R. B. CROFT— IZAAK WALTON AND THE EIVEU LEA. 11 



Mr. Chiivlos 'Whitley, of Foddesdon, tells mc that this is certainly 

 iiu'orn'ct, aud that the Thatchcd-house to -whieli Walton referred 

 was situate in the centre of the town of Hoddesdon, near the old 

 Chapel or Clock House, aud not far from the site of the old Market 

 Cross and Market House. ^Ir. "Whitley p,ivcs as his authority an 

 authentic copy of ' A Circuit of the IJounds of the Parish of Great 

 Amwell, as they were recorded hy Thomas Hassall, clerk, vicar 

 there Anno IGo-l, and so observed in his day,' in which the follow- 

 ing mention is made of the Thatched-housc : — 



" In the parish of Amwell, from Cunnisbye's or the Bell, we go up the town 

 to Hodilesdoii, taking in all those houses which stand together on the same side, 

 as tlie Feathers, the Thatched House, and others, till we come to the White 

 Hart, an inn fronting the uew Town House over against Lord's Lane." 



The Bell Inn spoken of above is still the Bell Inn, and Mr. 

 Wliitley is of opinion that the front of Hoddesdon Brewery is built 

 on the site of the Feathers, and that the house on the south side 

 of the brewery gateway, with inclosed square grass-plot in front, 

 is built on the site of the old Thatched-house. His opinion is 

 further confirmed by his knowledge of certain deeds relating to the 

 Thatched-house, in which its site was represented as above ; we 

 may therefore consider the position of this famous hostelry now 

 definitely settled. The Buffalo's Head (which was a thatched 

 cottage) was some way off, and on the other side of the road.^* 



At sunrise next morning the two friends meet at Amwell and an 

 otter-hunt is briefly described. A bitch otter is killed, and four 

 cubs share her fate, one being reserved for Piscator to endeavour to 

 tame. A curious conversation is introduced, in which the Hunts- 

 man is asked whether the otter is a beast or a fish ; but the honest 

 man cannot give a decided answer, and adds that the question hath 

 been debated among many great clerks, and they seem to differ 

 about it, thus throwing a curious sidelight on the knowledge of 

 zoology at the time. It is satisfactory to think that the otter 

 {Lutra vulgaris) is not quite extinct in these parts. Some years 

 ago a pack of otter-hounds hunted but did not kill an otter in the 

 Ash within sight of Amwell Hill ; a few are left in the reaches of 

 the Lea below Broxbourne, and are occasionally reported in the 

 Bib and other tributaries. 



In the name of those who strive to prevent the extinction of our 

 rarer animals, I venture to plead on behalf of the few remaining 

 otters. I hope that the sportsman may hold his hand when he 

 gets a chance of a shot, and that the angler may forgive the oc- 

 casional depredations of the "vilanous vermine." 



The third, fourth, and fifth days were devoted by Piscator to the 

 instruction of his companion in the art of fishing, such instruction 

 being varied by pleasant discourses on nature, by songs, and by 

 harmless merriment ; while the whole is pervaded by the spirit 

 of deep reverence which is so apparent in the one or two sentences 

 fi-om the opening chapter which I have quoted above. 



* See ' Notes and Queries,' 23rd Sept. 1865. 



