238 MINERAL WATERS AND MEDICINAL SPRINGS OF ESSEX.
(Glauber's Salt). Among my schoolfellows there were many who
drank some of the water, and they used to get purgings from it.
I remember hearing one of the Woodwards—a very fat man—say
that it would purge the horses when they drank of it."
For the reason given by Dr. Laver, it would now be
impossible, we fear, to identify the spring in question.
(22).—The Plaistow Spring.—This seems to have been a small
spring of purely-local fame. Miss Katherine Fry says130a
that the "Lady Well Field," almost opposite Plaistow Grove,
was
so called from a natural spring of very pure water which until recently was still
in existence. . . . Some picturesque superstitions were attached to this well,
even in the memory of persons now living ; and these romantic legends-
attached to it are probably founded on some miraculous qualities attributed to it
by the monks. That the water of this old well was famous for the cure of sore eyes,
we may accept as a fact ; since frequent washing with clear, pure, and fresh spring
water, would unquestionably be beneficial to eyes unaccustomed to its free use.
(23).—The Hockley Spa.—One of the latest attempts to
establish a regular "Spa" in Essex was at Hockley, between
Rayleigh and Rochford. The facts are recorded by Granville,
who says181 that an old friend, a physician of eminence, had
recommended him to visit Southend, and that Mr. Richard
Phillips had called his attention to the newly-discovered spa at
Hockley. Accordingly he went thither, in January 1841, after
having (he confesses) "turned up my nose at the idea," because,
he says, "Essex is a county with a bad name" for invalids. He
relates that, on arriving at Hockley, he was conducted to
" the lowest part of the village, where we found three or four cottages, the
property of Mr. Fawcett, solicitor; one of which, more showy than the rest,
bore the inscription of "Hockley Spa Lodge." In this I took shelter for the
night, and there learned from the elderly couple who occupied it, and received
us hospitably, the history of the discovery of the well, which was briefly this :—
" Mr. and Mrs. Clay (for such was the name of my good-natured and clear-
headed host and hostess) had determined upon building for themselves a
cottage in this elevated region, after having escaped the relaxing and
weakening effects of a long residence in Cheltenham. A well was sunk for
water, for the convenience of the cottage ; when, in throwing out the sod, a
hard stone was found, about a foot in diameter, which, when exposed to the air,
fell in pieces. It was hollow within, about the size of a two-quart basin, in
which was fine clear water. Proceeding further down, a kind of ragstone and
130a Hist. of East and West Ham. p. 126 (1888).
131 Spas of England, ii, pp. 606-610 (1841).