There are circumstances related which render it more than probable that the Lodge was fitted up for the reception of Elizabeth. That the Queen was extremely fond of the chase, and hunted at an advanced age, is a well-established fact. That she hunted in Epping Forest is nearly ascertained; for the Earl of Leicester once owned Nakedhall Hawke, or old Wansted House, in the neighbourhood: it is mentioned in a document of Richard II., and seems to have been the manorial residence. Here, in May 1578, Leicester entertained Queen Elizabeth four or five days, and one of the rooms in the mansion was called _the Queen's_. Again, in this mansion was solemnized Leicester's marriage with the Countess of Essex, Sept. 20, 1578, the Queen being then on a visit to Mr. Stonard, at Loughton, in the Forest; and old Wansted House is introduced in the background of a picture of Queen Elizabeth, in the collection at Welbeck. Of the Queen's _hunting the hart_ in Enfield Chase we have this circumstantial record. Twelve ladies in white satin attended her on their ambling palfreys, and twenty yeomen clad in green. At the entrance to the forest she was met by fifty archers in scarlet boots and yellow caps, armed with gilded bows; one of whom presented to her a silver-headed arrow winged with peacock's feathers. The splendid show concluded, according to the established laws of the chase, by the offering of the knife to the Princess, as first lady on the field; and her _taking say_ of the buck with her own fair and royal hand. In addition to the Hunting Lodge, we found other memorials of the age of Elizabeth in the neighbourhood. Thus, the hill, or point, when we left the main road to cross the Forest to the Lodge, is to this day remembered as Buckhurst-hill, as may be reasonably supposed, from Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, the accomplished poet, and favoured flower of Elizabeth's court. In conclusion, the Londoners have lost the Epping Hunt, and the "Common Hunt" no longer goes out; and the old Pumpmaker's Fair, which originated in a wayzgoose of beans and bacon, is no longer held around the oak of Fairlop; but let us not lose the Forest itself; else, of what service is our railway gain? FOOTNOTES: [85] The _Builder_. [86] Brindswood, an estate in this parish, was formerly held under the following curious tenure:--"Upon every alienation, the owner of the estate, with his wife, man, and maid-servant, each single, on a horse, comes to the parsonage, where he does his homage, and pays his relief in the following manner:--He blows three blasts with his horn, and carries a hawk upon his fist; his servant has a greyhound in a slip, both for the use of the Rector that day; he receives a chicken for his hawk, a peck of oats for his horse, and a loaf of bread for his greyhound; they all dine, after which the master blows three blasts with his horn, and they all depart." APPENDIX. ANCIENT BRITISH DWELLINGS. (_Pages_ 1-7.)