THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 213
remember the day, and will ever have an affection for the modest stream, so
long ill-used and abused, but which now, under the care of the Conservators, puts
forth so many claims on the attention of admirers of pretty pastoral scenery, to
say nothing of its extreme importance to modern London.
Visit to the Navestock District.
Saturday, July 28th, 1894.
The objects of this meeting as stated on the programme were : (1) to traverse
a tract of the county not hitherto visited by the Club; (2) to inspect certain
ancient earthworks ; and (3) to see a remnant of the old Waltham Forest, which
still survives as an outlier of the disafforested district of Hainault.
The conductors were the Rev. S. Goode Hore (Curate of Navestock) and
Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., both of whom had taken great pains in arranging the
details of the meeting.
The large party (about 70 in number) drove from Brentwood Station about
mid-day, through Gallows Green, Pilgrims Hatch, and Coxtie Green, to the road
running in a N.E. direction from Ditchley's to Princes Gate. The drive was a
most pleasant one, the Club was again fortunate in the selection of the day ; the
sun shone out brightly and the very pretty scenery appeared at its best.
At a point on the eastern side of the road just mentioned, a halt was called,
and the remains of an ancient entrenchment were pointed out, which there is good
reason for believing to be a remnant of the "Alate Temple of the Druids," so
called by Dr. Stukeley, who visited the place several times during the second
quarter of the last century, and who has left a description of these remains in his
Diaries. A copy of an unpublished drawing by the Doctor is here given on p. 214,
by the kind permission of the Rev. F. St. John, who is the owner of these
MSS. It is probable that in Stukeley's time the work was more complete, and
that the ramparts have since been levelled.
Prof. Meldola gave the reason which led Mr. Coode Hore and himself to
consider that here were the remains in question. He said :
" We have brought you here to see this circular excavation and entrenchment,
not on account of any striking features which they show, but because of the
historical interest which attaches to these remains. My colleague, Mr. Coode
Hore, and myself, after considering the description given in Stukeley's 'Diaries,'
have come to the conclusion that you are now looking at a remnant of what
that antiquarian described under the portentous name of the 'Alate Temple of
the Druids.' I may state that all the histories and guide books of Essex contain
some reference to ancient remains which existed on Navestock Common, the
site being sometimes confused with Navestock Heath, which is about a mile
from our present position. As soon as it was decided to hold a meeting in this
district, I determined to find out the evidence on which this statement as to
ancient remains on Navestock Common was based, and ultimately traced it to
Stukeley. It is his description which has been transferred under various guises
to the histories and guide books, sometimes with the confusion of site already
mentioned. Nobody had since identified these remains and the Common itself
has since his time been completely under cultivation. Dr. Stukeley seemed very
partial to this spot ; there are three references to his visits in the 'Diaries' at
intervals of several years, as you will learn from Mr. Coode Hore's paper. It is
now generally admitted that Stukeley's theories were often fanciful and there can be