THE REGIONAL SURVEY OF HATFIELD BROAD OAK. 197
in the name of Collier Street, it is interesting to return to the
town for a closer study of its buildings. These give ample
evidence of the use of timber and of brick. High Street and
Cage End provide examples of the architectural variety which
the Town can boast—half-timbered buildings, some with
plastered fronts and some hidden by good solid Georgian
brickwork. There are many Tudor chimney-stacks and some
17th and 18th century doors in good preservation. Two items
of special interest are the pump (no longer used since water
has been laid on to many of the houses) and the picturesque
"Cock" sign. This sign, like the brickwork, is probably Early
Georgian. The bracket of iron is surmounted by a copper cock,
while the hanging panel has one farm landscape with a large
cock in the foreground painted on each side. The painting is
upon solid copper. The sign is fixed to the wall of the inn and
proclaims its ancient name, a name that is recorded as far back
as the reign of Edward IV.
Town and Priory were of considerable importance ; what of
the surrounding country ? The surface is spread with a layer of
chalky boulder clay of variable thickness overlying the Eocene
beds of the London Basin, not far from their junction with the
Chalk. The boulder clay contains many interesting fragments;
but sections of it are difficult to find, for the ground has been
under continuous cultivation for centuries. The north-west
corner of Essex has provided ample evidence of Roman agri-
cultural settlement—scythes, ploughs, turf cutters and other
objects, together with remains of ox, sheep, red deer, pig, fowl
and shells of various edible mollusca. The present open country
originated in British forest-clearings, which became the sites of
British and Roman settlements. Many of these have been
occupied more or less continuously until the present day.
Large boulders of Hertfordshire "pudding-stone" (a con-
glomerate with inter-crystallised quartzose matrix and smooth
flint pebbles, peculiar to only one locality) sometimes occur in
fields or by the roadside. Splendid specimens can be seen
beside the lake in Hatfield Forest. A comprehensive account
of the Forest, its history and plant life is given in the reports of
three club outings.5 To those who are familiar with Epping
5. Essex Naturalist, vol. iii. (31st July, 1889), vol. xxi. (28th June, 1924 and 27th June
1925).
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