This new volume, the fourth devoted to Essex, which is
the result of the extremely valuable and interesting labours of the Historical Monuments Commission, deals with that part of Essex which is bounded on the south by the Thames as far west as Hornchurch Marshes, thence north-east by a iine running roughly through Romford, Brentwood, Ingate- stone and Chelmsford, whence the boundary runs due east to the estuary of the Blackwater. The volume is copiously illustrated by plans, maps, and a large number of first-rate photographs. The order adopted in the letterpress is as follows :—(1) Pre-historic monuments and earthworks ; (2) Roman monuments and earthworks ; (3) English ecclesiastical monuments ; (4) English secular monuments ; (5) Unclassified monuments. Section (4) includes, of course, castles, houses (from great mansions to the smallest cottage) and a great variety of beautiful exterior and interior details. The present volume, which completes the survey of Essex, contains also
" a short review of the monuments of the county as a whole, together with an estimate of their relative position and value viewed from the wider standpoint of English archaeology. With this is combined a slight sketch of certain influences immediately affecting the county during the Roman and Saxon and Danish periods and a statement of the main lines upon which the Com- missions system of dating mediaeval monuments is based. Further, at the end of the Inventory is given a list of those families whose arms, if anterior to 1550, are blazoned in this and.in the preceding Essex volumes, while two pages of illustrations are devoted to some examples of mouldings grouped by centuries which were measured in the course of our enquiries, and another page gives examples of mason's marks drawn from Essex Churches."
Unhappily, the financial difficulties of the present time still prevent the restoration of the staff to its pre-War strength. Here is an opportunity for a private benefactor anxious to save the ancient monuments of one of the most interesting of the English counties, for the Commission has been instru- mental in preserving interesting monuments which might otherwise have been destroyed. The present volume, like the others, is not only of immense historical importance, but is also fascinating to the general reader who is interested in English architecture and the history of the countryside.
Previous page
