308
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
Mrs. Chinnery died at Chatillon, being over ninety years of age at the
time of her death.
Many of the above particulars concerning the connection of the
Chinnerys with Viotti and the Duke of Cambridge are taken from an
article in the Connoisseur, of Nov. 1911, by E. Van der Straeten, in which
are reproduced miniatures of Mrs. Chinnery, Caroline (2) and Walter,
by Trossarelli.
Of later residents at Gillwell we know but little. In 1814 Gilbert
Goss, and in 1826 Phillip Goss were seated there. The Goss's appear to
have been followed by the Usborne's, which information I gather from
tombstones in Waltham Abbey churchyard, which read :—
" Rebecca, wife of Thomas Usborne esq of Gilwell House in this
county, departed this life 5 June 1836 aged 70."
and
" Emma, the beloved wife of T. H. Usborne esq. of Gilwell House
in this parish, who was taken from her afflicted husband on the 13th
May 1836 in her 23rd year."
It was probably during the tenure of the house by Phillip Goss that
the stone balustrading bordering the lawn at the back of the house was
placed there. This is said to be a portion of the parapet of old London
Bridge, which was pulled down about 1824.
In 1882, or thereabouts, the house was occupied by William Alfred
Gibbs, who was here until 1904. Mr. Gibbs was the inventor of a machine
for drying hay, and he published an essay on "Harvesting Wheat in Wet
Seasons," for which he received the gold medal of the Society of Arts
and fifty guineas, and another on "Harvesting Hay in Wet Seasons," a
paper for which the Highland Society awarded a gold medal or ten guineas.
He was also the author of several volumes of poems, published between
1870 and 1876. These include "The Story of a Life," "Battle of the
Standard," "Harold Erle," "Lost and Won," "Church Porch," "The
World, the Press and the Poets," "King, Klang, Klong," and "Arion
Grange." High praise is bestowed on Mr. Gibbs' poems in, the many con-
temporary reviews, and his work is compared to that of such diverse
writers as Wordsworth, Cowper, Tennyson, and Hood. Most of his
books ran through several issues ; my own copy of "Harold Erle"
being one of the third edition. Several of his poems were set to music,
one of them, "Shadows," being frequently sung by Signor Foli. Mr.
Gibbs, while riding in the Forest, came upon Gillwell by accident, and
being taken with its situation, purchased it, and resided there until his
death in 1904. It then stood empty until 1919, when it was bought by
W. F. de Bois Maclaren, Esq., and by him presented to the Boy Scouts'
Association, the opening ceremony being performed by his wife on 25th
July, 1919. It is now a centre of the many activities of that movement,
and has undergone some internal alteration to fit it for the purpose, but
its main features are preserved and cared for, and its associations treasured
by the officers in charge, Major Lucas and Mr. J. S. Wilson, the camp
chief.
The picturesque cottage adjoining the Park, now occupied by Miss A.
Hibbert Ware, F.L.S., may be the one referred to in a deed of 21 Elizabeth,
(1578-9) when John Cooke surrendered a tenement, nine acres and a
cottage with a garden abutting upon Gillwell.