Freeman Bunting

“ As the eye wanders over the beautiful lines and the massive, age-stained walls of the ancient church, the mind is impressed with its grandeur and its significance as a vast page of England’s story.
The Abbey church and town of Waltham Holy Cross alike owe their actual foundation to Tovi the Proud, standard-bearer and chief counsellor to Cnut, who, delighted by the fine opportunities for hunting which were afforded by the number of deer running in the great forest of Waltham, established a settlement here, and founded a convent. ”

“ Nor is it at all unlikely that a herd of the forest deer will be seen, for these graceful creatures generally resort to this part. Upon the walk one’s mind almost naturally reverts to the days when this 5,000 odd acres of woodland, now the “people’s playground,” was a mere morsel of the great forest of Waltham, an almost boundless tract of wild forest land, which formed the favourite hunting ground for the Saxon, Norman, Plantagenet, and Tudor kings. ”

“ As I have attempted to embellish the dry bones of history and to present the undoubted beauties and charms of the corner of England that lies upon the Herts and Essex border in a manner likely to interest the former, my effort will possibly appear to the latter to have several shortcomings.
That part of the book dealing with Cheshunt has presented some difficulty. One day, perhaps, some industrious historian will prepare a really good history of the ancient parish of Cheshunt, and utilise to the best purpose the wealth of material that lies hidden away in the parish chests. ”

“ Bluff King Hal was very partial to Waltham and enjoyed the hunting in the forest. He frequently stayed at his house in the Romeland, still standing at the north-east corner. There are many stories, often with the “merry monarch” for a hero, connected with his patronage of Waltham. One day he left his hunting companions and returned to Waltham in the guise of one of his attendants, and, being invited to the abbot’s table, ate heartily of the sirloin of beef placed before him, to the great admiration of his host. ”

“ With the Abbey, the Cross, and the Four Swans Inn we leave behind us, it may be said, associations with and monuments of mediæval times, and enter upon the later, but no less stirring epoch of English history which is marked by the Tudor, Jacobean, and Commonwealth periods, by a visit to the historic seat of Theobalds, or Tibbles, as it is locally called. The entrance to the park is from the high road, close to Theobalds Grove Station on the Great Eastern Railway branch line to Cheshunt. ”

“ Hither came, for one purpose and another, many of the royal heads of England, from Harold, the founder, to Charles II.; dignitaries of the Church, and potent ornaments of the State; while within the shadow of the minster’s massy walls lived and laboured men who have moulded and influenced the thoughts and lives of the people. Henry I. and Matilda of Scotland were visitors to the Abbey, the latter being a considerable benefactress; Henry II. established the monastery here and richly endowed it, he “loved Waltham entirely, and lay many times thereat.” King John came often to Waltham ”

“ Old Cheshunt village is a little less than a mile north of Theobalds by the road that turns up the hill, opposite Temple Bar, to Bury Green, thence leaving the cemetery on the left. A pleasant old-fashioned inn, where the magisterial business was dispensed for many years, and a small cluster of houses form the old village to-day, with Cheshunt College, a foundation by Selina Countess of Huntingdon, for the training of Nonconformist ministers, hard by, and the fine old parish church reposing in its ample “God’s Acre,” opposite. ”

“ Scores of acres of glasshouses exist here. In early times, however, the famous nunnery of the Benedictines extended along the eastern side of the road here. At the Dissolution this, with other lands in the parish, fell into the possession of that “old land grabber,” as a Herts antiquary has dubbed Sir Anthony Denny. Nothing now remains of the nunnery.
Cheshunt Street contains a good many interesting examples of old domestic architecture. There is rather a curious structure here known locally as the Round House, which has been in the family of the present owner since the time of Elizabeth. ”

“ The open space (Romeland) , with its quaint high-gabled, stuccoed, and red-brick houses, is a busy scene on Tuesdays, when the cattle market is held here. On the eastern side, abutting upon the Abbey church, the tower of which comes charmingly into view over the house tops, is the ancient corn mill, which was given to the Abbey by Maud, Queen of Henry I., in 1108, in exchange for the site of Holy Trinity, Aldgate. She also restored to the Abbey certain lands, which had been alienated, known as the Abbey fields, which stretch northward from here ”

