ESSEX. 209 



Essex is a maritime county, separated from Kent by the Thames and its 

 estuary, from Middlesex and Hertfordshire by the rivers Lea and Stort, and from 

 Suffolk by the Stour. Of the rivers which drain the interior of the county, 

 the Roding flows into the Thames, whilst the Crouch, Blackwater, and Colne 

 are directly tributary to the German Ocean. These latter expand into wide 

 estuaries, forming convenient harbours, and are famous for the breeding of 

 oysters. The surface of the country is for the most part undulating. A small 

 tract of chalk occurs in the north-west, but loam and clay predominate, and 

 form gentle slopes. The coast is much indented and broken up into flat 

 islands. It is fringed by marshes protected by sea-walls and drainage works. 

 Most of the ancient forests have been extirpated, and it is only quite recently 

 that the most picturesque amongst them, that of Epping, narrowly escaped 

 destruction through the public-spirited action of the Corporation of London. 

 Agriculture constitutes the chief occupation, the requirements of the metro- 

 politan markets largely influencing its character. Manufactures, particularly 

 of baize, were formerly carried on upon a large scale, but are now of small 

 importance. The fisheries, however, together with the breeding and feeding of 

 oysters, constitute one of the sources of wealth. 



West Ham, which includes Stratford and other places near the river Lea, in 

 the south-western corner of the county, is, properly speaking, an eastern suburb 

 of the metropolis, where numerous industries, some of them not of the most 

 savoury nature, are carried on. The Hoyal Victoria and Albert Docks here 

 extend for nearly 3 miles along the northern bank of the Thames, between the 

 Lea and North Woolwich, and near them are iron works, ship-yards, and chemical 

 works. Stratford has extensive railway works, oil and grease works, gutta percha 

 factories, and distilleries. Plaistow is noted for its market gardens. Walthamstotr, 

 a short distance to the north, and on the western edge of Epping Forest, early 

 became a favourite residence with opulent citizens, and has still many quaint old- 

 fashioned mansions embowered in trees. Waltham, on the Lea, is famed for the 

 remains of its ancient abbey. An old bridge connects that part of the parish 

 which lies in Essex with "Waltham Cross, in Hertfordshire, named from one of the 

 crosses erected to mark the resting-places of Queen Eleanor's body. The Govern- 

 ment gunpowder-mills are built above Waltham Abbey, on a branch of the Lea. 

 They cover an area of 160 acres, and the various buildings are separated by 

 meadows and woods, as a safeguard against accidents. Harlow, now a quiet market 

 town on the Stort, a tributary of the Lea, formerly carried on the manufacture of silk. 



Epping Forest, which lies between the Lea and the Upper Roding, is named 

 after a pleasant market town, the vicinity of which is famed for its dairy farms. 

 Descending the Roding, we pass Chipping Ongar, Wanstead, IJford, and Barking, 

 where are the remains of a Cistercian abbey, not far above the mouth of the 

 river. Romford, on the Rom, which enters the Thames lower down, is well known 

 for its brewery. The ancient town of Brenticood lies to the east of it, in tlie 

 midst of fine scenery. Its old Elizabethan assize-house is at present in the 

 occupation of a butcher. There is a grammar school, founded in 1557. 

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