THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 151
Mr. Crouch then pointed out the Perry Dam, the two thatched fishing
cottages; and the "Gulf" covering some forty acres was inspected. This lake
was formerly highly valued by the London anglers, and we had with us a veteran
of the rod in the person of Mr. John Hilliar, who was one of the habitues of the
gulf for many years, and who kindly furnished some notes of his recollections of
the spot, which are printed in the present number of the Essex Naturalist
(ante p. 146).
Notes on the Geology of the district were read by Mr. T. V. Holmes (see p.
142), whilst the botanists of the party looked after the plants, which were spoken
of by Prof. Boulger and Mr. Houston, the botanical referees.
Return was then made to Rippleside, and by field paths to the avenue which
leads to the ivy-grown mansion "Parsloes," the residence since 1619 of a branch
of the Fanshawe family. Here, in the great drawing and dining-rooms, which, like
the hall, are all panelled in oak, the usual high tea was admirably served by the
contractor, Mr. Hicks, of Chelmsford, the present owner, Mr. John Gaspard Fan-
shawe, having kindly granted permission to the Club to visit the place.
A meeting (the 135th) was subsequently held on the lawn, Prof. Meldola,
F.R.S. (Vice-President), occupying the chair. The Rev. E. Foley Evans, B.A.
was elected a member of the Club.
After the formal business the following short account of the interesting Manor
House and the Fanshawe family was given by Mr. Crouch, illustrated by plans,
books, and copies of some of the more notable portraits, which, until recently, were
preserved here at Parsloes :
Some Account of the Manor of Parsloes and the Fanshawe Family
By WALTER CROUCH.
The earliest mention of Parsloes, Passelowes (or Parslowes, as it is written in the
will of W. Fanshawe, 1634) is in 1585, when it was described as containing 10
messuages, a cottage, 10 gardens, 2 orchards, 100 acres of arable, 20 of meadow,
50 of pasture, 30 of wood, and 40/- rent.
The entrance lodge fin the lane called Gale Street) and the avenues, nearly
as far as the house, are in Barking Parish. The older portion of the present
mansion, in the Parish of Dagenham, was probably built by, and was at any rate
the residence of, Sir Hewit Osborne, son of Sir Edward, Lord Mayor of London,
an ancestor of the Dukes of Leeds, who died in 1600. His son, Edward, sold it
in 1619 to William Fanshawe, one of the "Auditors of his Majesties Duchie of
Lancaster," and third son of Thomas Fanshawe, of Ware Park and Jenkins ; who
had acquired property in the neighbourhood some time before. The deed is dated
16th Feb., 16th of King James I., and the consideration is £1,150. Later on he
purchased other land in the district, and in particular the site and remains of the
Abbey of Barking. The present owner, Mr. John Gaspard Fanshawe, is the
ninth holder of the estate, and seventh in descent from him. The house was well
described in 1872 by Mr. H. W. King (Hon. Sec Essex Archaeological Society)
in the privately printed "Notes of the Fanshawe Family."1 The following is an
extract :—
"During the two and a-half centuries that it has been in the possession of the
Fanshawes, it has .... undergone much alteration, and at three very distinctly
marked periods; the latest, and most extensive .... in 1814, when the mansion
was somewhat enlarged, the walls were faced with new brick and furnished
1 Five parts of these were printed in quarto, 1868-72. They contain pedigrees, funeral
certificates, extracts from registers and Bible, grant of augmentation of arms, and a number of
early wills ; and are well illustrated with cuts of arms, early plans of the estates, and autotypes of
some of the portraits. These original documents were mainly furnished by Mr. Edward J. Sage,
of Stoke Newington, and are copiously illustrated by notes on persons and places from his pen.