THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 79
and the brown staircase. The great hall was 51 ft. by 36 ft., and the ball-room
75 ft. by 27 ft. Kent painted many of the ceilings, and gave designs for the
interior decoration. There were five state bedrooms, with bedsteads nearly 14 ft.
high, decorated with plumes of feathers, domes and coronets, and velvet hangings
of all colours, Axminster carpets, with the arms and crest at each corner, and
hearthrugs with arms in the centre ; 24 pieces of fine Gobelins tapestry, amongst
which were the "Leicester" ones; costly furniture and rich velvet hangings,
cabinets inlaid with emeralds, rubies, amethysts, and other gems; rare old china
and glass, and gold and silver plate in profusion, amongst which were twenty-nine
massive gilt plates, with the Royal Arms ; pictures of all kinds, views of the house
and park and surrounding country; and family portraits—everything to feed
the vanity of the wealthy and self-satisfied man, and fit for one who sought and
found a peerage. Here, during the long minority of Miss Long and the
Napoleonic wars, the Prince of Conde resided, and on 25th October, 1808, he
married, at the age of 72, a youthful bride of 69 ; and here as a guest was often
seen the exiled King of France, Louis XVIII. But extravagance and debt brought
the downfall of it all, and the 31 days' sale of the contents in 1822, and of the
materials of the house in 1824, swept away every relic of the past. The only
vestige of the house in the neighbourhood is the white obelisk in the grounds of
the Warren House, Loughton. The family pictures were kept and warehoused,
but in 1851 were sold by Christies in consequence of non-payment of money due
for warehouse room ! "A sad end to so bright a beginning."
Quitting a spot hallowed by so many historical recollections—the scene of such
teeming splendour and such utter ruin—way was made to the public portion of
the park, where (by the courtesy of Major McKenzie) one of the Forest Keepers
was in attendance. Wanstead Park—being the ornamental parts of the old
grounds—comprises about 184 acres, of which about 30 acres are water. It is
now happily an integral portion of Epping Forest, having been secured by the
Corporation of London, acting as Conservators of the Forest, in pursuance of a
wise resolution to exchange for it several pieces of land (amounting in all to about
fifty acres) useless to the forest as such, but which were valued at £16,000; to
this estimated sum £8,000 in cash was added to make up the £24,000 demanded for
the Park, and it was opened to the public on August 1st, 1882. The Park is very
picturesque in appearance, and contains four large ponds:—The "Great Lake"
(on which are "Lincoln" and "Rook" Islands), the "Perch" Pond, the
"Shoulder of Mutton" Pond, and, lastly, the Old "Heronry" Pond, where the
Herons formerly bred, but they now frequent Lincoln Island, nesting on the tops
of the highest trees. Part of the path encircling the lake is closed in May and
June, in order to secure the necessary quietude to the birds during nidification,
but the members were admitted to these paths in order that they might obtain a
better view of the birds. Our President, Mr. Fitch, made some remarks upon the
heronry, which are embodied in the paper read by him at the evening meeting.
It is very gratifying to hear that the free opening of the park has not apparently
disturbed the birds in any way, nor do they seem to object to the rooks which also
build in large numbers on the islands. The keeper stated that in 1887, thirty-
eight nests were counted ; this year he thought there were more, and a most
interesting and busy scene was visible from the shores of the lake. After some
conversation about herons and heronries, the beautiful shady walk round the lake
was followed, attention being called to an old chestnut tree, one gigantic bough
of which has arched completely over the path, rendering necessary the support of