THF, ESSEX FIELD Cl.l'l'.. 151 



Mr. Cr luch- then pointed out llie Perry Diuii, the two tlialched fisliinsj 

 cottages ; and the '' Gulf " coverinor some forty acres was inspected. This lake 

 was formerly highly valued by the London anglers, and we had with us a veteran 

 of the rod in the person of Mr. John Hilliar, who was one of the habitues of the 

 gulf for many years, and who kindly furnished some notes of his recollections of 

 tiie spot, which are printed in the present number of the EssE.X Naturalist 

 {tinte p. 146). 



Notes on the Geology of the district were read by Mr. T. V. Holmes (see p. 

 142), whilst tlie botanists of the parly looked after the plants, which were spoken 

 of by Prof. Boulger and Mr. Houston, the botanical referees. 



Return was then made to Rippleside, and by field paths to the avenue which 

 leads to the ivy-giown man-ion " Parsloes," the residence since 1619 of a branch 

 of the Fanshawe famil}'. Here, in the great drawing and dining-rooms, which, like 

 the hall, are all panelled in oak, the usual high tea was admirably served by the 

 contractor, Mr. Hicks, of Chelmsford, the present owner, Mr. John Gaspard Fan- 

 shawe, having kindly granted permission to the Club to visit the place. 



A meeting (the 135th) was subsequently held on the lawn. Prof. Meldola, 

 F.R.S. {X'lce-President)^ occupying the chair. The Rev. E. Foley Evans, B.A. 

 was elected a member of the Club. 



After the formal business the following short account of the interesting Manor 

 House and the Fanshawe family was given by Mr. Crouch, illustrated by plans, 

 books, and copies of some of the more notable portraits, which, until recently, were 

 preserved here at Parsloes : 



Some Accoi'nt of the Manor of Parsloes and the Fanshawe Family 



By WALTER CROUCH. 

 The earliest mention of Parsloes, Passelowcs (or Parslowes, as it is written in the 

 will of \V. Fanshawe, 1634) is in 1585, when it was described as containing 10 

 messuages, a cottage, 10 gardens, 2 orchards, 100 acres of arable, 20 of meadow, 

 50 of pasture, 30 of wood, and 40/- rent. 



The entrance lodge fin the lane called Gale Street) and the avenues, nearly 

 as far as the house, are in Barking Parish. The older portion of the present 

 mansion, in the Parish of Dagenham, w'as probably built by, and \vas at any rate 

 the residence of. Sir Hewit Osborne, son of Sir Edward, Lord Mayor of London, 

 an ancestor of the Dukes of Leeds, who died in 1600. His son, Edward, sold it 

 in 1619 to William Fanshawe, one of the "Auditors of his Maiestit s Duchie of 

 Lancaster," and third son of Thomas Fanshawe, of Ware Park and Jenkins ; who 

 had acquired property in the neighbourhood some time before. The deed is dated 

 ifith Feb., i6th of King James (., and the consideration is ;^I,I50. Later on he 

 purchased other land in the district, and in particular the siie and remains of the 

 Abbey of Harkin.r. The present owner, Mr, John Gaspard Fanshawe, is the 

 ninth holder of the estate, and seventh in descent from him. The hou'C was well 

 described in 1872 by Mr. H. W. King (Hon. Sec Essex Archaeological Society) 

 in the privately printed "Notes of the Fanshawe P^amily."* The following is an 

 extract : — 



" During the two and a-half centuries that it has been in the possession of the 

 Fanshawes, it has .... undergone much alteration, and at three \ery distinctly 

 marked periods ; the latest, and most extensive .... in 1814, when the mansion 

 was somewhat enlarged, the walls were faced with new brick and furnished 



I Five parts of these were printed in quarto, 7868-72. They contain pedigrees, funeral 

 certificates, extracts from registers and Bible, grant of augmenlation of arms, and a number of 

 early wills ; and are well illustrated with cuts of arms, e.-irly plans of the estates, and autotypes of 

 some of the portraits. These original documents were mainly furnished by Mr. Edward J. Sage, 

 i>f Stuke Newington, and are copiously illustrated by notes on persons and places from his pen. 