“ The way is by Farm Hill (almost opposite Foxe’s house) to Brookside, thence sharp to the right over the bridge, and up the hill by the old windmill for a little more than half a mile, to the hamlet known as Honey lane, where the margin of the fine old forest, the heights of which will have been viewed on the way, opens out. We turn up by the covered well and trough into Honey lane itself. Those who may prefer to ensure a right direction may keep to the roadway, which strikes up the hill through the forest, and, bearing sharp to the left and right respectively, leads direct to High Beech. ”

“ On the site of Tovi’s foundation Earl Harold, upon whom Waltham and vast lands had been bestowed by Edward the Confessor, reared and endowed a magnificent church, which he intended to rival in beauty and importance King Edward’s abbey church at Westminster. The dean and twelve secular Black canons who formed the ecclesiastical constitution of Harold’s foundation, were amply provided for, each of the latter having a manor and the dean six manors for his maintenance. ”

“ The highlands of Cheshunt are all of a beautiful character, and the climate of these elevated situations is particularly healthful, the air being clear and bracing. To the north lie Hammond Street, Appleby Street, and the beautiful sylvan hamlet of Beaumont Manor; to the west is the pleasant old village of Goff’s Oak, with pretty Newgate Street beyond, and the noble domain of Wood Green Park adjacent. More to the north is the picturesque old hamlet of Cuffley, to the curative waters of whose well King James frequently repaired. ”

“ Few who enter this church by the handsome doorway at the base of the tower, the armorial ornamentation of which is worthy notice, will fail to admire the view which is afforded when standing beneath the noble western arch of the lower wall, by the handsome nave and chancel, lighted by a clerestory, and closed in by an open timber roof, the latter beautifully painted. There is a good deal to interest one within the church. ”

“ This handsome old gateway also formed the entrance to the mansion erected by Sir Edward Denny, to whom the abbot’s house was given by Elizabeth. He was the grandson of Sir Anthony Denny, Chamberlain to Henry VIII., to whom much of the ecclesiastical property of Waltham was given after the Dissolution. Sir Edward Denny’s house, which was a large one in the characteristic Elizabethan style (a central doorway and two projecting wings) , is spoken of by an old chronicler as being “beautiful to behold,” with a spacious garden of a character “scarcely to be equalled by any private gentleman’s.” ”

“ This route will take the wanderer through parts of the forest that are almost unfrequented, where oak and beech and hornbeam flourish in all their wild grandeur; where many of the fungi and lichens, for which the forest is so noted, will be met with, as well as many beautiful flowering plants, rare-winged insects, and most of the birds, so large and representative a number of which make their home in the forest. ”

“ Just before the Abbey is reached, approached by a way that allows little more room than is needful for a cart to pass, is an open square of very old houses, a most picturesque corner of the old town, that bears the somewhat curious appellation of Romeland. [12] How and why the place came p. 13to be so called it is not easy to determine; but the abbots of Waltham, whose seat was at Copt Hall, had their London house on or adjacent to a site in the parish of St. Mary-at-Hill, adjoining what is now Billingsgate Market, which was also called Romeland. ”

“ When we consider the opportunity which the undertaker possesses for exercising influence upon persons under great mental strain, it will be seen how essential it is that they should be men who are above suspicion. Happily, however, the morale of the business has greatly improved, which is due in a large measure to the standard of the tradesmen who may be said to be representative of their calling.
Cromwell Cottages, Cheshunt, June 5th, 1891. ”

“ Remember Automatic Gas saves a lot of worry and trouble in the house. Half-an-hour’s more rest instead of getting up earlier to light the fire. The Oil Man need not call. No dust or ashes, and no Dustman to call for them. The Coal Man need not call. No bundles of firewood wanted. You simply put your penny in the slot and the Gasworks does the rest.
For further particulars apply to—
THE WALTHAM ABBEY & CHESHUNT GAS CO.,
York Road, Waltham Cross. ”

