The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

ESSEX. 209
Essex is a maritime county, separated from Kent by the Thames and its
estuary, from Middlesex and Hertfordshire by the rivers Lea and Stort, and from
Suffolk by the Stour. Of the rivers which drain the interior of the county,
the Roding flows into the Thames, whilst the Crouch, Blackwater, and Colne
are directly tributary to the German Ocean. These latter expand into wide
estuaries, forming convenient harbours, and are famous for the breeding of
oysters. The surface of the country is for the most part undulating. A small
tract of chalk occurs in the north-west, but loam and clay predominate, and
form gentle slopes. The coast is much indented and broken up into flat
islands. It is fringed by marshes protected by sea-walls and drainage works.
Most of the ancient forests have been extirpated, and it is only quite recently
that the most picturesque amongst them, that of Epping, narrowly escaped
destruction through the public-spirited action of the Corporation of London.
Agriculture constitutes the chief occupation, the requirements of the metro-
politan markets largely influencing its character. Manufactures, particularly
of baize, were formerly carried on upon a large scale, but are now of small
importance. The fisheries, however, together with the breeding and feeding of
oysters, constitute one of the sources of wealth.
West Ham, which includes Stratford and other places near the river Lea, in
the south-western corner of the county, is, properly speaking, an eastern suburb
of the metropolis, where numerous industries, some of them not of the most
savoury nature, are carried on. The Royal Victoria and Albert Docks here
extend for nearly 3 miles along the northern bank of the Thames, between the
Lea and North "Woolwich, and near them are iron works, ship-yards, and chemical
works. Stratford has extensive I'ailway works, oil and grease works, gutta percha
factories, and distilleries. Plaistow is noted for its market gardens. WaUhamstoic,
a short distance to the north, and on the western edge of Epping Forest, early
became a favourite residence with opulent citizens, and has still many quaint old-
fashioned mansions embowered in trees. Waltham, on the Lea, is famed for the
remains of its ancient abbey. An old bridge connects that part of the parish
which lies in Essex with Waltham Cross, in Hertfordshire, named from one of the
crosses erected to mark the resting-places of Queen Eleanor's body. The Govern-
ment gunpowder-mills are built above "Waltham Abbey, on a branch of the Lea.
They cover an area of 160 acres, and the various buildings are separated by
meadows and woods, as a safeguard against accidents. Harlow, now a quiet market
town on the Stort, a tributary of the Lea, formerly carried on the manufactm'e of silk.
Epping Forest, which lies between the Lea and the Upper Roding, is named
after a pleasant market town, the vicinity of which is famed for its dairy farms.
Descending the Roding, we pass Chipping Ongar, Wanstead, IJford, and Barking,
where are the remains of a Cistercian abbey, not far above the mouth of the
river. Romford, on the Rom, which enters the Thames lower down, is well known
for its brewery. The ancient town of Brentwood lies to the east of it, in the
midst of fine scenery. Its old Elizabethan assize-house is at present in the
occupation of a butcher. There is a grammar school, founded in 1557.