A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1966.
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'Nazeing', in A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5, ed. W R Powell( London, 1966), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol5/pp140-150 [accessed 21 November 2024].
'Nazeing', in A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5. Edited by W R Powell( London, 1966), British History Online, accessed November 21, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol5/pp140-150.
"Nazeing". A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5. Ed. W R Powell(London, 1966), , British History Online. Web. 21 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol5/pp140-150.
In this section
NAZEING
Nazeing is a parish of 3,952 a. lying about four miles north of Waltham Abbey and bounded on the west by the river Lea. (fn. 1) Most of it is still rural, but during the past 40 years there has been a considerable development of market gardening, light industry, holiday fishing, and boating.
The land gradually rises from the river to a small hill and bowl-shaped plateau, about 270 ft. above sea level, in the east. Apart from the alluvium by the river, and a strip of gravel a little to the east of it, the soil is London clay. (fn. 2) Nazeingwood Common, which covers much of the eastern plateau, was originally part of Waltham Forest, but in the 13th century was disafforested for pasture. (fn. 3) It was ploughed up during the Second World War. From the common a small brook runs west through the middle of the parish.
Potsherds of Iron Age A have been found in Nazeing. (fn. 4) Roman remains include burials found in Nazeing Mead, near the river. (fn. 5) The original Saxon settlement was probably in the east of the parish, near the church. The position of this village, now called Upper Park Town, may have given Nazeing its name, which means 'settlers on a spur of land'. (fn. 6)
During the 19th century the population of the parish was usually between 700 and 800. It rose to 1,012 in 1921, 1,580 in 1931, 2,533 in 1951, (fn. 7) and there has been a steady growth since 1951. Most of the recent building has been at Nazeingbury, now a large residential village, a mile east of the river, at the junction of the roads from Roydon to Waltham Abbey, and from Broxbourne (Herts.) to Nazeing church and common. A housing estate was built between 1918 and 1939 at Keysers, near the river, and since the Second World War new houses and shops have been built near the village centre, and bungalows along the river bank. Several substantial country houses in large gardens were built at Upper Park Town between the two world wars.
Two lanes, Hoe Lane and Middle Street, lead eastwards from Nazeingbury to Upper Park Town and the church. Adjoining Upper Park Town, on a commanding site overlooking the common, is Nazeing Park, the residence of the Palmer family in the 18th and 19th centuries, and now a school. The Palmers, as the largest resident landlords, took an active part in the affairs of the parish, and influenced its development. (fn. 8) A mile south of Upper Park Town is the hamlet of Bumble's Green.
Most of the roads in the parish are old. Among the oldest were those passing through Nazeingbury; at the crossroads there, in 1404, stood a wayside cross called 'le Bery Cros'. (fn. 9) In 1618 the 'common road' was said to be in good repair. (fn. 10) Two highway diversions, of 1796 and 1808, were promoted by landowners for their own benefit. In 1796 the easternmost of two lanes leading past Nazeing Park to the church was stopped and a new road built across the common, so that William Palmer could extend Nazeing Park. (fn. 11) In 1808 the road from Nazeingbury to Waltham was slightly diverted at St. Leonards at the instigation of James Bury, owner of that estate. (fn. 12) In or about 1908 Nazeing New Road was made from Nazeingbury to Broxbourne. This branches north-west from the old road half a mile west of the village and crosses the Lea by a new bridge. (fn. 13) Alterations were also made in the roads approaching Langridge farm. (fn. 14) Passage over the river was important, as this was the way from Epping to Cheshunt and Hoddesdon (Herts.). In 1621 the footbridge at Broxbourne mill was in decay and Essex Quarter Sessions ordered Lord Denny (lord of the manor) and the miller to repair it. (fn. 15) In 1807, when the owner of the adjacent land refused to repair the toll-bridge at Broxbourne, the inhabitants protested that this would cause travellers from Epping to Hoddesdon to go out of their way. (fn. 16) In 1659 a horse bridge on the road to Waltham Abbey was presented; this was also an important road as it led to the market. (fn. 17)
Until the coming of motor buses Nazeing depended, for its communications with the outside world, upon Waltham Abbey (fn. 18) and Broxbourne. The railway from London to Cambridge, with a station at Broxbourne, was built in 1840–2. (fn. 19)
There are few old buildings in the western part of the parish. Marshgate farm, in Broxbourne Road, however, originally formed part of a larger timberframed house of the 16th century. Cutlands, in St. Leonards Road, is a 17th-century timber-framed and plastered cottage; its name suggests a connexion with 'scrutlands', held in the 13th century by the canons of Waltham. (fn. 20) Further east, in Middle Street, several old farmhouses and cottages, now surrounded by later buildings, have survived. On the south side is Ninnings, a timber-framed house of late-medieval date consisting of a central hall block with gabled cross wings and later additions. In the late 16th or early 17th century half of the hall roof was raised and a large chimney with clustered shafts inserted. On the north side of Middle Street is Smalldrinks, a 17th- or 18th-century timberframed and weather-boarded house, used for a time before 1959 as a youth hostel. Darmers, further east, is a timber-framed farmhouse, probably built in the 16th century. Near the west end of Hoe Lane stands a group of timber-framed buildings. Parkers farmhouse, the most westerly, dates from the 18th century. Camps farmhouse and Camps are of the 16th and 17th centuries respectively, both much altered externally. Greenleaves appears to be an early-16th-century house, now partly weatherboarded, having gabled and jettied cross wings. The hall between the wings was evidently raised in height, divided into two stories, and given a chimney in the early 17th century. A barn at the rear is probably of the same date.
Near Nazeing Park and at Upper Park Town the surviving old houses have a more rural setting. At the north-east corner of the park a small timberframed cottage appears to be part of a medieval house which was reduced in size, given a central chimney, and reroofed at a later date. In Back Lane, which skirts the park to the west, are two 17th-century houses and also Ravens, a timber-framed and weather-boarded building of the later 18th century. At the north end of the lane Brevitts farmhouse is an 18th-century brick house with the initials 'T.B.' picked out in darker brick on the front wall. The Post Office occupies a moated site on the lane which formerly continued across the park. (fn. 21) It is thought to date from the late 15th or early 16th century and is a timber-framed and weatherboarded house consisting of a central block and two gabled cross wings; both the wings were originally jettied at their west ends. (fn. 22) Lodge farm, called Nazeing Lodge c. 1777, (fn. 23) occupies an isolated position at Nazeingwood Common. Part of a moat survives to the east of the site (fn. 24) and the muchaltered farmhouse is of timber-framed origin.
