ESSEX AS A WINE PRODUCING COUNTY 37 



(which was put into shape by John Evelyn, who also supplied a 

 preface), it appears that, at the time of its publication, the 

 cultivr.tion of vineyards had greatly declined ; but, as the author 

 urged, this was to be much regretted, there being in England 

 many places well suited (he declares) to the cultivation of the vine. 

 He proceeds, therefore, to explain how the sites of vineyards 

 should be chosen, what kinds of vines should be planted, and how 

 they should be managed, closing with an advertisement of" sets " 

 which he had for sale at " very reasonable rates." About the 

 same time, the subject was also discussed in a work by J. 

 Worlidge, Gent., on fermented liquors producible from fruits 

 growing in Britain, of which a second edition appeared in 1678, 

 and a third in iGgi.'"" 



Up to about the year 1S70 (and perhaps later), a Mr. 

 Darkin, a builder, of liury St. Edmunds, annually vinted the 

 produce of St. Peter's Vineyard in that town. The vines were 

 grown against a high wall and the grapes were of excellent 

 flavour. The yield was from a pipe to a pipe-and-a-half annually 

 (according to the season) of excellent wine, " like champagne. "'5 



The existence of two \dneyards belonging to the Marquess of 

 Bute, at Castell Coch, near Cardiff, is too well known to need 

 extended notice here. The first vines were planted in 1875 and 

 the first wine — a very small quantity — was made in 1877. The 

 vines are of the kind known as " Gamy Noir." There is now a 

 regular annual vintage ; and, notwithstanding occasional failure 

 in some inclement years, the venture (which has long since passed 

 the experimental stage) has been a practical and commercial 

 success. For some time past, "Welsh Wines" have been 

 regularly quoted in the catalogues of ?dessrs. Hatch, Mansfield, 

 and Co., Ltd., of Cockspur Street, S.W. Further information 

 on this subject will be found in an article by Mr. H. A. Pettigrew 

 in a recent number of the Land Magazine. 



Coming now to consider the County of Essex, we find from 

 the List of Essex Field Names recently collected and published 

 by our Treasurer, Mr. W. C. Waller, F.S.A.,''^ that there are, in 

 the widely-scattered parishes of Great Hallingbury, Great 



iia Vinetum Britannictnn, or a Treatise uf Cider and other Wines and Drinks extracted from 

 Fruits growing in this Kingdom (London, 8vo.) 



15 Notes and Queries, 27th Nov. 1869. 



16 See Trans. Essex Archavl. Sue., n. s., vol. v., pp. 144-181 ; vol. vi , pp. 63-S4 and 

 258-277 ; vol. vii., pp. 6592 and 285-327 (and in progress). 



