ENCLOSURES : ESSEX AGRICULTURE, 1500-1900. 7
first period Saxon place-names are entirely absent from this
district.
The East Saxons probably settled the east coast of the
County and gradually extended their colonisation into the
Forest of Essex situated on the Boulder Clay district. From
the evidence of archaeological remains the West Saxons appear
to have entered Essex by way of the more open chalk-land
country of the north-west, and settled originally in the north-
west and south-west. No doubt, their secondary movements
Fig. 1.—The Distribution of Essex Village Shapes.
would also be colonising activities within the Forest. It is
indeed possible to outline the extent of the Forest at this time
by dividing the nucleated settlements of the County—presumed
to be of Saxon origin11—into linear and rosette type of settle-
ments. The localisation of these two settlement patterns has
been commented upon in the previous pages, and inspection
of figure 1 shows that they appear in well-defined area. At-
tention should particularly be given to the hamlet area of the
11 With about three or four exceptions all the Essex villages are mentioned in Domesday
(1086).