THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 149
insurgents marched to Mile End, in London, and the King then granted their
requests. How many Chelmsford men attended that meeting we have no record ;
but the panic which had seized the King was soon forgotten when he found himself
backed by the Barons and an army of 40,000 men. Both sides, it is said, mustered
in great force near Billericay, when the disciplined forces of the King were
victorious. Chelmsford, as a consequence, we are told, was then honoured by a
royal visit. The King took up his quarters either here or in the remains of the old
palace at Writtle, and proceeded to hold an assize. The first act was to call in
the Letters of Enfranchisement, which were burnt in the presence of the people.
These are events which must have affected to a great extent the inhabitants of
Chelmsford, and we should like to have fuller details of them.
In 1397 the Duke of Gloucester, who was then High Constable of England,
resided at his castle at Pleshey, and must necessarily have been a well-known
figure in Chelmsford. He had offended the King, who was resolved upon his
death ; and the Monarch visiting him at Pleshey, invited his attendance at a Council
in London on important matters. The Duke, suspecting no evil, accompanied the
King, fell into an ambush, was carried off to Calais, and there murdered. It is
said he took the back road by Ongar; but it is not improbable that upon that
occasion he passed through Chelmsford.
From the time of the Conqueror the De Veres had assumed a leading posi-
tion in this county. It cannot be disputed that the family of the De Veres
was the most powerful family that ever ruled in this country for a period of
600 years. They at all times held a prominent position, and for the greater part
of that period the most prominent position of any family in the county.
Hedingham Castle was their stronghold, but their intimate connection with
the military affairs of the kingdom, and necessarily their constant attendance upon
the Sovereign, would render their frequent presence in London a necessity. The
direct road from London to Hedingham Castle is through Chelmsford—Chelms-
ford being about mid-way. Fifty-four miles was too long a day's journey in those
days; what more natural, then, that the De Veres should have a half-way house at
Chelmsford. The ceiling of the principal room of the "Old Black Boy" Inn, at the
corner of the Springfield Lane, was constructed of massive oak, moulded beams of
the 15th century, the intersections in two places being carved—the one with the
De Vere crest and badge, the other with one of the badges of Henry IV., the Red
Rose. Those two carved bosses are now in the Museum, and they vividly connect
us with the history of the town 400 years ago and more ; and they, I think, prove
that this old building, which most of us recollect, was a relic of olden times, and
formerly the transient residence of this once powerful family. In 1420 the town
had probably outgrown the modest church erected by our Norman predecessors.
The constant visits of the De Veres, with a little army of retainers, together with
the increase not only of the inhabitants, but of the resident ennobled families, had
rendered a larger church a necessity ; and so the idea—started by a De Vere,
seconded by a De Bourchier, and warmly supported by the Mountneys, the Mow-
brays, the Nevilles, the Warners, and many others residing in the neighbourhood—
was no doubt warmly taken up by the townspeople, and the result was a determi-
nation to rebuild the parish church. That it was entirely rebuilt may, I think, be
gathered from the fact that is has not been possible to find any portion of the
original edifice. I may say, in passing, that I am disposed to think that the north and
south aisles of the chancel proper had probably been rebuilt a short time, and only
a short time, previous to rebuilding of the nave, aisles, and tower ; and therefore,
practically, we may say, that about this period—1400 to 1424—the Church was