937 



ESSEX. 



ESSEX. 



933 



cultivation of the soil partakes to a great extent of the gardeu culture. 

 Vegetables are raised in great quantities, and very extensive fields are 

 almost entirely devoted to the raising of potatoes. The ground is 

 ploughed and very highly manured with stable dung from London. 

 Mangel wurzel for the London cowmen is also raised in considerable 

 quantities. The meadows within 15 miles of London supply the 

 Whitechapel market with hay, and every cart brings back a load of 

 dung. 



The "cows and horses in Esses are chiefly reared in Suffolk, and 

 Scotland supplies oxen for fattening. In some parts of the county 

 there are a few large dairies ; but in general the number of cows kept 

 on a farm is not considerable. Many calves are fatted, which are 

 killed in the country, or sold at Romford to London butchers. Sheep 

 are kept in large Socks and with considerable advantage. By means 

 of draining the land has been made capable of being folded over even 

 in winter. Essex is not a sheep-breeding county, although many fine 

 lambs are reared ; but they are generally bought from the breeders in 

 Wiltshire or Sussex in autumn and sold fat to the butcher in the 

 succeeding spring. There is no peculiar breed of horses. The Suffolk 

 punches are in general use for farm work, and it is scarcely possible 

 to find a breed better adapted for every kind of work. Essex has 

 been long noted for a superior breed of pigs, which has been produced 

 and improved by crosses with foreign breeds, chiefly the Neapolitan 

 and the Chinese. 



Jjii'iions, Toww, <tc. Essex ia divided into 20 parts, of which 19 

 are called hundreds, and one, that of Havering-atte-Bower, a royal 

 liberty. We subjoin a list of these divisions, with their situations : 

 Barstaple, S. ; Becontree, S.W. ; Chafford, S. ; Chelmsford, Central ; 

 Claveriiig, N.W. ; Dengey, or Dengie, S.E.; Dunmow, Central; Frosh- 

 well, or Freshwell, N.W.; Harlow, W. ; Havering-atte-Bower, S.W. ; 

 Hinckford, N. ; Lexden, N.E. (Colchester division and Witham 

 division) ; Ongar, Central ; Rochford, S.E. ; Tendring, N.E. ; Thur- 

 gtable, E. ; Uttlealord, or Utelsford, N.W. ; Waltham, W. ; Winstree, 

 E. ; Witham, Central 



There is no city in Essex. There are 19 market-towns: 3 of these 

 are parliamentary boroughs COLCHESTER, on the Colne ; HARWICH, 

 at the rnputh of the Stour ; and MALDON, on the Pant or Blackwater. 

 CHELMSFORD, the county town, is on the Chelmer. Of these places, 

 as well as of BARKING, on the river Roding ; BILLEHICAT, on the road 

 from London to Rochford ; BRAINTREE : BRENTWOOD, on the road to 

 Chelmsford ; COGGESHALL, on the Blackwater ; DUNMOW ; EPPING ; 

 HALSTEAD, on the Colne ; LEXDEX, on the Colne ; ONGAR, on the 

 Roding ; ORSETT, on the road from Romford to Southend ; ROCHFORD, 

 on the Broomhill River ; ROMFORD, on the Bourne Brook ; SAFFRON 

 WALDEX, on one of the feeders of the Granta or Cam ; TENDHINO, on 

 a small river which flows into the sea at Holland Creek ; THAXTED, 

 on the Chelmer ; WALTHAM ABBEY, on the Lea ; WALTHAMSTOW, on 

 the Lea; WEST HAM, on the Lea; WF.XSTREE; and WITHAM, a market- 

 town on the Brain River. an account is given under their respective 

 titles. Of the other towns and more important villages an account ia 

 subjoined ; the populations given are those of 1851. 



Burnham, 19 mileg S.E. from Chelmsford, population of the parish 

 1869, is on the left bank of the river Crouch, which is navigable a 

 considerable way above Burnham : there is here a convenient quay. 

