THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
93
FIELD MEETING AT STANFORD-LE-HOPE, HORNDON-
ON-THE-HILL AND MUCKING (674TH MEETING).
SATURDAY, 28TH JUNE, 1930.
Only a small number of members, two dozen persons in all, attended
this excursion, which was favoured with glorious weather and yielded
various interests to the participants.
Stanford-le-Hope station was reached, by train, twenty minutes late,
at about 10.40 o'clock, and the party at once proceeded to inspect the
handsome modernised church of St. Margaret, which, perched on an
eminence, is a landmark for miles around and forms a very picturesque
element in the landscape. Unfortunately the inspection had perforce
to be a hurried one, as we had started the day behind schedule time.
From the Church, the visitors proceeded along the Rayleigh road,
past Hassenbrook Hall, to a point where a field path turned off to Horndon-
on-the-Hill. Some magnificent Great Dane dogs, belonging to a house
passed eu route, attracted admiration. A field, partly of wheat and
partly of field-peas, crossed diagonally by the field path, was ablaze
with scarlet poppies, three species of which were noted (Papavers Rhaeas,
dubium and argemone), and these, with Viola tricolor, Veronica agrestis
and other interesting cornfield plants, afforded the botanical members
plenty of excuse for loitering. Lunch was taken in the shade of a hay-
stack just before Horndon was reached; at Horndon itself, the first place
visited was the picturesque galleried inn, the Bell, dating from the 15th
century, which was curiously inspected and its wares sampled by the
visitors. A dignified Georgian house, High House, in the village street,
has some good panelled gates and bears on a tablet above its entrance,
the inscription WK
1728.
Horndon-on-the-Hill parish church, dedicated to St. Peter and St.
Paul, was full of interest. The carved capitals to the pillars of the nave-
arcades, of Early English "stiff-leaved" character, were much admired,
as was also the massive timber framing of 15th century date, which
supports the belfry and which exhibits a beautiful trellis arrangement
of its great oak struts. The small carved rosettes let into the soffit of the
eastern-most arch of the north nave-arcade are an unusual feature.
In a field adjoining the church was pointed out the brick base of a
former Windmill which has now been converted to other uses.
Gore Ox Farm was next visited, where the condition of the fine Barn,
from which the neglected thatched roof is partly stripped, exposing
the otherwise good-conditioned framing to the weather, was lamented.
The walk along the field path to Saffron Garden farm was enlivened
by a fine view of the airship R101, which was seen for over twenty minutes
as it passed slowly Londonwards, looking like a huge fish in the clear
blue of the sky. Little foreboding had we of the terrible tragedy which
was soon afterwards to overtake the vessel and its crew on its flight to
India, in the October following.
At Saffron Garden, the farm buildings were inspected by permission :
one especially, a mediaeval brick building, with crow-stepped gables,
reputed to have been a nunnery, was much admired. On a heap of
G