Gas was supplied to Nazeing from Hoddesdon by 1926. When the Hoddesdon works closed in 1932 the supply was continued from Ponders End (Mdx.). (fn. 25) Electricity was first provided in 1926–7 by the North Metropolitan Supply Company; the supply was extended to Bumble's Green in 1933 and Hoe Lane in 1935. The Eastern Electricity Board now supplies the whole parish, except for a few isolated premises. (fn. 26) Water was being piped to part of Nazeing by the Herts. and Essex Water Company from about 1900; the parish is now supplied by the Lee Valley Water Company, and few houses are without a main supply. (fn. 27) Main drainage was first provided in 1937, and a further scheme of 1953 extended the sewers to other parts of the parish. (fn. 28)
Golf was played on Nazeing Common before 1891, but in that year permission for the golf club to continue to use the common was refused by the trustees. (fn. 29) By 1894, however, there was an 18-hole course there and a club whose membership was limited to a hundred. (fn. 30) By 1906 the limit had been raised to two hundred; the course was then described as one of the best within twenty miles of London. (fn. 31) The club was still in existence in 1937. (fn. 32) In 1933 there was an aeroplane club on Nazeing Road, (fn. 33) but this was closed during the war and the site is now occupied by a gravel-digging company.
Holiday fishing and boating, mainly at Keysers, began to develop, early in the present century. (fn. 34)
John Eliot (1604–90), the 'Indian Apostle' in Massachusetts, lived at Nazeing as a boy. (fn. 35) The parish had some distinguished vicars. (fn. 36)
MANORS.
Harold, son of Godwin, when he converted the church of Waltham Holy Cross into a college of secular canons in 1060, endowed it with an estate, inter alia, in Nazeing. (fn. 37) A confirmatory charter of Edward the Confessor, (fn. 38) in 1062, defined the boundaries: from cerlen hacce along the boundary to scelden mœre and so to ðare burnan, thence past buterw(y)elle and puroldes gemaren back to cerlen hacce. Cerlen hacce may have been Jack's Hatch, (fn. 39) which lies on the north-eastern boundary of Nazeing, and ðare burnan was possibly Parndon Brook. The estate also included seo mœd ðe ðarto gebyrad lið deth ut beligean, which was evidently a detached part and was probably Nazeing Mead by the Lea. It therefore seems likely that the main part of the estate was in the east of the parish, where lie Upper Park Town and the parish church.
In 1086 the canons of Waltham held a manor of 5 hides in Nazeing, which included 13 a. meadow and half a fishery. (fn. 40) This was the nucleus of the manor of NAZEING alias NAZEINGBURY. As at Waltham Holy Cross and Epping the canons' estate was enlarged by subsequent grants of land which had belonged to other Domesday owners.
There were two other estates in Nazeing in 1086. One hide, listed under Harlow hundred, was held by Odo of Ranulf brother of Ilger. (fn. 41) The other estate, held by the same Ranulf in demesne, was said to be in 'Nazeing and Epping'; from the valuation it appears that three quarters of it lay in Nazeing. (fn. 42) This manor comprised 4½ hides less 15 a., which had been held in 1066 by two free men, also one hide 'which was held by a free man and still is', and one virgate which had belonged to the canons of Waltham before the Conquest and had subsequently been seized by Ranulf. This last tenement was no doubt identical with that consisting of 30 a. land and 4 a. meadow entered under Waltham Holy Cross. (fn. 43) Ranulf's manor of Nazeing and Epping contained 54 a. meadow and a mill-site, which suggests that part of it lay by the Lea.
Ranulf brother of Ilger was a prominent royal official with lands in several counties. (fn. 44) He was alive in 1094 and probably in 1097 (fn. 45) but seems to have died soon after. His honor escheated to the Crown and was broken up by fresh grants (fn. 46) the details of which are obscure. Some of his lands in Nazeing probably descended after his death as part of Netherhall in Roydon. That manor was partly in Roydon hamlet (the strip of Roydon parish adjoining Nazeing and lying in Waltham hundred) and partly in Nazeing parish. (fn. 47) It may well be identical with the estate held of Ranulf by Odo, which in 1086 was said to be in Nazeing but in Harlow hundred. Robert Fitz Walter (d. 1326) was overlord of lands in Roydon hamlet in 1281, when one of his tenants, Alexander of Arlesey, sold 25 a. land and 5 a. pasture to Waltham Abbey. (fn. 48) The Fitz Walters are known to have succeeded to other lands, in Roydon and elsewhere, formerly held by Ranulf. (fn. 49)
There is no doubt, however, that most of Ranulf's demesne lands in Nazeing were acquired by Waltham Abbey during the 12th century. Some of them may have come to Waltham through the Clares or their under tenants, as did Stanstead Abbots (Herts.). (fn. 50) Others may have come through the Crown. Richard I, in 1189, granted to the abbey inter alia 'the vill of Nazeing which is a member of Waltham' and also Harold's Park. (fn. 51) Some of these lands were no doubt part of the great manor of Waltham, which in 1086 almost certainly extended into Nazeing and Epping, (fn. 52) but it is not unlikely that Richard's grant included lands formerly held by Ranulf. Meanwhile, in 1177, when Henry II refounded the house of Waltham, he had confirmed the canons' title to two 'scrutlands' in Nazeing. (fn. 53) This was the estate which they had held, as 5 hides, in 1086. Each scrutland—or land allotted to supply the canons with clothing—was equivalent to 2½ hides. (fn. 54)
The manor of Nazeing, thus enlarged, was retained by Waltham Abbey until the Dissolution. In 1410–23 there were violent disputes between the abbey and its tenants. (fn. 55) At the Dissolution the manor was held on lease by Thomas Cromwell. (fn. 56) In 1541 the King granted a 21-year lease of the manor and rectory of Nazeing to Anthony Denny. (fn. 57) About 1545 this was extended for a further 35 years. (fn. 58) On 30 June 1547 the King granted Nazeingbury to Sir Ralph Sadler; on the following day he was licensed to alienate the manor to Anthony Denny, who was to pay an annual rent of £3 3s. 9d. (fn. 59) Nazeingbury subsequently descended with the manor of Waltham Abbey. (fn. 60) In 1848 Sir Charles Wake owned 802 a. of titheable land in Nazeing, including Nazeingbury farm, which comprised 298 a. and was in the tenure of E. Collins. Wake also held 34 tithe-free strips in Nazeing Mead, totalling 50 a. (fn. 61)
There is some evidence that the tenants of this manor held by the custom of Borough English. (fn. 62)
The present house of Nazeingbury incorporates a brick chimney with wide fireplaces, and part of a roof of late 16th- or early-17th-century date. The house was evidently largely rebuilt during the 18th century, when the roof was hipped and the front was made symmetrical and given a central pediment. The remains of a large moated site north-west of the house were obliterated c. 1960.