 The oyster-fishing employs many of the inhabitants. There is a good 

 coasting trade. Besides the parish church, which is about a mile from 

 the port, there is a chapel for Dissenters. A ferry maintains commu- 

 nication with Wallasea and the other islands at the mouth of the 

 Crouch. 



Uayenham, 22 miles S.W. from Chelmsford, population 2494 : the 

 lower part of the parish is a marshy district on the left bank of the 

 Thames. The great breach made in the embankment in 1707 has 

 been already noticed. There are National and Infant schools. 



Gray's Thurrock, on the left bank of the Thames, 24 miles S.S.W. 

 from Chelmsford, population 1713, consists chiefly of one irregular 

 street on a creek of the Thames, accessible to hoys and other small 

 vessels. The church is cruciform, with a tower on the north side. 

 A considerable amount of trade is carried on. The market on Thurs- 

 day is chiefly for corn ; there are two yearly fairs. Brick-making is 

 extensively carried on. Belmont Castle, a fine mansion in the vicinity, 

 affords extensive river and inland views. In the adjoining parishes of 

 Little Thurrock and Chadwell are some remarkable caverns or holes in 

 the chalk, to which tradition has assigned the name of ' Cunobelin's 

 Gold-mines." They are also called ' Dane-Holes," from having been 

 used by those invaders as lurking-places or receptacles for plunder. 

 There is a station of the Southend railway at Grays. 



Jladleiyh, 16 miles S.S.E. from Chelmsford, population of the parish 

 412, formerly had a market which has been discontinued. The church 

 is an ancient edifice in the early English style. Near Hadleigh are the 

 ruins of a castle built by Hubert de Burgh. 



Harlow, 17 miles W. by N. from Chelmsford, population 2322, was 

 formerly the seat of a large woollen manufacture and of a considerable 

 trade. The church was originally cruciform, with a central tower 

 rising from the intersection of the transepts ; but having been much 

 injured by fire in 1711, a cupola was substituted for the tower: the 

 church is adorned with much painted glass. A new church was opened 

 in 1 J 12. There is a chapel for Baptists. A email market is held on 

 Wednesday. There arc three considerable fairs in the year for liur,-;c;< 



and cattle. A sum of 8000?., bequeathed by Mr. George Fawbert, has 

 been vested in trustees for the establishment of a day school and library 

 at Harlow, and for apprenticing or otherwise benefiting those educated, 

 at the school. There are also National aud British schools. Brewing, 

 malting, and rope-making are carried on. 



Hatfidd, 11 milea N.W. from Chelmsford, population 2034, is on 

 the Pincey Brook, which flows into the Stort. This place was formerly 

 part of the royal demesne, from which circumstance it was called 

 Hatfield Regis : its other designation of Hatfield Broad Oak it obtained 

 from a large oak supposed to have flourished here in the Saxon times. 

 Aubrey de Vere founded in 1135 a Benedictine priory at Hatfield. 

 The church has a western tower and a large porch in the perpendi- 

 cular style ; other parts are more ancient. The Methodists have a 

 place of worship. There are a National and a Charity school. 



The Hedinghams formerly constituted one pariah ; from the time 

 of Henry III. they appear as two : Sible Hedingham, on the right bank 

 of the Colne, 18 miles N. by E. from Chelmsford, population 2346 ; 

 and Cattle Hedingham, on the left bank of tbe river, 1 mile farther, 

 population 1394. Sible Hedingham church is a neat building of the 

 time of Edward III. A castle was built here by the De Veres about 

 the beginning of the 1 2th century. The De Veres retained the castle 

 until 1 625. The keep, the only part remaining, is one of the best- 

 preserved Norman keeps in the kingdom. The building forms a 

 parallelogram, 55 feet on the east and west sides, and 62 feet on the 

 north and south, and is upwards of 100 feet high. Castle Hedingham 

 church is of stone with brick battlements, partly in the Norman and 

 partly in the early English style : the tower is later. In the chancel 

 is a superb but somewhat mutilated monument of John de Vere, earl 

 of Oxford, who died in 1539. The Baptists have a chapel. There is 

 a National school at Sible Hedingham. A Benedictine nunnery was 

 founded here in 1190. Coach-making, malting, brick-making, and 

 gardening give employment to some of the population. 



