250
THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
subscription list was closed before the Act was obtained, and we know that the
works were proceeded with at once. The capital was £40,000, divided into 400
£100 shares, with power to raise a further sum of £20,000 if necessary. The
only initial difficulty that arose was that on April 13th, 1795, a meeting of the
proprietors was called for the purpose of raising; a further sum of £8,000, in con-
sequence of the company having been compelled to purchase Beeleigh Mill.
In accordance with this Act, the canal was made from Moulsham Mill to near
Beeleigh Mill, by widening, deepening, cleansing, straightening, and improving
the river Chelmer ; here a short cut along the Long Weir was made into the
Blackwater, and the bed of that river was "widened, deepened, cleansed, and
improved" to Heybridge Mill, whence a new canal was cut through Heybridge
to what is now known as Heybridge Basin, falling into the estuary at Collier's
Reach. The opposition from the borough of Maldon to this undertaking was so
great that the company were not able to bring their canal within the borough
boundaries.
I do not think that I need go into the commercial history of the undertaking.
The topography of the canal we propose to explore to-day, and in conclusion it
will suffice to say that a detailed plan of the navigation, as completed, may be
seen in Mr. Andrew Meggy's office at Chelmsford.
A short stoppage afforded an opportunity for a walk to Beeleigh Mill. There
in the mill pond a few species of aquatic mollusca were taken by Mr. Walter
Crouch, but there was not much time for collecting them.2
Some again landing, Speeney Meadow, further on, was also perambulated, and
at Hoe Mill, Woodham Walter, Mr. S. Garratt accorded permission to stroll
through his beautiful gardens, grotto, and grounds. Here was seen a female
Golden Eagle, about twenty-four years of age, and two of her eggs (blown) were
shown. (Mr. Fitch described the history of this bird in the Essex Naturalist,
vol. iv., p. 124).
tilting Church was the next place of call. The edifice, dedicated to All
Saints, is a small stone structure, close to the river side, and consists solely of a
nave and chancel, with wooden turret and shingled spire, a pure example of
Thirteenth Century or Early English style.
The botany of the country traversed was, as the programme led the visitors to
expect, of considerable interest. The district is Number 3 (Chelmsford) of the
artificial divisions in Gibson's "Flora of Essex," and is embraced in River-basin
Number iv. (Blackwater) of Prof. Boulger's more natural arrangement (see "On
the River-basins of Essex as Natural History Provinces," Trans. Essex Field
Club, vol. ii., pp. 79-87, and map). The following plants were noted in the
programme as being likely to reward the botanists, and, curiously enough, as Dr.
Taylor pointed out in his "Botanical Demonstration," given on board soon after
leaving Ulting Church, every species anticipated had been found that morning
on the banks of the river or in the meadows near :—
The Meadow-rue (Thalictrum flavum); Moore's beautiful "Virgin lily"
(Nymplaea alba), near Hoe and Little Baddow Mills, and the commoner Yellow
Water-lily (N. lutea) ; Meadow-sweet (Spiraea ulmaria) will be abundant and
fragrant as usual ; the remarkable trimorphic and showy Purple Loosestrife
(Lythrum salicaria) and its namesake the Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) ;
the true Forget-me-not (Myosotis palustris), a Sower recalling many poetical
associations; various species of Willow-herb (Epilobium), locally known as
"Apple" or "Cherry-pie" plants ; the tall Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium can-
2 On the succeeding day, however, Messrs. Fitch and Crouch spent a longer time in the
grounds of Mr. Ward, at Beeleigh Mill, and found seven species existing in great numbers in
the artificial lake there ; all, however, had already been taken on the previous day in the river
Chelmer (see list post).