A manor of LITTLE NAZEINGBURY is occasionally mentioned, but its precise location, origin, and status are unknown. It first occurs in 1651, when the Earl of Carlisle was described as lord of the manors of Nazeing Great Bury and Nazeing Little Bury. (fn. 63) In 1671 two tenants of Nazeingbury are named in the court records; from 1755 onwards these were specified as being Great and Little Nazeingbury respectively. References to Little Nazeingbury in those records cease in 1775. (fn. 64) It was evidently sold, for in 1861 Major (later Lt.-Col.) George Palmer of Nazeing Park was said to be the owner of Little Bury. (fn. 65)
The manor of LANGRIDGE or NETHER LANGRIDGE or LITTLE LANGRIDGE or WATERFORD HALL lay in the south-west corner of the parish and extended into Waltham Holy Cross. During the Middle Ages it was a free tenement held of Waltham Abbey. John Fresshe, who died in 1397, held Langridge in right of his wife Gillian. (fn. 66) She was the daughter and heir of William Langridge, and had inherited from him an interest (extinguished in 1386) in the forestership of Waltham hundred. (fn. 67) Langridge manor, like the neighbouring estate of Pinnacles, in Waltham Holy Cross, may therefore have belonged to the Fitz Auchers, who were foresters from the 12th to the 14th century. (fn. 68) William Langridge belonged to a family which became prominent in this part of Essex in the 14th century. (fn. 69) Gillian, widow of John Fresshe, held Langridge after his death. (fn. 70) In 1488 Richard Waldern died leaving the manor to his three daughters, Margaret, wife of Thomas Brewster, fishmonger, Joan, wife of one Colvyle, and Elizabeth, wife of John Heydock, gentleman. (fn. 71) In 1541 Geoffrey Colvyle, grandson of Joan, conveyed onethird of the manor to Richard Heigham and Mary his wife, (fn. 72) who in 1543 conveyed it to Richard Houghton. (fn. 73) Houghton had already acquired onethird of Langridge from Thomas Heydock, in 1541. (fn. 74) In 1557 he sold his two-thirds of the manor to Rose Trott, widow, of London, and in 1560 she bought the remaining third from George Brewster. (fn. 75) By her will, proved in 1575, Rose left Langridge to her son Martin Trott. (fn. 76) A map of Langridge drawn for Martin Trott between 1575 and 1604 shows that the property then comprised 161 a. bounded on the west by the Lea and extending eastwards for about ¾ mile; on the higher ground at the eastern edge of the estate was a small house later known as Upper Langridge. (fn. 77) Martin, son of Martin Trott, conveyed Langridge in 1666 to Benjamin Maddox. (fn. 78) On Maddox's death in 1718 the manor passed to his granddaughters Dorothy Rudyard and Mary, wife of Edward Fitzgerald. (fn. 79) In 1719 Fitzgerald bought Dorothy's moiety, and in 1723 he and Mary sold the manor to William Martin, John Martin, and John Baty. (fn. 80) By 1733 the manor was in the possession of Thomas Martin, who in that year bought Upper Langridge farm, which had been part of the estate in the time of Martin Trott the elder, but had evidently been detached from it before 1733. (fn. 81) Upper Langridge farmhouse, which lay about ½ mile east of the present Langridge, was demolished between c. 1774 and 1799. (fn. 82)
In c. 1800 the Langridge estate was owned by Joseph Martin, rector of Bourton-on-the-Hill (Glos.). (fn. 83) In 1814 it was sold by him or his devisees to Anthony Watts the younger and Anthony Watts the elder. (fn. 84) In 1848 Langridge, then comprising 167 a., was held by the trustees of the late Joseph Harvey. (fn. 85) The farm was subsequently owned by a family named Smith, by whom it was leased, certainly from 1886 and probably earlier, to tenants named Taylor. (fn. 86) In 1919 George Chapman bought Langridge. He sold it in 1936 to Inns & Co., who since that time have been digging gravel on part of the land, taking about 2 a. each year. (fn. 87) Mr. G. W. (son of George) Chapman farmed the remainder as tenant until 1953 when he was succeeded by his son Mr. Roy Chapman. (fn. 88)
A deed of 1548 states that Langridge farmhouse was then newly built. (fn. 89) The older part of the present house, that on the north side, is timber-framed, and dates from the 17th century or earlier. That on the south side was added in the 19th century. The rectangular moat which surrounded the farm buildings is now dry and blocked up. (fn. 90)
Rose Trott, in her will, proved 1575, left money to mend the highway between Langridge and Waltham Abbey. (fn. 91) The map drawn shortly after for her son indicates that the approach to the farm was then from the east by Coldham Lane. (fn. 92) In c. 1777 there was also a lane running north from Holyfield farm. (fn. 93) During the 19th century Payne's Lane was made, running south from Marshgate to Langridge by Paynes; this is now the main approach, and the lane to Holyfield is no longer used.
The NAZEING PARK estate was built up between 1780 and 1820 by William Palmer, merchant of London and younger son of a Leicestershire family. (fn. 94) The rental of his property in Nazeing, assessed to the land tax, increased from £18 in 1780 to £440 in 1817. (fn. 95) About 1800 he built a large house, called at first Nazeing House and later Nazeing Park. He died in 1821; (fn. 96) his son George (1772–1853), shipowner and M.P. for South Essex, succeeded him and made further additions to the estate. (fn. 97) In 1848 George Palmer owned some 600 a. in the parish, including Belchers, Mansion House, and Nazeing Lodge farms. (fn. 98) The estate remained in the Palmer family until shortly before 1937, when it was bought by Sir Walter Hargreaves. (fn. 99) After the Second World War the house and grounds were purchased by the Essex County Council, which has used them since 1952 as the Nazeing Park Special School. (fn. 100)
A house was standing at Nazeing Park by 1796, when plans for its alteration were drawn up by James Lewis. (fn. 101) These consisted of the addition of two single-story wings and a balustraded front portico. Either the plans were modified or the house was altered again soon afterwards, as a print of 1817 shows two-story wings of a different design. In 1814 it was said to have been 'lately rebuilt'. (fn. 102) The present building is stuccoed, of two stories, with a third story added above the balustraded and recessed Ionic portico. (fn. 103) The stable block, also of the early 19th century, is a two-story yellow brick building with a wooden bell turret and central pediment with clock face.
