296 HILLS : E. G. VARENNE, OF KELVEDON, BOTANIST.
"Fifties" of last century, by the construction of the Eastern
Counties Railway.
It must have been very soon after Varenne's settlement at
Kelvedon that he took up his residence in a house which then
bore no special name, but is now known as "Sunnyside," on the
north side of the High Street, near its lower end. The accom-
panying photograph (fig. 2) represents its front exactly as
it was in Varenne's day, but an entrance-porch has been added.
In this house, Varenne continued to live until his death, some
fifty years later. It is of lath and plaster, with brick footings,
and dates probably from the time of Queen Anne, or possibly
from Stuart times. It is a small, but comfortable, residence
and contains, for its size, an unexpectedly large number of
rooms. It has been much improved internally by its present
owners, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Moore, who have kindly allowed
me to see over it and have pointed out to me its various features
of interest in connection with Varenne. The present dining-
room was originally Varenne's surgery. A side door-way, which
he had made as an entrance for his patients, has been done
away with. Another door-way, which still exists, has double
doors—an inner ordinary door of wood and an outer door covered
with red baize. The latter was put there by Varenne, to prevent
(it is said) the squeals and groans of his patients being audible
in the other parts of the house as ha drew teeth, lanced boils,
or amputated limbs ! The upstair rooms have still many cup-
boards and book-shelves, in and on which he kept his botanical
collections and library. At the back of the house is a garden
—small in his day, but since somewhat enlarged—in which
is a plant of Dracunculus and several other plants known to have
been planted there by him ; also a small vinery, in which he
grew some of the best grapes grown in the neighbourhood, taking
a very keen interest in them.
The country doctor of Varenne's day had no luxurious motor
in which to go his rounds. Even the humble two-wheeled-gig
was often of little use, owing to the badness of the roads.
Usually, therefore, when visiting his patients, he rode on horse-
back. Tradition in Kelvedon still tells much of a certain big
black horse, vicious of temper and light of heel, which Varenne
rode for many years. Children, in particular, went in wholesome
dread of it, especially when he made it prance (as he did some-