THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
205
Ingatestone is a quiet ancient little town, or large village, two-thirds of which
are in Fryerning parish (the division of the parishes being in the middle of the
road), and probably owes its name to its position beside some Roman military stone,
on the old highway from Londinium to Camulodunum—Saxon, Ing-at-Stone—
the settlement, or pasture, at the stone. In the old coaching days, its position on
the great main road made Ingatestone of some consequence, but the advent of the
railway, as so often is the case, has destroyed what trade it had.
The company left the town by the Fryerning road, the major part braving with
resoluteness the steady downpour of rain, while some of the ladies, and others,
followed in cabs and other vehicles. A halt was made to inspect the Norman
Church of Fryerning. The name denotes the Friars, or Monk's Pasture, probably
from its having belonged to the Brethren of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem,
to whom half the manor was granted by Gilbert de Montfichet in the reign of
Henry II, while the other moiety was added by his son Richard. The situation
of the church is very pleasing ; it is picturesquely environed by venerable yew and
fir trees, and from the churchyard and tower, on a fine day, extensive views are
obtainable. The Rector, the Rev. F. Tufnell, was unfortunately away from home,
so that the members lost the benefit of his company in the inspection of the church,
but Mr. Chancellor gave an account of the building, which he had special oppor-
tunities of studying during its partial restoration, and as the details he gave were
of considerable interest, no apology is necessary for printing a pretty full summary
of his remarks :—
" In this Church we have undoubtedly a specimen of an early Norman Church ;
the square quoins of Roman bricks of nave and chancel (the debris of some older
building), the entire absence of buttresses, the thickness of the walls (the nave
being 3 ft. 3 in. and the chancel 2 ft. 9 in.), the north and south semicircular door-
ways, and the small semicircular windows of the nave ; all prove the early date of
the building.
" The materials of which the walls are constructed demand a passing notice.
The principal material, and one which forms quite a feature, is the conglomerate
vulgarly called "plum-pudding stone." "I am rather at a loss to know whence
this could have come ; the nearest locality I know of is Tiptree Heath, but doubt-
less its lavish use in these walls would indicate a much nearer source, especially as
we find that a considerable quantity has also been used in building Ingatestone
Church. This material is interspersed with pebbles and Roman bricks, and the
building is a splendid specimen of work, being almost entirely free from
settlements.
" Late in the 14th century the two light windows of nave and chancel were
inserted. What the east window was I have no idea, as the present window was
inserted before I knew the church.
" The old roof had been largely repaired, and was in a very decayed state ; there
were here and there left some of the old rafters, and at the west end were noticed
indications of a Bell-turret, which was doubtless destroyed when the present
Tower was erected. The remains of the stair-case to the old rood-loft were
uncovered during the restoration, and are now exposed to view.
" The Font is most interesting. I venture to suggest that the bowl is the old
Norman bowl, but I am disposed to think that the foliage was cut at a later period,
that on the north side especially has a very Early English character about it.
There is a fragment of a Piscina built into the south wall of the nave.
" During the restoration, some signs of wall paintings were found, one painting
being under the east window, and representing a procession ; of this I have a
drawing.
" Coming to the exterior of the church, the prominent object of interest is, of
course, the tower. In the 15th century the art of brick-making received an
impulse, and all over the county we find the strength of the fashion by the intro-
duction of various features in brick. In some churches there are brick clerestories