Late in the 18th century James Bury erected and resided at ST. LEONARDS house at Leonards Green. (fn. 104) He died in 1825. (fn. 105) In 1848 James F. Bury owned St. Leonards and Leonards farm, while Elizabeth Bury owned St. Lawrence farm and other small properties; the total holdings of the family in Nazeing were about 300 a. (fn. 106) Part of their estate can be traced from 1543–4, when John Jackson devised to his wife Joan tenements called Lawrence and Leonards. (fn. 107) J. F. Bury was succeeded by Charles J. Bury (d. 1897) and he by his son Ralph (d. 1954) (fn. 108). Mrs. Crawshay, daughter of Ralph Bury, now (1961) lives at St. Leonards.
The present St. Leonards house is a large mid-19th-century building on the west of St. Leonards road, about a mile south of Nazeingbury.
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
For most of its history Nazeing has been a rural parish with agriculture as the main occupation. The river Lea on the west and the forest on the south provided additional employment. During the past forty years there has been considerable development of market gardening and light industry near the river.
In the Middle Ages the chief landowner was Waltham Abbey, which gradually enlarged its estate in the parish. After the Dissolution the capital manor passed to the Denny family and later to the Wakes, whose main estate was in Northamptonshire. The Wakes remained the only large landowners until the late 18th century, when the Palmer and Bury families, who lived in Nazeing, built up estates there.
In 1062 the land of the canons of Waltham, which appears to have lain chiefly in the north-east of the parish, included a detached portion of meadow, probably Nazeing Mead by the Lea. (fn. 109)
In 1086 the total area of the manors in Nazeing, so named, was about 11 hides. (fn. 110) The arable land was being worked by some 5½ plough teams. There was woodland for some 140 swine. There was little meadow except on Ranulf's manor, which included (in Nazeing and Epping) 66 a., and also pasture worth 32d. Some of this grassland probably lay by the river in Nazeing. Livestock on the manors included 6 'beasts', 28 swine, 15 sheep and a rouncy. (fn. 111) The manors had few tenants. On that belonging to Waltham there were 5 villeins and 2 bordars. On Odo's manor were 1 villein and 4 bordars. Even Ranulf's manor, a quarter of which was in Epping, had only 7 villeins and 9 bordars.
A rental of c. 1235, made by Waltham Abbey, contains two lists of 63 and 21 tenants respectively in Nazeing, but without details of their lands. (fn. 112) Some of the tenants of this manor held by custom of Borough English. (fn. 113)
Nazeing lay within the royal forest of Essex. In the Middle Ages it was in the forest bailiwick of Waltham; from the 16th century it was in Epping 'walk'. (fn. 114) From the 12th to the 14th century the Fitz Aucher family, who were foresters of Waltham bailiwick, probably owned the manor of Langridge. (fn. 115) A charcoal burner ('coliere') of Nazeing is mentioned in 1415. (fn. 116)
In 1229 the Abbot of Waltham was licensed to enclose 'the wood of Nazeing and Epping' (that part of the forest lying within Nazeing), with a ditch and low hedge, so that deer could come and go but cattle grazing there would be kept in. (fn. 117) The wood was completely inclosed in 1285. It was then stated that the men of Roydon had to some extent intercommoned with those of Nazeing, but the lord of Roydon, Robert Fitz Walter, quitclaimed this right, and in 1286 the abbot was permitted to erect a high fence with two gates, one towards Roydon called Lord's Hatch, and one towards Epping called Abbot's Hatch. (fn. 118) The former was possibly Harknett's Gate at the north-east corner of the common. By this inclosure a stretch of forest pasture nearly 600 a. in extent was secured for the exclusive use of the parish. Nazeing parish as a whole, however, remained within the forest of Essex, and the inhabitants had grazing rights throughout the forest wastes, their cattle being branded with the forest mark of a 'B' surmounted by a crown. (fn. 119)
The inclosure of arable land seems to have taken place slowly in Nazeing, and some open arable land survived into the 19th century. A court roll of 1456 mentions small parcels of land in Northfield, Highfield, and Upper Town ('Obertown') which were presumably open fields. (fn. 120) Pressfield, a large open field in the north of the parish, named in 1400, (fn. 121) had been divided and inclosed by 1767. (fn. 122) At least part of Stoneshot field, also in the north of the parish, remained open until 1861. This field is said to have been originally 130 a. in extent, (fn. 123) but by 1861 only 55 a. remained. (fn. 124)
Nazeing was rich in pasture. The villagers enjoyed rights of common not only in the forest but also in the Mead, in the Marsh, and in open arable fields after harvest. Stoneshot Common was stocked with cattle from harvest to seed-sowing (6 Nov.-13 Feb.) in harvest years, and in fallow years all the year round. Nazeing Mead, which contained more than 260 a., was held in severalty from old Candlemas (14 Feb.) to old Lammas (13 Aug.) and the part-owners mowed their strips of land. The same commoners who stocked Stoneshot also stocked the Mead with cows from old Lammas to old All Saints (12 Nov.) and with sheep from then until 14 February. The right to pasture in Nazeing Marsh from old May Day (13 May) to old Midsummer Day (6 July) was restricted to the owners of certain tenements, often people who stocked the other commons also. (fn. 125) A court roll of 1456 describes many holdings which had the right of pasture for 2 or 3 beasts in the Marsh. (fn. 126) In 1270 an order was made forbidding the sale of pasture to Hertfordshire men. (fn. 127) In c. 1814 there were said to be 653 of these 'cowleazes'. (fn. 128) A later writer gave the number as 669. (fn. 129) In 1861 there were 666, of which 54 were owned by Sir Charles Wake and 140 by George Palmer of Nazeing Park. In that year all the remaining common land in the parish, except Nazeingwood Common, was inclosed. (fn. 130) A total of 450 a. of common arable, meadow and waste was affected. (fn. 131)
