THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
51
dwellers are descendants of the Dutch and Danish settlers of long ago, for we
were in the "Daneland" of Essex. The Dutch may have to do with the
embanking of the island, for nearly all along our way the fields were below high
water mark, and' the tides are only kept out by great dykes or sea-walls,
as in Holland ; all the ditches are brackish, and fresh water is only to be had
from wells.
A capital cold luncheon, sent over by boat from the "Royal Hotel,"
Burnham, awaited the ramblers on their arrival at East Newlands Farm, where
"Mr. and Mrs. J. Hepburn had made excellent arrangements for their comfort.
Long tables had been laid in a big barn, and, needless to say, full justice
was done to the meal, for the five-mile ramble and the lovely sea breeze had set a
keen edge on the appetites of all.
Afterwards an Ordinary Meeting (the 255th) was held, the President in
the chair. The following were elected members of the Club :—
Mrs. Robin Allen, Loughton,
Alderman Reginald W. Christy, Boyton Hall, near Chelmsford.
Mr. Edward J. Naldrett, M.A., Barrister-at-Law, 3, Temple Gardens,
Temple, E.C.
Mr. Christy congratulated the members on the excellent weather with which
they had been favoured, and proposed that the cordial thanks of the meeting
should be given to Mr. and Mrs. Hepburn, and to Mr. J. W. Hepburn for the
trouble they had taken. He asked Sir Francis Gould ("F.C.G." of the
Westminster Gazette, and an original member of the Club)- to second this, and
took occasion to offer the Club's congratulations on the honour recently accorded
to him.
Sir F. C. Gould, in a characteristic speech, amusingly added his tribute of
thanks. It was most delightful, he said, to get away from London and its
motors, and to come to such a spot. The more civilised they got the more
delighted they were to get back to the bosom of Nature, as they found it there.
To him that was the most delightful spot imaginable.
The Rector said a few words of welcome, and the vote of thanks was carried
by acclamation.
Mr. B. C. Hall, steward to the late Mr. G. H. Finch, M.P., also spoke,
alluding to the great flood of 1897, when about 2,000 acres of the island were
flooded, and its damaging effect on the crops. They had got through some bad
times, but the land was now recovering, and was beginning to look very well
indeed. He spoke, too, of the difficulty of getting fresh water, and produced
some interesting papers and sections with regard to well-boring in the island,
including a letter written from Portsmouth, in 1727, by Mr. R. J. Nash, which
he handed over to the Club for a detailed inspection.
Mr. T. S. Dymond, F.I.C., F.C.S., made some observations on the inundation
of sea water in November, 1897, of which the following contains the substance:—
The island of Fowlness, being below high water level, is subject to
inundations of sea water. One such inundation took place in the 16th century,
another in the 18th, and the last on November 29th, 1897. On this last occasion
about one-third of the island was flooded, viz., the north-eastern portion, which
is about two feet lower than the south-western end. The inundation lasted on
different portions from one to six days. After the water subsided the ground
was found to be covered with dead worms, which seagulls devoured. At first it
was thought that the injury would be confined to the then growing crops, for the