THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
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was the first abbot. Large sums of money were contributed to the re-
building of the church, and these operations extended over half a century ;
and on 30 September, 1242, according to the Chronicle of Matthew Paris,
the ceremony of re-dedication was performed by William Bishop of Norwich,
the abbey receiving probably at that time its additional ascription to
St. Laurence. Charters and Confirmatory Charters added to and con-
firmed the wealth of the Abbey, until in the reign of Henry VIII, its gross
value was £1,079 2s. 1d. yearly, with a nett value of £900 4s. 3d.
Easily the most important of the English Augustinian houses it also
contrived to outlast every other abbey in England, for it was not until
23 March, 1540, that it was dissolved, and its manors and lands, granges
and tenements accrued to the Crown, after a life of 480 years. The
conventual estates of Waltham, including the advowson, tithes, patronage
of the vicarage, and the site of the. abbey, with the manor, were granted by
Edward VI., in 1547, to Sir Anthony Denny, from whose family it passed
eventually to the Wake family, who are still lords of the manor. For
years following the Dissolution the work of destruction was carried on
unceasingly ; the monastery, choir, north and south transepts, eastern
chapels and chancel were destroyed, and in 1552 further disaster over-
took the remnant, for in Strype's Ecclesiastical Memorials we are told that
on Feb. 9 "between seven and eight of the clock in the evening the great
steeple of Waltham Abbey in Essex fell down to the ground and all the
great bells ; and the choir and much of that stately church demolished
with it."
Of the magnificent church of Harold does aught survive ? Let Pro-
fessor Freeman answer : "The nave of the Romanesque church is all that
remains, the addition of a large decorated chapel to the south and of a
debased tower to the west, the destruction of the eastern portion of the
church and the whole conventual buildings have between them converted
the once splendid church of Waltham into a patched and mutilated frag-
ment." A splendid fragment, and despite what Professor Freeman says
the patchings and additions are also full of interest.
The Investigators of the Royal Commission for the Survey of Historical
Monuments say that the actual building of the nave and aisles appears
to have taken place in the following order, first came the eastern bay
of the north and the two eastern bays of the south arcade. These were
followed successively by the remainder of the north and south arcades
with four bays of the triforium on either side and two south bays of the
clerestory. Then came the triforium from the fifth bay onwards with
the south clerestory ; the north clerestory being the latest part finished,
c. 1160. At the west end the 14th century alterations have obliterated
the history of the 12th century building. c. 1315-1320 the two western-
most bays of the nave were remodelled and the west front entirely rebuilt.
The south chapel with sub-vault was added c. 1320-1330 and the present
west tower was built in 1556-8 from the fragments of the fallen central
tower, but it has been repaired at various periods and the top storey was
entirely renewed in 1905. The north vestry is modern and the whole
building has been frequently restored since the middle of the 19th century.
Sitting in this magnificent building you will be struck by the essentially
Norman character of the architecture, and will notice the massive pillars,
F