After the disafforestation of Nazeingwood Common in 1285 the men of Nazeing had the exclusive right to pasture there. In the 17th century there was a dispute between the lord of the manor and his tenants about their respective rights in the common. This was settled in 1651 when James Hay, Earl of Carlisle, reserved to himself 100 a. of the pasture, and conveyed the remaining 420 a. to trustees for the use of the tenants of all the ancient houses in Nazeing, then numbering 101. (fn. 132) This arrangement was confirmed by an Act of the Protectorate in 1657. (fn. 133) A further regulation took place in 1778, when the common was falling into decay. (fn. 134) William Palmer of Nazeing Park promoted an Act of Parliament (fn. 135) to regulate the management and stocking of the common, and lent the villagers money to buy stock so that they could exercise their rights. Arthur Young, writing in 1807, ascribed the honesty and industry of the villagers to this provision, and quoted the opinion of John Johnson, rector of Great Parndon, that 'the villagers of Nazeing were a sad lawless set until Mr. Palmer took them in hand, but that now there were not a better set in the country'. (fn. 136)
In 1876 there were 51 houses in the parish with rights of common, and the owners pastured between them 948 sheep and 183 cattle. (fn. 137) The trustees after 1778 seem to have been active in preserving the common. In 1778 the rights of common were defined and in 1779 and 1784 the commoners were forbidden to sell or let such rights to others. The pinder's instructions of 1796 contain detailed regulations for the marking of cattle; the pinder also maintained the fences and excluded pigs and geese from the common. Occasional orders to remove timber or other material owned by private persons are recorded in the minute books, and in 1904 the trustees prosecuted the owner of Harold Park farm for carting hay across the common. (fn. 138) The golf course on the common is mentioned elsewhere. (fn. 139) The common continued to be used for grazing and golf until 1940, when it was ploughed up for food production. The Nazeing Wood Act (1947) provided that the freeholders of 101 qualifying properties should continue to be entitled to pasture animals on the common, but that land there not required for grazing might be let for farming, or for recreational use, at the discretion of the trustees. (fn. 140)
Arable farming was for long the most important occupation in Nazeing. In 1807 there were 15 farms rated at over £50 a year, 21 rated between £20 and £50, and 23 at less than £20. (fn. 141) In 1848 there were four farms of over 100 a.: Nazeingbury (298 a.), St. Leonards (170 a.), Nazeing Lodge (165 a.), and Langridge (167 a.), 14 farms of between 20 a. and 70 a., and a few smaller holdings. (fn. 142) After the First World War many local farmers changed from arable to dairy farming. At the same time market gardening, already extensive in Waltham Holy Cross and Cheshunt (Herts.), spread rapidly in Nazeing. In 1922 one nurseryman and one tomato-grower were listed in the directory. In 1933 16 were listed and in 1937 23. (fn. 143) There are now (1961) glasshouses at Keysers, on the Marsh and the Mead north and south of Nazeing Road, at Langridge and along Hoe Lane in the east of the parish.
In 1066 there was a mill on the Lea, belonging to Ranulf's manor, but it was not working in 1086. (fn. 144) In 1378 the Abbot of Waltham, as owner of a mill, made an agreement about its water supply with the Hospitallers, who owned the neighbouring manor of Broxbourne. (fn. 145) In 1404 the miller at Nazeing was fined for not doing his work. (fn. 146)
In 1086 the canons of Waltham had half a fishery at Nazeing; (fn. 147) the rights were probably shared with the owners of the Hertfordshire bank of the Lea. In 1271 William Aylid leased the Nazeing fishery from the abbey for 28s. a year. (fn. 148) In 1378, when a new lock was built at Broxbourne, the abbey gained the right to fish in the old lock. (fn. 149) From 1544 these fishery rights appear to have been combined with those of Broxbourne. The manor and mills of Broxbourne and the lock of Broxbourne and Nazeing were in that year granted to John Cook. (fn. 150) The fishery subsequently descended with the mills and lock. (fn. 151) There were other fisheries in Nazeing: in 1228 John Young agreed to share the fishery of his free tenement in Nazeing with the Hospitallers, who owned the opposite bank. (fn. 152) The owners of Langridge had fishing rights in the river adjoining Langridge Mead and their demesne lands. (fn. 153) The villagers with rights of common in Nazeing Marsh also had the right to fish there. In 1464 James Notingham, possibly a stranger, was fined for fishing in the common water of Nazeing Marsh. (fn. 154) The fishery on the Lea at Keysers has been owned since 1906 or earlier, (fn. 155) by the Crown Hotel.
The new lock of 1378 was built on the river by the Hospitallers, as lords of Broxbourne, to supply water to the Broxbourne mills. Its possession continued with that of the manor after the Dissolution. (fn. 156) A piece of land by the river is marked as 'lock piece' on a map of 1767, in approximately the same position as the present Carthagena Lock. (fn. 157) The construction, in 1767–70, of the Lea Navigation, part of which was in Nazeing, is described elsewhere. (fn. 158)
Since the First World War there has been some industrial development in the west of the parish. The Broxbourne Sand and Ballast Pits, Old Nazeing Road, were in existence by 1933 (fn. 159) and by 1937 there was a factory making wall-paper and another making glass. (fn. 160) A furniture factory was established after the Second World War in premises on Broxbourne Road formerly occupied by the Herts. and Essex Aeroplane Club. (fn. 161)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
Medieval court rolls of the manor of Nazeingbury survive for 1270–1 and for occasional years in the 15th century. (fn. 162) View of frankpledge was held annually on the Wednesday in Whitsun week, and petty offences, mostly concerned with land, or the assize of bread and ale, were dealt with. In 1404 many unscoured ditches and obstructions in roads were presented. (fn. 163) In 1464 three men were presented for gathering nuts on Nazeingwood Common and selling them, and another for unlawfully fishing in the common water of Nazeing Marsh. (fn. 164)
The modern series of court rolls and books starts with a draft roll of 1637, (fn. 165) a single roll of 1650, (fn. 166) and a court book of 1655–60, (fn. 167) and then runs from 1669 to 1913, with a gap between 1735 and 1760. (fn. 168) Courts leet and baron were held annually, usually on the Wednesday in Whitsun week; courts baron alone were held twice or three times a year. The homage at the court leet numbered about three or four. In 1683, 1688, 1693, 1696, 1719, and 1724–35 no details except the homage are given for the court leet.
