THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 21 7 



(C.C.) said no doubt that was so, but some time ago resolutions were passed in seven 

 out of eight Essex parishes in favour of the change. The result had been that by 

 the casting vote of the Chairman a resolution had been carried by the Joint Com- 

 mittee of the Herts and Essex County Councils in favour of the change. Now 

 the matter had to go before the Local Government Board. — Mr. Walter Crouch 

 suggested that the Club should make a crusade in the parishes. — Mr. J. C. 

 Shenstone and Mr. F. H. Meggy were strongly of opinion that the Field Club 

 should hold a meeting in the district ; and after the resolution had been heartily 

 ac<epted by the large meeting, and carried by acclamation, the matter was referred 

 to the Council oi the Club. 



[.Vote. — The resolution was extensively circulated, and met with very general 

 approval by members of Parliament and others, but happily further action was 

 rendered unnecessary, as at a meeting of the Districts and Parish Councils Com- 

 mittee of the Essex County Council, held on July 30th, af'er an emphatic protest 

 had been read from nine of the ten parishes concerned, the following resolution 

 was unanimously adopted : " That this committee, having received the report of 

 the Joint Committee with respect to the Bishop's Stortford Union area, emphatically 

 protests against the proposed transference of the parishes of Berden, Birchanger, 

 Farnham, Great and Little Hallingbury, Henham, Manuden, Stansted Mount- 

 fitchet, Elsenham, and Ugley from the county of Essex into Herts." — The Clerk 

 was directed to send a copy of the resolution to the Local Government Board, 

 together with a copy of the memorials against the proposals, and the Essex 

 delegates were authorised to take such turther action as they may consider 

 advisable. At the next meeting of the County Council this resolution was con- 

 firmed, and the danger of this most ill-advised and pernicious proposal was 

 avoided.] 



A walk through the park and fields of about a mile brought the party to 

 " Fortification Wood," near Bois (or Boys) Hall. The name " Fortification 

 Wood " is that on the Ordnance Map, but it was formerly known as the " Defence 

 of Navestock." AVithin the wood is an ancient Earthwork, which has fortunately, 

 as Prof. Aleldola observed, been preserved in consequence of the thick overgrowth, 

 which was evident to the visitors, who had to bend their way along as if in a dense 

 plantation. Prof. Meldola described it as a well defined oblong "camp" which 

 had long been known, and which was entered on the Ordnance Map, and judging 

 from the sketch on the 6-inch map, it would appear to be about half the size of 

 Ambresbury Banks, in Epping Forest, and therefore about six acres in extent, 

 As is the case in similar ancient Earthworks, nothing is known concerning its 

 age ; tradition is silent, and no systematic excavations have ever been made to 

 ascertain the probable date of the " camp." 



From Fortification Wood the drive was continued in a westerly direction, 

 towards the valley of the Roding, which was reached at Shonks Mill (a pic- 

 turesque corner of bj^gone Essex), and so on, following the south side of the 

 river, to Curtis Mill (or Court Mill) Green, which was the extreme north-eastern 

 limit of the Great Forest of Essex (or Waltham Forest) in the time of James I . 

 Here an interesting examination was made of one of the old boundary stones, 

 known as " Richard's " stone, which was put up at the time of the perambulation 

 of 1641. The eastern boundary was marked by seven stones, five of which have 

 been discovered. The " Havering stone " is now let into the wall of the garden 

 of a house facing Romford Road. Rubbings were exhibited of "Mark's" stone 

 and the " Warren " stone. The last-named stone had been found by Prof. 

 Meldola and Mr. Cole lying in a ditch, some hundred of yards away from its 

 original position. 



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