of Inoculating for the Small-Pox (1767), circulated widely and was translated into numerous languages.

As a result of his fame in the field, Dimsdale was invited to inoculate Empress Catherine of Russia and her son, Grand Duke Paul. She had asked to be inoculated as an example to her subjects, many of whom viewed the practice with suspicion. Dimsdale and his son Nathaniel, who served as his assistant, attended Catherine in St Petersburg in October 1768. Such was the anxiety surrounding the event that the Empress arranged for relays of post-horses to be ready to carry the two men rapidly to safety, should something go wrong and the public rise up in anger against them.

No such measures proved necessary. Both patients responded well to the inoculation, and the Empress held a great thanksgiving service at court. She declared Thomas Dimsdale a Baron of the Empire, a Councillor of State, and Physician to Her Majesty. Catherine also rewarded him with £10,000, a pension of £500 per annum, £2000 expenses. Nathaniel Dimsdale was also made a Baron of the Empire. Although he declined Catherine’s request to stay in Russia permanently, Thomas Dimsdale inoculated dozens of Russian gentry in St Petersburg and Moscow before returning to England. He travelled to Russia again in 1784 to inoculate the Grand Duke Alexander and his brother Constantine.

Banking career

By about 1761 Thomas Dimsdale had entered into the private banking partnership of Dimsdale, Archer & Byde in Cornhill, London. In 1774 he was one of two partners who broke away and reformed the partnership as Staples, Baron Dimsdale, Son & Co.

Dimsdale himself retired from the bank around 1776, but his sons succeeded him, and the bank remained a Dimsdale family enterprise for generations until eventually, in 1891, it merged with Prescott, Cave, Buxton, Loder & Co to form what became Prescott's Bank.

Political career

Thomas Dimsdale was elected to Parliament as the member for Hertford in 1780. In his 10 years as an MP he is only known to have made one speech, in June 1783.

The English Chronicle wrote about him in 1781:
He is very much distinguished in his profession by the industrious and honest exercise of which he has acquired an independent fortune ... He owes his seat entirely to the good opinion entertained of him by his electors, amongst whom he is an old and favourite resident. Oratory is not one of his talents, but it is believed, however, that he will at least pronounce the decisive monosyllable with eloquence, with the genuine eloquence of sincerity, and vote upon every subject from the unbiased influence of his principles and conviction.

About his one recorded speech (on the receipts tax, 12 June 1783), the reporter writes that he ‘spoke for some time, but in so low a tone, that we could not distinctly hear him’

He was re-elected in 1784, but did not stand in 1790, and was succeeded by his son Nathaniel.

Family life and death

In 1739 Thomas Dimsdale married Mary Brassey, daughter of the Hertford MP and banker Nathaniel Brassey. They had no children. She died in 1744. In 1746 he married Anne Iles, a relative of his first wife. They had nine children together. Anne died in 1779. Soon afterwards, he married Elizabeth Dimsdale of Bishop’s Stortford. There were no children of this union.

Thomas died on the 30th December 1800, aged 88, his request was to be buried in the Friends’ burial ground at Bishop’s Stortford along with other members of his family. When his wife died twelve years later, she was buried alongside him.

Winston Churchill. Air raids. Blackouts. People taking refuge in London in ‘tube’ stations. Food shortages. Rationing. All these things we associate with the Second World War but, in fact, apply also to the Great War 1914-18.

As an island nation we are not able to feed ourselves and have always relied on food imports. So the first thing that an enemy will do is to halt our food supply by blockading the seas to create a ‘siege’ situation. The Government’s response is to increase productivity and ration the amount of goods people can obtain. In February 1917, a Food-Comptroller was appointed, Lord Davenport.

Land was surveyed and farmers ordered to grow more. In January 1917, Essex County Council organised the sale of seed-potatoes at wholesale price to small-holders. 250 tons of seed was to be distributed throughout about 500 parishes in Essex.

Wheat was important. The Government brought forward and enacted proposals to guarantee a minimum price to farmers for wheat and oats: wheat, 60 shillings (£3) per quarter and oats, 38/6 (£1.88).

A shortage of wheat and flour was predicted in April 1917 and police officers made house-to-house enquiries in Stondon Massey and the neighbourhood to ascertain the number of farm and domestic animals owned in order to ensure that there was no unnecessary consumption of food suitable for human beings. On 6th May 1917 a proclamation from the King was read in Church urging people to abstain from unavoidable consumption of flour.

On 9th May 1917, Revd. Reeve, Rector of Stondon Massey, wrote:

“It becomes increasingly difficult for the wayfarer to get served in pastry cooks’ and refreshment houses. At Ongar the confectioners refuse to supply the traveller with a “sit-down” meal: and at Brentwood recently I was told that only between three and six o’clock in the afternoon may a cup of tea and light refreshment be supplied. Similarly at Chelmsford two or three weeks ago I found I went to a Restaurant at a pasty-cook’s the proprietor was only allowed to serve an individual customer up to the limit of one shilling and threepence for eatables”.