At every leet two constables were appointed. Between 1669 and 1686 a pinder was appointed; in 1672 and 1675 there were two, one for Nazeingwood Common and one for the Mead. From 1720 on there were always two, both for Nazeingwood Common. Appointments are not recorded after 1820. Great attention was paid to common rights; the regulations governing the commons were repeated at almost every leet. In 1669 a man was presented for erecting a fence on Nazeingwood Common, and in 1691, 1692, 1695, and 1766 various people were presented for lopping the trees there. There were frequent presentations of unscoured ditches in the 17th century. In 1695, 1721, and 1765 the right of common fishing in Nazeing Marsh and Mead was re-affirmed, and in 1765 another man was presented for illicit fishing there.
No volumes of vestry minutes have survived, but occasional minutes from 1683 onwards were entered in the overseers' accounts, from which the information in this paragraph is taken. The vicar usually took an active part in the vestry. The first minute, of 1683, is signed by Laurence Pocock (vicar 1682–7). The minutes were also signed by the vicar from 1699 on, and from 1701 to 1709 John Apperly not only wrote the accounts himself, but included more than usually detailed statistics of outdoor poor relief. George Manley (1721–52) signed intermittently, as also did Thomas Salt (1761–1805). From 1818 onwards the minutes were always signed by the vicar. Attendance at vestries, as indicated by the number of signatures appended to the minutes, was small in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, usually none but the parish officers signing. In 1784 16 signed but in 1816 only 10. From 1815 there was a parish clerk with a salary of £5.
Separate rates were levied by the churchwardens, surveyors, and overseers. (fn. 169) A single constable's rate survives for 1687; from 1782 on the constables' bill was paid out of the overseers' accounts. (fn. 170) In 1757 an unspecified amount was paid by the surveyors to the churchwardens for poor relief, and in 1811 the two surveyors, with the consent of the vestry, paid one of the churchwardens the surplus of their account, in part repayment of £26. (fn. 171)
Two overseers and two churchwardens were always appointed annually. Churchwardens often served for two or three years in succession; the overseers usually held office for one year only. A woman overseer was appointed in 1739 and again in 1802. In 1803 a perpetual overseer was appointed at a salary of £10. (fn. 172) The surveyors were usually men of substance. James Bury of St. Leonards held this office in 1808–9 and William Palmer of Nazeing Park in 1811. (fn. 173)
The parish poorhouse, often described as the almshouse, is first mentioned in 1687; in 1698 it was said to be on the Church Green. (fn. 174) It remained in use until 1796, when the vestry decided to sell it and to buy from William Palmer the house formerly used by the School of Industry. (fn. 175) The date of this transaction and Palmer's interest in it suggest that it was part of his plan for developing Nazeing Park, which involved the closing of the more easterly of the two lanes which ran north to Church Green. (fn. 176) The old poorhouse may have stood in the area which soon after 1796 became the park. It was sold in 1796–7, probably to Palmer. The new poorhouse, formerly the school, was bought from him and in 1798 was vested in trustees for the parish. (fn. 177) It stood on the east side of Betts Lane, near Nazeing Park. In 1840, after the formation of the Epping Poor Law Union, it was sold to George Palmer. (fn. 178)
In 1740 a general vestry resolved that in view of the high cost of poor relief a workhouse should be built. It seems, however, that this was not done; the house and field of William Ricketts were bought, and a quit rent paid in 1742, but nothing more is recorded of the matter. (fn. 179)
Stocks were being maintained by the parish as late as 1791, when they were repaired. (fn. 180)
The poor rate rose gradually during the first half of the 18th century, the biggest increases coinciding with periods of war. It rose from £64 to £119 between 1705 and 1711, and fell to £90 in 1712. In 1741 and 1747 the rate reached peaks of £189 and £188 respectively. Between 1768 and 1773 it rose from £131 to £272 and thereafter more steeply to £794 in 1800. After many fluctuations it reached a new peak of £952 in 1819. After this it remained fairly constant at about £900. (fn. 181) The rise in the rate during the Napoleonic wars, though marked, was much smaller than that in some other parishes, with similar population, in this part of Essex. (fn. 182) This was probably due, at least in part, to the special schemes of relief devised by William Palmer (see below).
Outdoor relief was continuous. In 1711–20, for which period detailed accounts exist, some 15–20 persons were on constant relief, the number rising slightly throughout the period. In 1693 the vestry ordered that pauper children should be bound apprentice as in the past. In 1788 it was directed that children over 12 years old should be apprenticed to parishioners chosen by lot who were to accept them or pay fines. In 1804 this system was said to have worked well, and it was resolved to retain it.
During the Napoleonic wars special schemes of poor relief were devised. William Palmer gave loans to the poor for the purchase of livestock. (fn. 183) In 1800 the 'parish ground' was placed at the disposal of the poor for potato growing. This scheme, which was at first directed by William Palmer and the curate, Robert Auber, was still operating in 1825. In 1815 arrangements were made to sell coal to the poor at reduced prices; the main purpose of this appears to have been to prevent wood-stealing. (fn. 184)
In 1836 Nazeing became part of Epping Poor Law Union.
CHURCH.
