941 



ESSEX. 



ESSEX. 



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bank of the river Stour, 28 miles N.E. from Chelmsford : population, 

 1792. This village was, in the 12th century, one of the chief seati of 

 the clothing trade : it was at one time a market-town. The church is 

 a commodious edifice of the perpendicular style, and has a tower of 

 considerable height. There are a chapel for Independents, a Free 

 Grammar school, founded in 1570, and an assembly room. A fair is 

 held on Easter Tuesday. Great Easton, on the left bank of the river 

 Chelmer, 14 miles N.N.W. from Chelmsford : population of the parish, 

 937. The parish church is a plain edifice, situated on a hill. In the 

 southern doorway is a semicircular arch. There are Charity schools. 

 Little Easton, on the right bank of the Chelmer, 13 miles N.N.W. 

 from Chelmsford : population, 396. The church, an ancient edifice, 

 has a square tower. On the south side of the chancel are numerous 

 splendid monuments of the Maynard family. Easton Lodge and 

 Park, in the vicinity of Little Easton, are the property of Viscount 

 Maynard. Elmatead, 27 miles N.E. from Chelmsford : population, 

 908. A market was obtained for the place in 1253, but it has been 

 long discontinued ; the church, which is ancient, has at the west end 

 a diminutive tower, its top being not higher than the walls of the 

 church. A yearly fair is held. Felstead, 10 miles N. by W. from 

 Chelmsford : population, 1715. The parish church, which is situated 

 on high ground, has an embattled tower. In the church is a monu- 

 ment to Richard, Lord Rich, who died in 1567, the founder of the 

 Free school and almshouses. The Free Grammar school and aims- 

 houses were regulated anew by an Act of Parliament passed in 1851. 

 The in> me from the estates is now nearly 2000/. a year. The number 

 of scholars in 1853 was 61. Dr. Isaac Barrow and three sons of 

 Oliver i ' omwell were educated at this school. In the vicinity are 

 the remains of Lees priory, some parts of which are now used as a 

 farm-house. Finchingfield, 18 miles N. by W. from Chelmsford : 

 population, 2594. There are here, besides the parish church, a chapel 

 for Independents, a Free school, an Infant school, almshouses for 

 widows, and an apprenticeship fund for the benefit of free scholars. 

 Numerous hop-gardens are in the vicinity. Great' Fordham, on the 

 left bank of the river Coins, 21 miles N.E. by N. from Chelmsford, 

 population 740, to called from a ford over the Colne. The parish 

 church has a tower, surmounted with a lofty spire. There is a chapel 

 of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion. Fryerning, 1 miles 

 S.W. from Chelmsford, population 743, an ancient village; the 

 manor once belonged to the knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The 

 church has a brick tower. Hadstock, on the borders of the county, 

 close to Cambridgeshire, 26 miles N.N.W. from Chelmsford, popu- 

 lation 576, had a market granted to it in 1337, which is not now 

 held. The church is cruciform, with a central tower. There is a 

 Free school. H<ivering-atte-Bowtr, 18 miles S.W. from Chelmsford, 

 population 423, on the river Roman, otherwise the Bourne Brook. 

 There is a National school. The early kings of England, among 

 others Edward the Confessor, of whose palace remains may be 

 traced, frequently resided here. Many fine residences are in the 

 vicinity. In the neighbourhood are brickfields, hop-gardens, and a 

 brewery. Jlcnhnm, or Henham-on-tlie-Hill, 19 miles N.\V. by N. from 

 Chelmsford: population, 911. The parish church, a commodious 

 structure, is seated on a considerable eminence ; it has a tower, sur- 

 mounted with a lofty spire. There is a National school. Hornchurch, 

 on the Bowles Brook, 19 miles S.W. by S. from Chelmsford : popu- 

 lation, 2378. In Henry III.'s time, the principal street was called 

 Pell-street, from the pcltmongers, or skinners, who carried on business 

 there. The church is a commodious structure. Brick-making, 

 brewing, and malting are carried on, and there is an extensive manu- 

 factory for agricultural implements. Horndon-on-the-JIill, 19 miles 

 S. by W. from Chelmsford, population 532, is situated, as its name 

 imports, on an eminence, from whence there is a fine view of the 

 shipping on the river Thames, and of the surrounding scenery. The 

 church is in the middle of the town ; it has a stone tower, embattled. 