The Corn Production Act 1917 set minimum wages for agricultural labourers. A Committee (the Essex District Wages Committee) represented by 9 employers, 9 workmen and 5 independent members met and agreed “by a substantial majority upon a minimum wage of 30s for Essex” [ERO T/P 181/18/1B (Essex Chronicle. 28 May 1918)]. The Central Board though rejected this and imposed a rate of 32s (£1.60) much to the disgust of farmers. On 24 March 1919, the wage rose to 36s (£1.80) then 46s.6d. (£2.33) from 23 August 1920. Market gardeners received a higher rate, 50s.6d. (£2.53).

George Everett (Boxford, Suffolk) recalled that the minimum wage was not paid on every farm and that men were not unhappy to take work at reduced wages. As before, when there was no work there was little or no pay. When the Corn Production Act was repealed in 1921 wages immediately fell.

Ashley Cooper concludes his book ‘Our Mother Earth’ (1998) by observing that only in times of national crisis is the necessity for domestic crops supported by Government.

But wheat was required not only for bread but for use in munitions!! Reeve wrote on 19th December 1917: “Supplies of Horse-Chestnuts have been collected this autumn and sent to London, it being discovered that certain chemicals may be extracted from them for the manufacture of munitions which have hitherto been obtained from flour. The food-supply may be saved. A ton of Chestnuts is found to equal half a ton of grain. We have lately sent some 5 bushels to the “Director of Propellant Supplies” at Westminster”.

During the War the Government expressed the need to be thrifty: to invest money in war loans and be sparing with the use of woollen goods and paper. In April 1917, “The Times” rose to twopence (1p) with others – presumably the Daily Mail and Daily Express - previously sold for ½d increased to 1d. and “’Mr Punch’ from his long familiar threepence per week, has been raised to sixpence” [ERO T/P 188/3 f239].

The sugar ration was reduced from ¾lb (about 300g) to ½lb (200g) in April 1917. By September this was causing concern that a large quantity of fruit might be lost if not preserved (eg into jam). “The Government has now taken control, and by appointing agents in each district offices the public who make application within a given time a limited supply up to 28lbs for preserving fruit guaranteed to have been grown on their own premises. Each application must be countersigned by a Minister of Religion, a Justice of Peace or a householder of standing”. Reeve wrote that the harvest of soft fruit that year had been particularly heavy because of the absence of late frost. Large quantities of pears and peaches were sent from the Rectory to the Budworth Hospital in Ongar for the convalescent troops. Apples were stored and as much jam as possible was made from currants. The sugar ration was compulsorily enforced on 1st January 1918 and meat was reported as being scarce.

On 25th February 1918: “Today ushers in the “Rationing” System for London and the Home Counties in respect of Meat and of Butter and a compound known as “Margarine” a substitute for butter. These articles are only to be obtained from today on production of a coupon. The total allowed per week is 1lb of meat for adults and half the amount for children under ten years. Four ounces of butter is the limited allowance for such. A little allowance of dilution of honey was served to me yesterday at Chelmsford in lieu of sugar with a cup of Coffee”. The system was accepted without much complaint. In June, the Revd. Reeve noted that he could not get a pot of Orange Marmalade from any grocer in Chelmsford High Street.

One of the major social changes in terms of rationing was the availability of alcohol. Concerned about drunkenness and inadequate production of munitions, the Government passed a law in 1916 restricting the opening hours of public houses. The law stayed in place almost intact until about 1986 with the final remnants repealed following the Queen’s Speech in 2002. Pubs used to close at 11.00pm during the week and 10.30pm on Sunday evenings. The ringing of the bell for last orders is a thing of the past in many of our nation’s pubs.

Conservation areas are designated areas considered to be of special architectural or historic interest.

The designation of a conservation area introduces special controls, including the requirement of a planning application to demolish any building or part of a building or to carry out works on protected trees.

There are 25 designated conservation areas in the Epping Forest district. Hill Hall, Theydon Mount is one such area

Restrictions under Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 aim to ensure that the special architectural and historic interest of an area is retained.

Scheduled monuments are nationally important archaeological sites or historic buildings which have protection against unauthorised change. The list is a register compiled by Historic England, but the final decision whether or not to schedule something is taken by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The purpose of the scheduling is to ensure that the character and special interest of the sites or monuments are preserved. Scheduled monuments enjoy special protected status under planning law.

There are 35 scheduled monuments in the Epping Forest district ranging from the earthworks of a Norman castle to Second World War fortifications to the site of a Roman villa.

The National Heritage List for England is an online database of all heritage assets including scheduled monuments.