The church of Nazeing was among the possessions of the canons of Waltham confirmed by Henry II in 1177. (fn. 185) In 1189 Richard I gave the canons permission to appropriate the church at Nazeing and that of Arlesey (Beds.) to provide them with clothing. (fn. 186) The appropriation of Nazeing was carried out in the same year; (fn. 187) a vicarage had been ordained by 1254. (fn. 188) Waltham Abbey continued to hold the rectory and the advowson of the vicarage until the Dissolution. The rectory then passed along with the manor of Nazeing to Anthony Denny and his successors, who became impropriators, but the advowson of the vicarage passed to the Crown, on behalf of which it is now (1961) exercised by the Lord Chancellor. (fn. 189) In 1541 William Cavendish and John Cock presented for that turn. (fn. 190) In 1650 it was reported that the vicarage was sequestered and in the hands of 'divers of the parishioners'. (fn. 191) In 1658 and again in 1688 a presentation was made by the lord of the manor. (fn. 192)
In 1254 the rectory of Nazeing was valued at 20 marks. (fn. 193) In 1848 the great tithes, then belonging to Sir Charles Wake, Bt., were commuted for £251. (fn. 194) The vicarage was valued at 3 marks in 1254, (fn. 195) £1 10s. in 1291 (fn. 196) and £14 5s. 5d. in 1535. (fn. 197) In 1650 the value was £50, of which £30 represented the vicarage house and glebe and £20 vicarial tithes and 'customary profits'. (fn. 198) About 1735 the revenue of the vicarage was stated to be £43 10s. (fn. 199) In 1761 it was estimated at £70. (fn. 200) Morant (1768) states that the vicarage had recently been augmented by the Revd. Stephen Hales, Mrs. Palmer, and Queen Anne's Bounty. (fn. 201) According to a later statement the augmentation had taken place in 1730, when Queen Anne's Bounty gave £200 and other persons the same amount. (fn. 202) In 1829–31 the net income of the vicarage was £255. (fn. 203) In 1848 the small tithes, belonging to the vicar, were commuted for £235. (fn. 204)
In 1610 the glebe comprised 29 a., and the vicar also owned 7 cow-pastures in Nazeing Mead. (fn. 205) In 1848 there were 21 a. of glebe, (fn. 206) and in 1947 36 a. (fn. 207) In 1442 it was stated that the vicar had allowed the vicarage buildings to fall to the ground. (fn. 208) The vicarage house and its garden, barn and stable, were mentioned in 1610. (fn. 209) In 1783 the vicar mortgaged the revenues of the vicarage for £198, to repair the house. (fn. 210) In 1834–6 the house was greatly enlarged with the aid of a further mortgage of £515. (fn. 211) In 1956 the present vicarage was built immediately east of the church. The old one, which stands about 200 yds. further south, has been divided into two dwellings, the more northerly now called Glebe House, the southerly called the Old Vicarage. The latter is largely in the 'Tudor' style of c. 1840. In Glebe House oak timbers were until recently visible in the scullery, kitchen, and rooms above; (fn. 212) this suggests that the house incorporates a timber-framed building, which was the pre-19th-century vicarage. According to local tradition the Upper Park Town post office was once the vicarage; if so this was before 1777, when the old vicarage was in its present position. (fn. 213)
Nicholas Lock, instituted vicar in 1541, appears to have been deprived soon after the accession of Queen Mary. (fn. 214) John Hopkins, instituted in 1571, was deprived, probably for nonconformity, before February 1590. (fn. 215) In 1608 Richard Sherman, then vicar, was charged before the archdeacon's court with being a 'great gamester' and for his 'disordered preaching and railing most absurdly, to the great grief and offence of his congregation'. (fn. 216) Robert Lewis, instituted in 1640, was ejected early in the Civil War. Jeremy Dyke was acting as minister about this time. (fn. 217) John Harper, appointed vicar about 1645, was a Presbyterian who belonged to the Harlow and Waltham Classis. He moved to Epping in 1648. (fn. 218) In 1650 the sequestrators were employing Henry Albye as temporary minister, at a stipend of 10s. a Sunday. (fn. 219) Joseph Brown, appointed vicar in 1658, was ejected in 1662 and became a nonconformist minister. (fn. 220) George Manley, vicar from 1721 to 1752, was in 1727 absent on service as a naval chaplain. (fn. 221) Thomas Salt, vicar 1761–1805, was nonresident for much of his incumbency. (fn. 222) Charles Arnold, vicar 1813–18, resigned his living to become a Baptist. (fn. 223) George Pellew (1793–1866), vicar 1819– 21, was a theologian and biographer who became Dean of Norwich. (fn. 224) Charles Dyson (1788–1860), vicar 1828–36, had been Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford 1812–16. (fn. 225)
Assistant curates are occasionally recorded in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. (fn. 226) Some, if not all of them, were probably deputizing for nonresident vicars. In 1769–70 William Pye was curate of both Nazeing and Harlow. (fn. 227) Arthur Hubbard was curate of Nazeing in 1834 at a salary of £120. (fn. 228)
In 1721 there were two services each Sunday during the summer and one in winter. (fn. 229) In 1735 there was only one throughout the year, as 'they will not come in the afternoon'; no catechism appears to have been taught (nulli instructi) at that time. (fn. 230) In 1790 there was one Sunday service, held 'alternately with Latton'. (fn. 231) In 1862 the average number of communicants was 40. (fn. 232) Morning and afternoon services were being held every Sunday in 1884, with an additional evening service in summer; communion was then held twice a month and on feast days. (fn. 233)
The parish church of ALL SAINTS (fn. 234) stands at the end of a lane about ¼ mile north of Upper Park Town. It consists of nave, chancel, north aisle, and north vestry, all of flint rubble, patched with brick, and partly plastered externally, west tower of red brick with blue diapering, and timber south porch. (fn. 235)
The nave was built in the 12th century; stones with chevron ornament are reset in the arches of the later arcade, and the westernmost window on the south side has splays and a semi-circular rear-arch also of the 12th century. The south doorway is of the 13th century and the easternmost window on the same side is of the early 14th. In the 15th century the north aisle was added, the chancel was rebuilt and the nave reroofed. Nave, chancel, and aisle all retain their original 15th-century timber roofs. The piscina on the south side of the chancel probably dates from the same period. The nave arcade consists of four bays. To the east of it is the 15th-century door, of nail-studded battens, leading to the rood-loft stairway. The sawn-off ends of the roodbeam are visible in the walls. Early in the 16th century the tower and south porch were added.
The tower is of three stages, with an embattled parapet and stair-turret on the south-east side; on the turret is an 18th-century sundial, inscribed with its latitude, 51 degrees 32 minutes. The spire which formerly surmounted the tower was removed in 1899. (fn. 236) The porch has foiled and traceried bargeboards to the gable. Its floor consists of tiles set on edge, in the middle of which are two stone coffin-lids of uncertain date.
In 1874 the church was restored. (fn. 237) The restoration was continued in 1891, when the organ chamber and vestry were built and the roofs repaired. (fn. 238) The chancel arch also dates from this period. About 1929 new flooring (fn. 239) and new pew-ends were installed. A further restoration took place in 1934, when the windows were re-glazed, and some of the stonework re-moulded. In 1937 new oak pews, pulpit, screen, choir stalls, lectern and bishop's chair were given to the church, and a new heating system was installed. (fn. 240) The roofs were repaired in 1955. (fn. 241)
There are 6 bells. Five of these, made by Pack and Chapman, Whitechapel, date from 1779; the sixth was added in 1952, in memory of Archdale Palmer. (fn. 242) The charity for the maintenance of the bells is described below.
