296 THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
But others in Essex have held opinions about fungi, for there
is the old rule*10 :—
When the moon is at the full
Mushrooms you may freely pull;
But when the moon is on the wane
Wait ere you think to pull again.
Essex has great mycological traditions and with its present
interest in the subject one may look forward to a splendid future
with every confidence.
THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB—REPORTS OF
MEETINGS.
AN AFTERNOON TOUR OF WOODFORD
(729TH MEETING).
SATURDAY, 21ST APRIL, 1934.
In pleasant weather, following a morning of rain, some 30 members
spent an enjoyable afternoon in visiting, under the leadership of Mr.
Stephen J. Barns and Mr. C. Hall Crouch, yet other of the older houses
in the Woodford district which had not previously been visited by the
Club.
The party assembled at 2.30 o'clock at Snaresbrook Hall, an
eighteenth-century stucco-fronted building in the Woodford Road (in
Wanstead Parish), possessing outbuildings and a large ornamental garden
and orchard of some 11/2 acre in extent. The premises, which were un-
occupied, were opened for our inspection by favour of the owner's agents :
it was with much regret that we learned that the property had just been
sold and is to be demolished for the erection of flats on the site. Mr.
Crouch has a few notes as to former owners and occupiers : he said that
in 1821 the owner was the Honourable W. L. Wellesley, and the occupier
Thomas Dobson : the latter's tenancy was still running in 1830, the
premises being then rated at £65 per annum. Dobson was churchwarden
in 1832-3, and served the office of overseer in 1826-7 ; he lies buried in
Wanstead churchyard, where there is an altar-tomb within rails to his
memory. Later occupiers of Snaresbrook Hall were Henry Treadway
(in 1870 and 1874), George Hutchison (in 1878 and 1882), Thomas P.
Jones (in 1890 and 1894), and Frederick Victor Chalmers (in 1900 and
1902). In 1903 the premises were leased to John Lusty, who resided
here for some nine years, and was succeeded by Arthur Thomas Dale,
who remained in occupation until his death here last year.
The party inspected the entire building, which, however, presents
few fittings of interest : the dining room is lined with characteristic 18th
10 Notes on Essex Dialect and Folk-Lore. George Day. Essex Naturalist, viii., p .75
(1894).