Around 6,000 moated sites are known in England. They consist of wide ditches, often or seasonally water-filled, partly or completely enclosing one or more islands of dry ground on which stood domestic or religious buildings. In some cases the islands were used for horticulture. The majority of moated sites served as prestigious aristocratic and seigneurial residences with the provision of a moat intended as a status symbol rather than a practical military defence. The peak period during which moated sites were built was between about 1250 and 1350 and by far the greatest concentration lies in central and eastern parts of England. However, moated sites were built throughout the medieval period, are widely scattered throughout England and exhibit a high level of diversity in their forms and sizes. They form a significant class of medieval monument and are important for the understanding of the distribution of wealth and status in the countryside. Many examples provide conditions favourable to the survival of organic remains.

The moated site at Moat House survives well. The island remains largely undisturbed and will retain buried evidence for earlier structures, as well as other features relating to the development and use of the site throughout the periods of occupation. The buried silts in the base of the ditches will contain both artefacts relating to the period of occupation and environmental evidence for the appearance of the landscape in which the moated site was set.

Moat House moated site lies in an area where moated sites are comparatively numerous, with a further example situated 3.4km to the north west at North Weald Bassett. Comparisons between these sites and with further examples from other regions will provide valuable insights into the developments in the nature of settlement and their relationship to medieval society in England.

Moat House, Stapleford Tawney.

Moat House, is situated on Tawney Common in the hamlet of Colliers Hatch.

The moated site includes a roughly rectangular island measuring a maximum of 40m north-south by 26m east-west which is raised by about 0.5m above the surrounding ground surface. This is contained by a water-filled moat or ditch measuring between 5m and 12m wide and a maximum of 2m deep. Moat House, which dates from the 17th century is a Listed Building Grade II and occupies the centre of the island. A causeway across the western arm of the moat provides access to the island. A spur of the ditch extending 4m beyond the outer edge of the western arm of the moat may have served as a watering place for cattle from the adjacent fields. A leat continues southwards for 8m from the eastern arm of the moat linking the moat with adjacent drainage ditches.

The moat is marked on a number of historic maps including Chapman and Andre's 1777 Map of Essex, the 1809 `Survey of a Farm in the Parish of Stapleford Tawney' which was reduced from a 1757 survey, and the 1838 Tithe Map of Stapleford Tawney. These show that the moated site has changed little from the late 18th century.

The house, the bridge across the east arm of the moat, the concrete platform on the west side of the island, the concrete steps, the patio, the oil tank, the concrete post, garden furniture, the telegraph pole, the gates and all the surfaces are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

In 1795, the Rector of the parish of Theydon Garnon, the Reverend Thomas Abdy entered the following entry in the parish registers.

“It may not be amiss at the close of this year to note in the register of this parish some of the remarkable occurrences of the year 1795. The crops of wheat throughout the kingdom, at the harvest 1794, proved very deficient, insomuch that a scarcity, almost amounting to a famine, was apprehended. About midsummer, the privy council published a resolution, that they would eat no fine bread in their families, only such as by law is denominated standard wheaten bread.

The grand jury, at the midsummer assizes, and justices of the peace
at the midsummer quarter sessions, went farther than this, and resolved that no bread should he eaten in their families made of flour of better quality than such as contained the whole weight of a bushel, except seven pounds of coarse bran.

No puddings, or pastry of any kind, were used in this county generally. The price of wheat rose to thirty guineas per load of 40 bushels, Winchester measure. Government imported some wheat from Prussia and from America, but the samples were bad in themselves, and for the most part musty. The distress of the poor throughout the kingdom has been, and still continues, very great.

Large subscriptions have been raised for them, and the poor's rates have swelled enormously. In this parish we have had since Easter two ls. 6d. and two ls. rates. A new ls. 6d. is wanted, and must be granted immediately; and, most probably, another ls. before Easter, amounting to 7s. in the pound. The old average was 3s. 6d. in the pound.

A severe frost began on the 20th December,1794, which continued, with very little intermission, to the first of March, 1795.

The crops of wheat were injured by it; the spring crops promised extremely well, and, as far as they have been threshed, yield well to the flail: the wheats are extremely bad.

The two houses of parliament, in the month of December, resolved, that none of the members of either house will allow more than two thirds of the general quantity of wheat to be used in their families; the reduction to be procured either by adding one third of barley, rice, or oatmeal, or reducing the quantity of bread bought for their families one third, and circular letters were written by the privy council to all magistrates and gentlemen in the kingdom, and by the bishops to the several clergy in their dioceses, recommending the same plan to be adopted.

The last market-day, 1795, wheat sold at Epping and Ongar at 28l. per load of 40 bushels. The distilleries throughout the kingdom have stopped by act of parliament.”

High Country Programme for 2020

27 February

Tudor Education in Essex

Tony Tuckwell

26 March

Annual General Meeting

23 April

The Inns of Court

Rosemary Tiffen

28 May

The Plant Hunters

Maggie Piper

25 June

The Home Guard

Neil Whiffen

23 July

Life and Death in the Workhouse

Dr Mark Carroll

22 October

William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement

Mark Lewis

Meetings are held in Toot Hill Village Hall.
Meetings start at 8.00pm.

Members £1 ~ Visitors £3.

Refreshments