158 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.—REPORTS OF MEETINGS.
Their aim was, in brief, to write the history of the county in pictures. The scheme
had been anticipated in several other English counties, notably in Warwickshire,
where it had been at work for some years. In Surrey, too, a start had been
made. There were in the county thousands of amateur photographers, there
being 50 organised societies, and it was hoped to enlist their sympathies in the
work. The financial question was not a serious one, a comparatively small sum
being required for the purposes of the Survey. The minimum subscription
would be half-a-crown, but many would, no doubt, subscribe more.
Besides collecting current photographs, they hoped to become the
custodians of many prints and engravings that already existed which threw
any light on the social life and customs of the people of the county. He pro-
duced a sample collection of photographs such as it was proposed to collect,
which had been contributed by the Woodford Photographic Society. The
photographs were mostly half plates, and accompanying them were schedules of
information as to place, time, and photographer, etc. In conclusion, Mr.
Christy said he hoped people who had prints or pictures which they were willing
to hand over to the Council, would communicate with the hon. secretary, Mr.
Victor Taylor, at the Essex Museum of Natural History, where the photographs,
etc., were to be stored under the care of Mr. W. Cole, the Curator of
the Survey.
Mr. Albert E Briscoe, B.Sc, Principal of the Municipal Technical Institute,
West Ham, then explained the project, and he was followed by Professor
Meldola, F.R.S., President of the Royal Photographic Society, who gave
further reasons why the scheme should be supported, and by Mr. E. W. Rudler,
F.G.S., who thought the new project was calculated to exercise a great influence
throughout the county, and the collection, interesting as it would be from the
beginning, would in time become invaluable.
The Chairman brought the discussion to a close by describing the step
they had taken as an act of common-sense, which had been defined as the highest
kind of science.
Some remarks on the progress of the Survey will be found in the Annual
Report of the Council, printed in the Year Book of the Club for the
current year.
The company, on the invitation of Lady Warwick, then paid a visit to
Bigods Hall, formerly the county seat of Lord Fitzgerald, and now a Secondary
and Agricultural School, founded by the Countess, and there they were enter-
tained to tea by the Principal, Mr. T. Hacking, and Mrs. Hacking. Subsequently
Mr. Hacking gave an explanation of the methods of the School, and described the
curriculum, taking the visitors on a tour of inspection. The school, which is on
the most modern lines, proved very interesting, and the work done there is
evidently very thorough, embracing poultry-keeping, fruit culture, bee-keeping,
and manual instruction, manurial experiments, and meteorological observations,
etc.1
In the evening the main portion of the Company drove back to Bishops
Stortford, for the return trains.
[The above is compiled from the excellent reports in the East Anglian Daily
Times and the Essex County Standard.—Ed.]
1 See reports of previous visits to the School in former volumes of Essex Naturalist.