9
Later we were guided by Fairstead Church, whose
name means "pleasant place". It contains mid-
13th century wall paintings, depicting scenes
from the life of Christ, and has Roman tiles in
its walls from a nearby villa.
Between Troys Hall and Maltings Farm we
examined the Scentless Mayweed, with its oil
glands on the freshly picked developing fruits,
which distinguishes it from the Wild Chamomile.
We also saw the more local Nettle Leaved Bell-
Flower.
The River Brain, lined by willows, was crossed,
leading us past White Notley Church, and under
the Witham to Braintree railway. Soon we
reached Cressing Church. The earliest English
settlement of the Knights Templar was at Cressing
Temple about a mile from the way. The only
remains of this settlement are two splendid
barns. The Wheat Barn is 140 feet long and 40
feet high: the Barley Barn is smaller and weather-
boarded, but both date from before 1330. We
made a short diversion to have lunch at "The
Willows" in the village of Cressing.
The way continues past Egypts Farm and the gravel
workings at Bradwell, where a little grebe swam
and dived in the water. Bradwell church has
pudding stone in the walls, and also contains
wall paintings. We stopped to photograph
Dyers Rocket, which is similar to Mignonette,
but with simple leaves. This plant was used to
produce a yellow dye and was grown as a crop at
one time in Essex.
Another long hot walk followed along the River
Blackwater, invisible as we walked towards
Coggeshall. We crossed a road leading into the