180 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
Between the years 1873 and 1911, the "Committee on Erratic Blocks"
published voluminous reports in the Proceedings of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science, but they were silent in respect of the
County of Essex. In 1912, Dr. A. E. Salter published his "List of Essex
Boulders" in The Essex Naturalist—a catalogue no doubt inspired by the
B.A. Reports. We very soon found that Salter's list is by no means
exhaustive or complete. The 20 puddingstone boulders he mentions
represent less than one-sixth of the total we have since discovered; yet
of Salter's '20 stones, no less than five are members of our series—those
at Holyfield, Mashbury, Boyton Hall, White Notley, and Fordham, the
last being erroneously recorded as a sarsen. We have been able to plot
the positions of upwards of a hundred more, submitting many areas of the
county to the same meticulously-careful examination as we employed in
the vicinity of our alignment. Very few surface Puddingstones in Essex
can have escaped our notice.
The distribution of these puddingstone blocks is indicated in Fig. 1.
The greatest concentrations are found in the neighbourhoods of two main
exposures—at Arkesden (52/485345) and at the Cripsey Brook (52/510065).
Specimens are very common in the north-western districts of Wendens
Ambo, Wicken Bonhunt, Clavering, and Farnham, and an irregular trail
of them spreads south-eastwards to Ugley Green and Stansted. Another
group, from the Cripsey exposure, lies along the valley between Epping
and Moreton. Many of these boulders have been retrieved from the
stream-bed in recent times, and, indeed, are still extensively used as a
rockery material. Elsewhere in the county, puddingstone boulders occur
in isolated and widely-scattered areas, in strong contrast with the closely-
packed series of our trail. This feature is emphasised in the following
summary of the section from Holyfield to Magdalen Laver, plotted, with
all other known boulders, in Figure 2.
No. Site Map ref. Distance Remarks
1 Fishersgreen ... 381027 0 yards Buried.
2 Monkham's Field 381029 350 ,. Buried.
3 Holyfield ...... 386030 300 ., Standing.
1 Galley Hill...... 405011 2,300 ,, Hidden.
5 Deerpark Wood... 110010 800 ,, Hidden.
6 Orange Hill ... 135012 2,800 ., Roadbank—buried
7 Epping Church ... 445045 1,200 ,, Fragment in churchyard.
8 Pinchtimber Farm 451048 700 ,, In pond, broken.
9 Hayley Manor ... 158048 800 ,, Beside moat.
10 Hayley Field ... 459048 200 ,, Found at 459049.
11 Thornwood ... 468058 1,100 ,, Standing.
12 Stone Farm ... 178071 1,800 ,, See below.
18 Church Farm ... 486075 1,100 ,, By gate to field.
14 Black Cottage ... 487081 500 ,, Beside footpath.
15 Thrushesbush ... 199093 1,800 ,, Taken from 499091.
16 Manor Farm Gate 510084 1,300 ,, In ditch.
17 Manor Pasture ... 512083 200 ,, Very large.
18 Magdalen Laver 513082 200 ,. Foundations, N. wall.
Church (2 stones)
Note:
No. 11, the Thornwood stone, is discoid, on edge, and accurately
aligned towards 10 and 12.
No. 12, at Stone Farm—now ruined—has not been found.