 The market, when Morant published his history of Essex (1768), was 

 very small ; it has been discontinued. There is one fair in the year, 

 chiefly for wool. Great Ilford, on the river Roding, 22 miles S.W. 

 from Chelmsford, population 3745, a ward of Barking parish. The 

 Roding is here navigable for barges. An hospital for lepers was 

 founded here by Henry II. The chapel of ease, or hospital chapel, 

 is a very ancient building. About half a mile from the town is a 

 church erected in 1831. The Baptists and Wesleyan Methodists have 

 places of worship, and there are National schools, a savings bank, 

 and almshouses. A large house of correction for the county is 

 situated at Ilford. Brick-making, lime-burning, and malting are 

 carried on. There are steam saw-mills and flour-mills. Kelredon, 

 18 miles .S.W. from Chelmsford: population, 1633. The village is 

 partly built on elevated ground, on the right bank of the Blackwuter, 

 and on the line of the Eastern Counties railway. The church has a 

 square brick tower. The Independents and Quakers have places of 

 worship. In the vicinity are nursery-grounds. Laindon or Lanydon 

 Clay, a name derived from the long down or range of hills, in the 

 neighbourhood, 12 miles S. by W. from Chelmsford : population, 540. 

 The church is built on high ground. There is an Emlowed school. 

 Basildon, a hamlet of Laindon parish, said to have been once a town, 

 has a chapel occupying an elevated site. A fair is held hero for two 

 days annually in September. Iliyh Laiier, 15 miles W. by N. from 

 Chelmsford : population, 534. In the churchyard John Locke was 



interred, he being at the period of his death, 1704, resident at Gates, 

 the seat of his friend Sir Francis Masham-. The mansion of Gates 

 was pulled down several years ago. Layer-de-la-Hay, the principal 

 of three parishes and villages called the Layers, 23 miles N.E. by E. 

 from Chelmsford, population 788, has a church consisting of nave, 

 chancel, and stone tower : the population is agricultural. Layer Marney, 

 20 miles N.E. by N. from Chelmsford, population 279, is situated on the 

 Lare Brook ; the church has a brick tower. The great entrance tower 

 is still standing of Layer Marney Hall, one of the finest and earliest 

 brick mansions in the country. It was erected in 1 520 by Henry Lord 

 Marney. From the tower fine sea views are obtained. Leigh, 19 miles 

 S.S.E. from Chelmsford : population, 1370. The houses are principally 

 arranged in one street running along the foot of an eminence and 

 on the bank of the Thames. The summit of the eminence is 

 crowned by the church with its ivy-mantled tower, and the manor- 

 house. The population consists chiefly of fishermen, engaged ill the 

 shrimp, oyster, and shell-fish trade. The oyster spawn is brought 

 from the French coast and elsewhere, and placed in the Leigh oyster 

 beds to grow and fatten for market. There are a small custom-house 

 and coast-guard station here. The Wesleyan Methodists have a 

 chapel, and there are National and Infant schools. Some Roman 

 coins have been discovered at Leigh. Great or Much Le-ighs, or 

 Lees, 7 miles N.E. from Chelmsford : population, 874. The church 

 is an ancient edifice ; it has a Norman door and window. Near it is 

 a round tower built of flints and stones. There is a Charity school. 

