GROWING IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF COLCHESTER. 31
The following entries appear in the Chamberlain's accounts for the
Borough; for which, and other information I am indebted to Mr.
Horace Round, most of them not having been previously printed.
"4, Jac. I. (1606-7.)—A bill to John Howedon for Eryngoes; £2 8s. 0d."
"13, Jac. I. (1615-16.)— To Robert Buxton for (Eryngo) roots; £2 19s. 6d."
"17 and l8, James I., 1620.—Bill for sugar and Eryngo roots ; £13 18s. 6d."
In the same (for 1620) : "Paid to Mr. Boxtone for 4 lbs. of roots given to the
Lord Bishop of London, 16s. 0d., and for a box to put the roots in 6d "
"Also paid the 28th February, to Mr. Boxtone, for 10 lbs. of roots and for the
boxes to put them up in ; sent to London to Mr. Browne by the appointment of
Mr. Bailess ; £2 3s. 2d."
"2 Car. I. (1626-7.)—Geo. Chiborne for Eringos; £6 3s. 0d."
"1647 :—To I. Lovekin for Eringoes."
"1653 :— To I. Lovekin by Mr. Great for Eringoes."
Robert Buxton (or his son ?) was an alderman of Colchester
during the civil war, favouring the royalists, and was expelled from the
Corporation for his politics after the siege. He died in 1655 (see
his monument in St. Nicholas' Church), and seems to have been
succeeded in his business by Samuel Great, Apothecary (his
apprentice). Mr. Horace Round writes to me (December 30, 1886),
"I made a curious little discovery last week, namely, that the 'Great'
family, who manufactured 'Great's' Candied Eryngo, was one of the
refugee houses. Samuel Great, who succeeded Buxton in the
business, was the third son of Samuel de Groot, of Colchester,
brewer, who married Elizabeth Howvanaer in 1617. This name is
more familiar in its Latinized form, 'Grotius.'"
Harrod says :—(in "Report on the Records of the Borough of
Colchester," 1865) "The Eryngo roots had only recently ceased
to be an article of commerce. The last manufacturers with the
secret of their preparation was an elderly maiden lady who
supplied Mr. Thomas Smith, Druggist in High Street, when asked
for them. They were considered beneficial in pulmonary diseases,
but for many years their renown has ceased—a sad change
when we remember they were once thought, when properly prepared
and packed in boxes, perfumed and gilt, fit presents for princes,
next in importance to the inevitable oyster," Stephenson and .
Churchill, in their beautifully illustrated "Medical Botany" (1836),
state, "And at Colchester, where the Candied root is prepared, con-
siderable quantities of it are still sold, we are informed, in consequence
of her majesty Queen Charlotte being presented with a box of it, as
she passed through the town on her first arrival in England."