246 K, B. CROFT — ON THE RIVEE, LEA BELOW HEETFOED. 



Forest, of the town of "Waltham, in the Saxon speech "Weald-ham, 

 that is, a wild or woody habitation; this standeth upon Ley, where, 

 by dividing his Channel, hee maketh divers Eights or Islands, and 

 is not of any great antiquity to make boast of. For when the 

 Kingdome of the Saxons beganne to decay, one Tovie, a man of 

 great wealth and authority, as we reade in the private History of 

 the place, the King's Staller, that is Standard-bearer, for the 

 abundance of wilcle beasts there, first founded it, and planted three 

 score and sixe indwellers therein. After his death Athelstane his 

 Sonne quickly made a hand of all his goods and great estate ; and 

 King Edward the Confessour gave this town to Harold Earle 

 Goodwin's sonne ; and streightway an Abbay was erected there, 

 the worke and Tombe both of the said Harold." The following 

 extracts are from Farmer's ' Waltham Abbey.' " This town is 

 seated on the east side of the Lee (which, by Act of Parliament 

 1 Stat. 13 Eliz. 18, was made navigable from Ware to Lontlon), 

 which not only parteth Hertfordshire from Essex, but also parteth 

 itself into several small rivers or rivulets coming into town, and 

 over which are many bridges. These rivers afPord plenty of fish, 

 some salmon, trouts, eels, carp, tench, pike, perch, crawfish, and 



many others." " On the one side the town itself hath 



large and fruitful meadows, some of which are used in common to 

 the town, and tho' innumerable cattle are pastured thereon, the 

 ground is so rich and fertile that the cattle that are constantly kept 

 therein never look lean, though the grass is ever so short. One 

 of these before-mentioned rivulets runs round the marsh, in which 

 the Freeholders have (and none others, though some have lately 

 pretended) a right to fish either with net or angle." Fuller says 

 that the grass of the Waltham meadows, "when first gotten an 

 head, is so sweet and luscious to cattle that they diet them at the 

 first entry therein to half an hour a day, lest they over-eat them- 

 selves, which some kine yearly do and quickly die for it, notwith- 

 standing all their keeper's care to the contrary." 



At Waltham Abbey there used to be a tulip-tree in the grounds 

 known as the Abbey gardens. In Farmer's ' History of the Abbey 

 of Waltham ' there is a picture of it and the following description : 

 " I must not forget the tulip-tree, the largest . . that ever was seen, 

 there being but one more in Great Britain (as I am informed), and 

 that at Lord Peterborough's. It blows Avith innumerable flowers in 

 the months of June and July." Mr. W. Winters informs me that 

 many unsuccessful attempts were made to propagate from it, 

 that it measured about ten feet in circumference, and that it died 

 and was cut down more than twenty years ago. The wood was 

 very hard and of a dark brown colour. Many pieces of furniture, 

 ornaments, etc., were made from it. 



After receiving the waters of the Cobbins brook, which rises 

 between Northweald and Epping, the Lea continues its course to 

 Enfield Lock, where is situate the Government Small Arms Factory ; 

 from here to Ponder's End the barge-river follows the ancient 

 course of the stream, another portion of which, known for a part 



