BY J. EWING RITCHIE (CHRISTOPHER CRAYON.) Author of “ East Anglia ” &c. Decorative graphic Chelmsford . EDMUND DURRANT & CO. London : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO., LTD. 1893. NOTE .  With one exception and some few additions these articles have appeared in the “ Christian World .”...

Chelmsford , one of the youngest of the Essex Boroughs, and almost a suburb of Greater London by means of the Great Eastern Railway, was, when I first knew it, a dignified county town, the leading people of which considered a second post from London as a daily nuisance, and had no taste for what is practically too near the rush and roar of modern life.  The old stage-coaches stopped and changed horses at quaint old hotels, which have long disappeared.  Now, as you drop down from the railway stat

About fifty miles away from London—you can run down in an hour by the Great Eastern—stands an ancient, if not the most ancient, city in England, where the mother of Constantine is said to have lived, where, at any rate, she founded a chapel, which still remains, and where Constantine the Great is said to have been born, and where old King Cole, that merry old soul, is reported to have reigned in all his glory.  It was built by the Roman Claudius, A.D. , 44.  It boasts an old castle, which was te

One of the oldest towns in Suffolk is Hadleigh.  You take the train at Liverpool-street; at Bentley change on to a branch line, and in twenty minutes you are there.  If we are to believe the annalist Asser, its origin is to be traced as far back as Alfred the Great’s time, or the latter half of the ninth century.  Asser relates that the Danish Chief Guthrum, after having been defeated by King Alfred, embraced Christianity, was appointed governor of East Anglia; that he divided, cultivated, and i

On one of the hottest of our summer days I chanced to fall into conversation with an elderly decayed tradesman, living in a house erected for such as he.  “Are you comfortable?” I said. “Well,” was the reply, “we do our best to make ourselves as comfortable as we can.” I was struck with the good sense of his answer.  Ah, thought I, as we parted, how much happier we would all be if we did as the decayed tradesman did.  The conversation took place opposite the grand Abbey-gate of the ancient town

Lying in a valley surrounded by hills, up which the town is gradually climbing, and watered by the picturesque Orwell, which elevates the town to the dignity of a port, and within little more than an hour and a half’s run from London by the Great Eastern Railway, Ipswich may claim to be a place well worth visiting, while to the trader it is known and appreciated as a busy and thriving town.  When I first knew it—at a time a little antecedent to the advent of the illustrious Mr. Pickwick—it was n

We have heard a good deal of Norwich.  When the summer comes, some enterprising journalist manages to find his way there, and if he has a copy of Evelyn, waxes eloquent over its gardens, and market-place, and ancient castle, and its memories of Sir Thomas Browne.  I write of the Norwich of to-day—of living Norwich—a city with a population of more than a hundred thousand—that has renewed its youth—that is marching on like John Brown’s soul; a Norwich that was, as I first remember it, a seat of Pa

One of the most curious corners of old England is known, and has been known to the community for many years, as King’s Lynn, Norfolk, on the borders of the Wash.  It was a great place for traders.  By means of it in the olden time many a tun of good red wine came into the country, and it is still a great place for trade, as it has fine docks, available to steamers with a tonnage of 2,000 tons.  Thus Lynn is a great port for the landing of foreign sugar (which ought to be made at home) from Hambu

“I often wonder,” said a local tradesman to me the other day as I was contemplating the majestic ruins of Framlingham Castle and the seat of power in the Eastern Counties, “that the Great Eastern Railway does not run excursion trains here.”  I must own that I shared in that feeling.  I am sure thousands would rush from town to see the place if they had a day excursion there.  The railway in question has done a good deal for Framlingham.  When I knew it as a lad it was out of the world altogether

In the year 1727 there was born in Sudbury, and baptized in the Independent Meeting there, Thomas Gainsborough, one of the earliest and the greatest of English painters.  The family were Dissenters, and in the meeting-house, now under the care of the Rev. Ira Bosely, who seems very happy and successful in his new sphere of labour, are the memorials of two of them who were buried in the graveyard attached.  There are two bequests of the Gainsborough family for the support of the minister for the

As tenants of uncertain stay, So may we live our little day That only grateful hearts shall fill The homes we leave in Haverhill. Thus writes the poet Whittier, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the City of Haverhill in America.  Most of us know there is a Haverhill in England, where resided Mr. D. Gurteen, who died recently in his eighty-fourth year, one of the grand old men—occasionally met with—who have spent all their lives in promoting the best interests, moral and pecuniary, of th

One of the famous books of the last generation was that of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque .  If the Doctor had extended his journey as far as Maldon, in Essex, he would have been well rewarded for his pains.  Essex can boast of two towns set upon a hill.  One is Colchester, the other is Maldon; but as regards picturesqueness, Maldon bears away the palm.  Everywhere you have a fine view of the country—on one side the Chelmer reaching away to Chelmsford, on the other the Blackwater making

The Holy City : Jerusalem : Its Topography , Walls , and Temples .  A New Light on an Old Subject.  By Dr. S. R. Forbes , author of “Rambles in Rome,” etc.  Crown 8vo, cloth, illustrated, 3 s. nett. The Essex Review .  Edited by E. A. Fitch , F.L.S. , published quarterly.  Annual subscription 5 s. post free; Single Nos. 1 s. 6 d. nett.  Vol. I., 1892, red cloth, 7 s. 6 d. nett. The Ancient Sepulchral Monuments of Essex .  By Fred. Chancellor , F.R.I.B.A.  Imp. 4to, cloth, illustrated, £4 4 s. ne

Established by Royal Charter , A.D. 1720 . For SEA , FIRE , LIFE & ANNUITIES . Chief Office: ROYAL EXCHANGE, LONDON. West End Branch: 29, PALL MALL, Funds in Hand £4,000,000 Claims Paid £36,000,000 FIRE , INSURANCES ARE GRANTED AGAINST LOSS OR DAMAGE BY FIRE on Property of almost every description, at moderate rates. PRIVATE INSURANCES.—Policies issued for Two Years and upwards are allowed a liberal discount. LOSSES OCCASIONED BY LIGHTNING will be paid whether the property be set on fire

BY J. EWING RITCHIE. ‘We cordially recommend Mr. Ritchie’s Book to all who wish to pass an agreeable hour and to learn something of the outward actions and inner life of their predecessors.  It is full of sketches of East Anglian celebrities, happily touched if lightly limned.’— East Anglian Daily Times . ‘A very entertaining and enjoyable book.  Local gossip, a wide range of reading and industrious research, have enabled the author to enliven his pages with a wide diversity of subjects, special

A NEW LIGHT ON AN ANCIENT SUBJECT. BY S. RUSSELL FORBES, Ph. D., Author of “ Rambles in Rome ,” “ Footsteps of St. Paul in Rome ,” etc. , etc. 12mo, Cloth, Price 3/- nett. Messrs . EDMUND DURRANT & CO. have the honour to announce their publication of this new work by the eminent Archæologist and Antiquary who has done so much towards elucidating and making popular the monuments and remains of Ancient Rome. Dr. Forbes ’ new topographical study is based on information afforded by the Sacre