44 
THE ESSEX NATURALIST. 
including Samuel Gurney, Lady Buxton and others, was instru¬ 
mental in erecting the Congregational Church in Forest Lane at a 
cost of £1,530, the building being opened free of debt. 
Jabez Legg was possessed of the Carnarvon Hall Estate, 
which he inherited from his father, Mr. Samuel Legg, who died 
on the 7th August 1846, at Stratford Green, aged 93 years, and 
was buried on 14th August in Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, 
City Road. His sister, Mary Westbrook, was buried the same 
day, aged 87 years, and is described in the Burial Register as 
residing at Stratford Green. Jabez Legg continued to reside at 
Stratford Green until his death in 1867. He married Catherine, a 
daughter of Robert Waylen, Esq., Mayor of Devizes. She died 
on the 22nd April 1824, aged 39 years, and her remains were 
deposited in a vault within the Congregational Church at Devizes. 
Jabez Legg appears to have been buried in a grave outside the 
Church, but adjoining the Church walls. The inscription on the 
tablet in the church records as follows :— 
In affectionate remembrance of Jabez Legg, Esq., of 
Stratford Green, Essex, who died October 23rd, 1867, 
aged 81 years. 
Very little is known regarding his history, and few of the 
inhabitants in the Borough have any information as to the 
buildings in Forest Lane, Forest Gate, known as the Forest Gate 
Retreat. They consist of a block of six cottages. Mr. Legg 
originally built (in 1858) the first three, Nos. 1 to 3, for the 
accommodation of his father’s old servants, and added three 
more in 1863, the whole being intended to provide free living 
accommodation for six women having sufficient income to live 
upon. The gift of presentation is in the hands of private trus¬ 
tees. Under Mr. Jabez Legg’s Will he left each inmate ten 
pounds, but provided no fund for the maintenance of the build¬ 
ings. Since his death his niece has invested, in the names of 
trustees, funds for the maintenance of the property and upkeep 
of the garden, and any surplus income is divided between the 
inmates at Christmas. 
The portrait is from an oil painting hanging in the room 
of the senior inmate of the Retreat, and is reproduced by 
permission of the trustees. 
