I04 CANVEY ISLAND 



overran all the land about, and evidence of their in- 

 dustry may be found in the broken pottery which was 

 often, until lately, washed up upon Leigh Beck, its 

 extremest point. The Saxons have left ample evidence 

 of their existence in local nomenclature, and the Danes 

 of theirs in ruins which may still be traced ; for here, 

 under their leader Hasting, they were beaten in a great 

 battle by Alfred, who took from them their fortress 

 "Beamfleet" — i.e. Benfleet — on the mainland, "with 

 deep and wide trenches," as Camden says. But the 

 mighty engineers were gone, and things in Canvey went 

 from bad to worse ; until, in Camden's time, the tides 

 had so far worked their will that all the arable land, 

 of which there had been much, was ruined, for the 

 island, he says, " is oftentimes quite overflowne, all 

 save hillocks cast up, upon which the sheep have a 

 place of refuge. For it keepeth about four hundred 

 sheep." In 162 1 (about eight years after Camden 

 wrote) a principal owner. Sir Henry Appleton, with 

 others interested in the soil, agreed, as appears by the 

 records, to hand over one-third of the lands to one 

 Joas Crappenburgh, a Dutch engineer, on condition 

 that he should " in " and embank the island, ensuring 

 it against future inroads of the sea. The land so 



