THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
207
with the red sails of the barges and a succession of liners and tramp
steamers going down to the sea, was by no means the least element in
the day's enjoyment.
FIELD MEETING AT SAFFRON WALDEN AND DISTRICT
(643RD MEETING).
SATURDAY, 16TH JUNE, 1928.
This meeting had for objects the examination of the botany and
general natural history of this portion of the county and also the inspec-
tion of some of the principal objects of interest in the ancient town itself
and the neighbouring villages. Some 30 members joined the expedition,
Mr. George Morris, B.Sc, F.R.A.I., acting as conductor.
Saffron Walden was reached by private motor omnibus, which left
Loughton at 10 o'clock and arrived at Walden just before 11.30 o'clock.
Other members of the party came by car.
A visit was first paid to the church, where, whilst awaiting the arrival
of Mr. Morris, the Hon. Secretary briefly described the salient architectural
features of this beautiful example of typical Perpendicular Gothic. Next,
the museum was inspected, and after that, the ruins of the Castle, of
which Mr. Morris gave a short history. A visit was also paid to the
Fry's Garden, and in this charming and sequestered spot lunch was dis-
posed of.
Leaving the town at 2 o'clock, the motors conveyed the party to
Springwell, where a footpath walk to Little Chesterford was begun. On
the steep gravel bank of the little stream known variously as the Cam
or Granta, Mr. Morris pointed out a prehistoric flaking-site which he had
discovered some years before and where still a few flakes of Neolithic
facies were to be picked up.
Little Chesterford Manor House, a typical "hall manor," dating in
part from the early 13th century, was inspected by kind permission
of the tenant : this "remarkable example of domestic architecture of
an unusually early date," as the Historical Monuments Commission
described it, proved to be of absorbing interest.
Regaining the conveyances, the visitors passed through Littlebury to
a point a mile westward from the village at How Wood, where a nature-
ramble to Strethall and Elmdon was entered upon, with magnificent
distant views northwards over the lower Cambridgeshire country, Cam-
bridge itself, with its many spires, being discernible through field-glasses,
and the Gogmagog hills closing the horizon. This stretch of open Chalk
down country proved to be a paradise for botanists, teeming as it did
with chalk-loving plants, and the more enthusiastic members of the
party were with difficulty kept in touch with the main body. In all,
some 123 species of wild plants were noted, including the following :—
Reseda lutea Centaurea scabiosa (in bud)
Helianthemum vulgare Bartsia odontites var. verna
Linum catharticum Salvia verbenaca
Geranium pyrenaicum Orobanche elatior
Anthyllis Vulneraria Plantago media
Hippocrepis comosa Listera ovata