Chingford (All Saints)

CHINGFORD (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Epping, hundred of Waltham, S. division of Essex, 9½ miles (N. N. E.) from London; containing 971 inhabitants. This parish lies on the borders of Epping Forest, in which is a house called Queen Elizabeth's Lodge, where the courts under the Forest laws are held. It is separated on the west from the parish of Edmonton, in the county of Middlesex, by the river Lea; and comprises 2459 acres of land, whereof 1505 are pasture and meadow, 462 arable, and 492 woodland, of which last 142 are inclosed. The surface is diversified, rising in some parts to a considerable elevation, and commanding richly varied views; and from the situation of Chingford on the borders of the Forest, and the number of handsome mansions in its vicinity, it abounds with picturesque scenery. The name appears to have been derived from a ford over the river Lea, called the King's Ford; and the principal manor, which belonged to Edward the Confessor, was given by that sovereign to the Cathedral of St. Paul, London, from which it was separated at the Reformation. In the manor-house, now the residence of the Rev. R. B. Heathcote, is the oak table on which James I. is said to have knighted the sirloin of beef on his return from hunting; also an oak panel, supposed to have belonged to the coach in which Queen Elizabeth rode to return thanks after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. A pleasure-fair is held on Whit-Monday. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 5. 5.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. Mr. Heathcote, whose tithes have been commuted for £560, and whose glebe comprises 18 acres. The old church, beautifully situated, is a small ancient building of flint and stone, with a low tower, and in the later English style. In a corner are deposited the remains of Mr. and Mrs. Ramsden, who gave the pulpit, a very handsome one, and were buried about 1590: he was an officer in the household of Queen Elizabeth, and left bequests to this and several adjoining parishes. Sir John Sylvester, recorder of the city of London, and the late Col. Cooke, of the Bengal army, with his lady, are interred here; and there are several very old tablets. A new parish church was lately erected.