224
THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
ing at Felsted, and the Reading Beds there are but 44 feet thick, as against
83 at Chelmsford, so that 69 feet must be added to the descent of the Lon-
don Clay to find that of the Chalk, which works out at 31 inches per mile.
The route from Chelmsford lay over Mid-Glacial Gravels (with two dips
into the London Clay) until the left slope of the Chelmer valley was
ascended beyond Little Waltham. Then followed two miles of Boulder-clay,
to the right slope of the Ter valley, in Little Leighs parish. Here some
shallow pits in the gravel were examined, the coarseness of the material
and the irregularity of its deposition being pointed out. Many of the
larger flints are but little worn, whilst the few well-rounded pebbles of
quartzite, igneous and other rocks of the Midland Pal ozoic inliers are
in all probability derived from the Westleton Beds, largely removed by
the Glacial denudation.
About a mile to the south-west of Great Waltham, a large and in-
teresting pit showed nearly 40 feet of Westleton shingle, mostly fine (but
with little sand) and strongly current-bedded. Amongst the larger
stones were many of quartzite, slate, sandstone and igneous rocks. The
uppermost ten or twelve feet were as finely stratified as the rest, but were
greatly disturbed, and at one point turned over into wave-form. The
cause was evident in the presence, close by, of the Boulder-clay, a mass of
which shot from a melting or overturned ice-floe had reached the sea-floor
with sufficient impact to effect the disturbance of the previously regular
bedding.
At the rear of Mr. Christy's house, the Mid-glacial gravel rises to the
surface, and has been partly used as concrete in the construction, the
actual site of the house, though at a slightly lower level, being on Boulder-
clay, which at Priors (eastward, beyond the gravel pit) extends to 40
feet below the surface. Here again the simultaneous irregular structure
of the gravel was noticed, and the rarity of other stones than flint.
The route then lead to Chignal St. James, where, at Broom Wood Lodge,
the party was most kindly received by our Vice-President, Mr. Miller
Christy, F.L.S. Tea was served under the shade of the trees.
A short formal meeting was held (the 425th), the President in the
chair. Mr. Charles R. Haig, of Felix House, Chelmsford, was elected a.
member.
The house, though far from finished, excited great interest among
the members present, as it is an attempt to reproduce, in the purest
possible form, the Elizabethan style of about the year 1550, as seen,
commonly in Essex ; and most parts of the house were reproductions
of parts of various houses of that period still existing in the vicinity,.
the parts reproduced having been congruously combined.
Mr. Christy said that his instructions to his architect (Mr. Fred
Rowntree) had been that he was not to employ enough deal to make a
match, not enough paint to cover a sixpence, and not enough wall paper
to make a postage stamp. These instructions had been carried out
practically, if not actually ; and he was glad to think that the effort
of himself and his architect to achieve their object seemed to have met
with the general approval of competent judges.
The house is entirely of brick, oak, and elm—the last a wood used
extensively at the period, for flooring and other purposes, though seldom