 Little Leighs, or Lees, on the river Ter, 7 miles N.E. from Chelmsford, 

 population 164, has a small church with a wooden spire. Lees Priory, 

 founded by Ralph Gernon in 1229, was at the dissolution granted to 

 Sir Richard Rich, who built on its site a splendid family residence : 

 it now forms a part of the estates of Guy's Hospital. Leyton, or Low 

 Layton, 27 miles S.W. from Chelmsford and 5J miles N.N.E. from 

 London, population 3901, including 499 in the West Ham Union 

 workhouse, is very pleasantly situated on the left bank of the river 

 Lea. John Strype, the historian and antiquary, was vicar of this 

 parish for nearly seventy years : his tomb is in the chancel of the 

 church. There are chapels for Independents and Wesleyan Methodists, 

 2 Free schools, and 8 almshouses. Many London merchants reside at 

 Leyton. Roman and other antiquities have been found in considerable 

 number. Leytonttone, a hamlet of Leyton, has many handsome villas, 

 a district church recently erected, and a National school. Littlelury, 

 31 miles N.W. by N. from Chelmsford, population 934, on the left 

 bank of the river Granta or Cam, belonged in the 9th century to a 

 monastery in the Isle of Ely. The church occupies the site of an 

 ancient camp. There is a Free school. Agricultural implements are 

 manufactured to a small extent. Loughton, 20 miles W.S.W. from 

 Chelmsford : population, 1237. The manor was granted by Harold II. 

 to Waltham Abbey ; the houses are chiefly in Loughtou-street on the 

 Epping road : very pleasant rural scenery is found here. The church, 

 about three centuries old, is a mile east from Loughton. The Baptists 

 have a chapel, and there are National and British schools. Great 

 Maplestead, 18 miles N.N.E. from Chelmsford, population 494, is an 

 ancient village occupying an elevated site. The church has a square 

 tower. There is an Infant school. Hops are extensively cultivated 

 in the vicinity. Little Mapkstead, 19 miles N.N.E. from Chelmsford, 

 population 387 : the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem 

 had a preceptory of their order here, founded in 1186 by Julian de 

 Burgh. The round church of the preceptory is one of the few round 

 churches still existing in England. Margarettiitg, 5J miles S.S.W. 

 from Chelmsford, population 517, is situated on the road from London 

 to Colchester. A considerable part of the village is built along the 

 road at some distance from the church. Mountnessing, or Mount- 

 nesting-itreet, 8 miles S.W. by W. from Chelmsford, population 845 : 

 some remains exist here of Thoby Priory, founded in 1141 for Augus- 

 tinian canons. Nazing, or Nosing, 37 miles W. from Chelmsford : 

 population, 757. The manor was given by Harold II. to Waltham 

 Abbey : the church is situated on an elevation affording fine prospects 

 over the oourse of the river Lea. There is a Charity school. Naziiig 

 Park, in the vicinity, is a fine mansion, the seat of the Palmer family. 

 Jitack Notley, 10 miles N.N.E. from Chelmsford : population, 527. 

 Numerous autiquities have been found here. There are corn-mills in 

 the vicinity. Bishop Bedel was boru in the parish ; Ray, the distin- 

 guished naturalist, was buried in the churchyard of Black Notley. 

 Great Oakley, 34 miles N.E. from Chelinsford, population 1177, on the 

 cross road from Colchester to Harwich. The parish church is a very 

 old building : the spire has been recently rebuilt. There are two 

 Dissenting chapels and a National school. South, Ockendon, 21 miles S.S.E. 

 from Chelmsford : population, 1021. The church, a very ancient edifice, 

 has a round tower and an elaborately designed Norman door. Parn- 

 don, or Parringdon, 36 miles W. by N. from Chelmsford, population 

 488, is seated on a hill. A monastery of the Priemonstratensian order 

 was founded here by Roger de Parringdon ; it was removed in 1180 

 to Maldon. Plaistow, 20 miles S.E. from Chelmsford, is in the parish 

 of West Ham : the population of Plaistow ecclesiastical district was 

 2668 in 1851. Much fertile marsh-land lies between the village and 

 the river Thames ; and there are extensive market-gardens. There 

 are a church, built in 1S30, a Quakers' meeting-house, an Indepen- 

 dent chapel, National and British schools, an Infant school, and a 

 Temperance hall. Many villa residences are in the neighbourhood. 