The church plate consists of a silver paten of 1817; an electroplated cup, paten and flagon of c. 1840; an almsdish of silver on copper, of c. 1817, and another of electroplate; and a silver chalice and paten given by Lady Hargreaves in 1926. (fn. 243)
The font has a 15th-century octagonal bowl and a 17th-century cover. The circular stem is probably older than the bowl. A large iron-bound chest, which possibly dates from the 14th century, stands in the nave. (fn. 244)
Two early 16th-century bench-ends, each carved with two grotesque faces, were incorporated in the old screen, demolished in 1937. They still survive, attached to panels from the screen. A 15th-century bench with carved ends and moulded rail stands west of the font. (fn. 245)
Most of the monuments are of the 19th century, commemorating the Palmer and Bury families. A white marble tablet on the north wall of the nave, to James Bury (1823), surmounted by a female figure with an urn, is by T. Harling. There is a marble tablet to William Palmer (1821) grandson of Archdale Palmer of Wanlip (Leics.), and his wife Mary Horsley.
In 1925 there was a field of 1 a. at Nazeing, the rents of which went towards church expenses. It was let by the churchwardens for 32s. yearly under an agreement of 1909, but the origin of the charity was unknown. It is possible that this was the 'parish ground' on which potatoes were grown for the poor in the early 19th century. (fn. 246) In 1926 the land was sold and £267 invested in stock, of which half was sold in 1929 and spent on re-flooring the church. (fn. 247)
By will proved 1902 Alfred Manser left £300 in trust, £2 of the annual income to be used for the upkeep of the church bells, and the remainder for the remuneration of the ringers. (fn. 248)
By will proved 1950 J. R. Sutherland, vicar, left £500 in trust, the income to be applied to the upkeep of the church, or for other charitable purposes in the parish, at the discretion of the trustees. (fn. 249)
References to the church house occur in the churchwardens' accounts from 1672. (fn. 250) This was probably the building immediately south of the churchyard which in 1848 was owned by the churchwardens and overseers and occupied by James Smith. (fn. 251) A mid-19th-century cottage on the same site is now (1961) occupied by the verger.
PROTESTANT NONCONFORMITY.
Joseph Brown, appointed vicar of Nazeing in 1658, and ejected for nonconformity in 1662, continued to teach there until the Five Mile Act (1665). He then removed, apparently to Loughton, where in 1672 he was licensed as a Presbyterian minister. (fn. 252) He is said to have returned, but later to have fled from persecution by 'Justice Wroth of that neighbourhood'. (fn. 253) It is possible that the persecution took place at Loughton rather than at Nazeing, since Brown's adversary was John Wroth (III), lord of the manor of Loughton from 1662 to 1708. (fn. 254) Brown later went to London, but returned to Nazeing in 1690, and was buried there in 1700. (fn. 255)
Thomas Chalkley, minister of Harlow Baptist church 1712–50, lived at Nazeing and held services every Sunday in his own house there. (fn. 256) In c. 1715 the Baptist church of 'Nazeing, Harlow and Looton' was said to have 500 hearers. (fn. 257) After 1750 services at Nazeing appear to have ceased. (fn. 258) In 1766 there were said to be several Baptists in the parish, but they were 'on the decline'. (fn. 259) There is no later evidence of Baptist worship in Nazeing, but local Baptist influence displayed itself dramatically in 1818, when Charles Arnold, vicar of Nazeing, resigned his living and was baptized at Potter Street Baptist church, Harlow. (fn. 260)
The Congregational church at Nazeing is said to have been founded in 1795. (fn. 261) In 1797 the house of James Ford was licensed for Independent worship; Isaac Nicholson was the minister. (fn. 262) This was no doubt a result of the missionary activity of the Countess of Huntingdon's college, which had moved to Cheshunt (Herts.) in 1792. A chapel was built in Middle Street in 1816, and vested in the trustees of the college. (fn. 263) The present church, a small yellow-brick building, was erected in 1876. (fn. 264) It has remained closely connected with Cheshunt College. (fn. 265)
SCHOOLS.
Joseph Brown, ejected in 1662 from the vicarage of Nazeing, taught in the parish until c. 1665. (fn. 266)
About 1795 the Palmers of Nazeing Park established a school of industry in connexion with the Society for the Promotion of Industry in the Hundreds of Ongar and Harlow and the Half Hundred of Waltham. In 1797 seven children from Nazeing won prizes, awarded by the society, for flax-spinning and needlework. The parish contributed a small annual sum from the poor rate towards the expenses of the school. (fn. 267) The school was at first held in a building on the east side of Betts Lane, near Nazeing Park. In 1796–7 William Palmer sold that building to the parish for use as a poorhouse. (fn. 268) He provided another for the school, and in 1803 this was being attended by 37 children. (fn. 269) By 1828 it was in union with the National Society and had 50 pupils. (fn. 270) In 1839 the school, which was inside Nazeing Park, had places for 80 children and an attendance of 61. The Palmers exercised general supervision, while the vicar had right of access. At that date there were also three private schools in the parish, with 50 or 60 pupils, a private evening school, and Sunday schools provided by churchmen and nonconformists; the vicar stated that only the aged lacked schooling. (fn. 271)
In 1855 a church school, with places for 84 pupils, was built on a site near the church provided by the lord of the manor, with the aid of £400 left for the purpose by George Palmer (d. 1853). In 1870 the accommodation in this building was said to be inadequate. (fn. 272) In 1875 a school board was established for the parish, with nonconformist support. A new board school was opened in 1877 at Bumble's Green, and the church school was then closed. In 1890 the vicar re-opened the church school to provice places for the children from Broadley Common. With the aid of voluntary subscriptions the school was enlarged and a government annual grant was secured in spite of opposition from the school board. (fn. 273) In 1904 there were 97 children. (fn. 274) After that time attendance fell steadily, from 77 in 1906 to 22 in 1938. (fn. 275) In 1947 the school was closed. (fn. 276) The building, which is of yellow brick, stands at the junction of Betts Lane and Hoe Lane 300 yds. south of the church.
The board school, built in 1877, had places for 130. (fn. 277) The attendance remained at about 70 until the end of the century, when it rose, to 87 in 1902. (fn. 278) It continued to rise gradually, to 92 in 1914 and 105 in 1929. (fn. 279) In 1934 the school was re-organized for mixed juniors and infants, and in 1938 the average attendance was 73. (fn. 280) Numbers increased greatly after the Second World War, and in 1958 a new county primary school was opened in Hyde Mead, Nazeingbury. (fn. 281) The former school, a red-brick building on the north side of the road junction at Bumble's Green, is now (1962) used by the Harlow Barn Mead Special School. (fn. 282)
In 1952 the county council opened a residential special school at Nazeing Park. (fn. 283)
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.
The only charities are those connected with the church. (fn. 284)