“ A little beyond the old village, on the road that runs to Goff’s Oak and Cheshunt Common—a beautiful breezy height—stands a structure that strikes one as odd in form and character. It is isolated and alone, occupying a slight elevation, and little conjecture is needed to recognise this as the remains of an old moated mansion. It is known as the Great House, and believed to have originally been the Palace of Waltham, of which ancient records speak, and later served as the seat of the lord of the manor of St. ”

“ THE HOMELAND READERS, for Council and all Public and Private Schools, are issued by the Homeland Association, which is doing so much to encourage Touring at Home in the Motherland of our Empire, and in widening our knowledge of Great Britain, by publishing a series of Handbooks containing useful and interesting information relating to towns and country districts in various parts of the land. ”

“ Though it is difficult to be precise and certain about the history of this interesting old building, there can be no doubt about its being a very old foundation, and having formed part of a large and important domestic structure. The great hall, which is the chief feature of the remains, is a very noble apartment, and must belong to a period earlier than the Tudors. ”

“ Cheshunt parish is an extensive one, and its physical aspect wonderfully varied, with a richly wooded undulating surface. There are many elevated situations from 300 to 354 feet above sea-level, and from most of these beautiful views of the surrounding country are to be enjoyed. The district, too, abounds in charming walks, and field paths are numerous. Large areas are devoted to fruit culture, roses, horticultural nurseries, and market gardens. ”

“ The remains of the moat, which, with the mill stream, completely surrounded the Abbey, will also be seen.
p. 29Retracing our steps towards London, a few yards beyond the entry of Sun Street, will be noticed an old house jutting upon the street, with stucco and “roughcast” exterior, the entrance to which is by a gate in the adjoining garden wall. This was the home of John Foxe, the martyrologist, and here he wrote the famous “Book of Martyrs.” It is said that Cranmer also occupied this house when resident in Waltham. Its interior presents many interesting features. ”

“ Here a most beautiful and imposing tomb was erected, but all that remains of this is a curious piece of carved ironstone representing the face of a warrior, which, after many vicissitudes, including its use as a fountain ornament, was returned to the possession of the church a few years ago, p. 22and now reposes on the tomb of Robert Smith in the chancel.
To the antiquary, the student, and the lover of all that is beautiful in architecture, the ancient minster offers a boundless store of interest. ”

“ There are three tiers of arches: the nave or arcade, the triforium, and the clerestory. The Rev. J. H. Stamp, in his excellent little history of Waltham, says of the plan and design of the church that whilst the cruciform plan was significant of Christ crucified, the twelve pillars p. 24represented the apostles, and the three tiers of arches the Holy Trinity. ”

“ The wonderful grandeur and nobility of the interior can well be appreciated by standing just within the tower and viewing the “long-drawn aisles” through the great western arch. This arch formed part of the scheme of restoration and rebuilding which took place at the latter end of the thirteenth century, when the original Norman doorway was removed and a grand Decorated west front substituted. ”

“ If you are interested in a District to which you wish to draw Public Attention, and think that it would be helped by the issue of a well-illustrated “Homeland Handbook,” write to the General Manager, The Homeland Association for the Encouragement of Touring in Great Britain, Association House, 22, Bride Lane, Fleet St., London, E.C.
p. viiTHE . . . ”

“ There are three mural brasses on the south wall, one being to the memory of Edward Stacey, one of the lay pensioners of the monastery at the time of the Dissolution, and another to Thomas Colte, second son of Sir John Colte, of Nether Hall, Roydon.
The remains of the old choir screen, a beautiful example of carpentry and carving; the ancient Purbeck marble font; the handsome reredos, and the fine rose window above; the marks of the chain that once held the great Bible, on one of the pillars, and many other features are here to interest the visitor. The handsome p. ”