A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



22. Broadly speaking, if we draw a line north and south through the 

 county from Haverhill to Tilbury-on-Thames we shall find that the 

 great bulk of the woodland lies to the west of it. In what are locally 

 termed ' the Hundreds,' that is those of Dengey and Rochford, between 

 the Blackwater and the Thames, the scarcity of woodland is very marked. 

 In the north of the county, or, more exactly, in the great Hundred of 

 Hinckford, it was by no means abundant, but on the uplands between 

 the Blackwater and the Colne the proportion attains at Stisted 26f . At 

 times we find some thick woodland represented by an ancient park. 

 There was one for instance at Langham, on the Stour, where the Domes- 

 day ratio is 34, and another at Leighs, where it is nearly 30. Attention 

 may also be directed to a distinct belt of woodland running almost north 

 and south from Hatfield Peverel to Woodham Ferrers. On the former 

 manor the proportion was as high as 35!, and on the latter 20 ; at 

 Woodham Walter it was 19, and at Woodham Mortimer and at Haze- 

 leigh just over 14. From this belt a spur appears to have extended 

 through Purleigh into Latchingdon, to the east of which the Hundred 

 of Dengie was almost devoid of woodland. The Hundred of Rochford 

 however seems to have been as a whole more destitute of woods than 

 any other in the county. That proximity to the sea was not the cause 

 either here or in Dengie Hundred is seen from the fact that those of 

 Thurstable, Winstree, and Tendring to the north had a fair amount of 

 woodland throughout. St. Osyth, indeed, could feed, it was reckoned, 

 over 1,200 swine, but its great area reduces the ratio to 14 to the acre. 



One must not analyse further the distribution of the woodland, for 

 other points have to be discussed. In a few places, which are almost 

 all situate in Barstable Hundred, we find the curious reckoning of wood- 

 land by hides and acres. At Vange there was ' half a hide ' of woodland 

 (fo. 22^), and at Pitsea the same, to which another ' 30 acres ' had been 

 added since the Conquest (fo. 98). At Bowers Gifford (fo. 86) there 

 were * 30 acres of woodland laid waste ' (sihce vastata), 1 and at Fanton 

 Hall the same (fo. 14). At Great Burstead there was half a hide, to 

 which as much as ' 5 hides of woodland ' had been similarly added (fo. 

 22<&), at Ingrave to the north i| hides, and at Whatley with Wickford 

 i hide (fo. 23). At Thorndon we read of 2 hides (fo. 42), at Langdon 

 of i hide (fo. 42), on two manors in Wickford of 30 acres and 20 acres 

 (fo. 42^), while on a third we have the strange entry : ' Then 12 hides 

 of woodland ; now 6 acres ' (fo. 43). In this last case the whole manor 

 was assessed at only 10 hides, which makes the entry of importance. 

 Outside the Hundred of Barstable such entries as these are rare. At 

 Cold Norton, a manor assessed at 8 hides, we read that ' of these hides 

 two are of woodland ' (fo. 69), and at Wigborough that it was assessed 

 at ' 7 hides of land and i of woodland,' and that Bernard had abstracted 

 'the abovesaid hide of woodland' (fo. 55^). These phrases, it must 

 frankly be confessed, are at present extremely obscure to us. Before 

 leaving the subject we may note that the woodland at Wickford is 



1 For the proximity of these three places see the map of Canvey Island opposite p. 369 above. 



376 



