NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
143
in Britain. In a discussion which followed, Mr. C. B. Clarke, F.R.S., and
Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., said that, so far as their own observations
went, they confirmed the accuracy of Mr. Christy's remarks.
PALEONTOLOGY.
Uphall Farm, Ilford.—We regret to learn, from announcements in the
newspapers, that Uphall Farm, a classic spot for geologists, will shortly be
sold for building purposes. It was here that the late Sir Antonio Brady
unearthed his magnificent collection of Pleistocene animal remains which is
now in the British Museum of Natural History. The Club had the benefit of
visiting the Ilford Elephant ground under the direction of Sir Antonio Brady,
Mr. A. R. Wallace and Mr. Henry Walker, in July, 1880 (Proc. E.F.C, vol. i.,
pp. xxviii.-xxxviii.), when the former pointed out the spots where he obtained
the bones of the lion, the mammoth's tusks 11 feet in length, and other gems
in his collection, and he also expressed the opinion that there were plenty
more specimens in the soil for future explorers. The Uphall pits and their
fossil treasures are fully described in Mr. Walker's paper, "A Day's Elephant
Hunting in Essex," which formed one of the first publications of the Club.
A second visit to the spot was made in 1893 (E.N,, vol. vii., pp. 92-95). If
the place is to be built over, we hope that care will be taken to preserve any
specimens found during excavation, particularly small things like Mollusca,
&c. which are now of such special interest to geologists. The property
includes the "Uphall" or "Barking Camp" described by Mr. Walter Crouch
in the Essex Naturalist (vol. vii., pp. 131-138). This Camp has never been
properly explored, and it is now threatened with destruction. Can nothing be
done if it cannot be rescued, at least to gain some correct idea of its period
and constructors, before Uphall is devoured and desecrated for ever by the
rabid speculative builder ?—Ed.
MISCELLANEA.
Queen Elizabeth's Lodge in 1853.—The following reference to the
Forest and to Queen Elizabeth's Lodge occurs in the first volume of
The Story of my Life, by Augustus J. C. Hare (G. Allen, 1896). Written in
1833, the letter, which was addressed to his adopted Mother on March 13th,
may be regarded as of quite respectable antiquity :—
" Yesterday afternoon I went with Papillon to take leave of the Forest.
It was a perfect day ; such picturesque lights and shades on the Edmonton
levels. We went through Chingford churchyard, and then through the
muddy forest to the old Hunting Lodge, which I had never reached before
and felt to be the one thing I must see. It is a small, gabled, weather-beaten
house, near a group of magnificent oaks on a hill-top. Inside is the staircase
up which Elizabeth rode to dinner in her first ecstasy over the defeat of the
Spanish Armada. Afterwards, I suppose because she found it easy, she had
a block put at the top from which she mounted to ride down again. To prove
the tradition, a pony is now kept in the house, on which you may ride up and
down the stairs in safety. The lodge is still inhabited by one of the oldest
families of forest-rangers, who have been there for centuries : in a room
upstairs are the portraits of their ancestors, and one bedroom is surrounded
with tapestry which they declare was wrought by the Queen's own needle.