Ingalestone, on the London road, 6 miles S.S.W. from Chelmsford, 

 population 860, had formerly a considerable cattle market, and has 

 still a large cattle fair. The church contains several monuments of 

 the Petre family. There are here a chapel for Independents, a Charity 

 school, and an alm^house. Ingatestone Hall, once the seat of the 

 Petre family, is an irregular pile of ancient date. 



Manninytree, on the festuary of the Stour, 31 miles S.E. from 

 Chelmsford, population 1176, is a small place, neat and clean, though 

 irregularly laid out. The church, built out of the ruius of a more 

 ancient one, was enlarged in 1839. There are chapels for Inde- 

 pendents, Quakers, and Methodists. A market is held on Thursday 

 for corn and cattle, and a fair on Thursday in Whitsun week. A 

 considerable trade in malt is carried on ; aud corn, coal, deals, and 

 iron are imported. 



Mistley, adjacent to Manningtree, is 32 miles S.E. from Chelmsford : 

 population, 1516. Mistley Hall, the seat of the Rigby family, stands 

 on an eminence in the midst of gardens and plantations elegantly laid 

 out. On the bank of the Stour is a quay with warehouses. Ship- 

 building, sail-making, and malting are carried on. A considerable 

 number of good dwellings has recently been built in the neighbour- 

 hood. 



Newport, 22 miles N.W. from Chelmsford, population 898, formerly 

 a market-town, is situated on the Granta, where that river turns 

 northward towards Cambridgeshire. There is here a station of the 

 Eastern Counties railway. Three annual fairs are held. The church, 

 which has a lofty tower, is in the highest part of the town. The Free 

 Grammar school, founded in 1586, has an income from endowment of 

 200Z. a year, and had 48 scholars in 1853. Some vestiges remain of 

 St. Leonard's Hospital, founded in the reign of King John. There is 

 a house of correction at Newport. 



Raleigh, or Rayleigh, 15 miles E.S.E. from Chelmsford, population 

 1463, was one of the numerous lordships of Suene, who having joined 

 the Conqueror at an early period was allowed to retain his possessions. 

 He built a castle here, of which some earth-works remain. The 

 village "onsists of one wide street of considerable length. At the 

 upper end is the church, an edifice principally in the perpendicular 

 style, with some portions of an earlier date. The Baptists have a 

 chapel. The weekly market has been given up. There is a fair for 

 cattle and horses, which is well attended. Lime-burning is carried on. 

 In the neighbourhood are several good family residences, and some 

 well-laid-out nursery grounds. 



Roydon, or Woodredon, on the left bank of the river Stort, just 

 before its junction with the Lea, 25 miles W. by N. from Chelmsford, 

 population 902, was formerly a market-town : a station of the Eastern 

 Counties railway is at Roydon. The parish church has an embattled 

 tower. 



Kirly le Soken, Thorpe le Solcen, and Walton le Soken form a district 

 called ' the Sokens." The word Soken is derived from the Saxon Soc, 

 or Soca, signifying both the power to administer justice within a 

 certain limit, and the circuit within which such power was exercised. 

 The villages possess some peculiar immunities, to which they owe 

 their designation. Ruins of buildings have been discovered under the 

 water, particularly on a .shoal called the West Rocks, nearly five miles 

 from the shore, which is left dry at great ebbs. The wall thrown up 

 to keep out the sea gave name to Walton parish. There is a church 

 in ench parish ; that at Thorpe is the largest. The Baptists have a 



