Excerpt from The History of the Ancient Parish of Waltham Abbey, or Holy Cross Waltham, for many centuries, has been regarded by English historiographers as a place of importance, principally on account of its cathedral-like Abbey, - the history of which, says Dr. Fuller, "is the history of the Church of England." From the number of fragments of ancient pottery, coins, &c. (see page 184), which have been discovered in this parish at different times, it is quite evident that prior to the Saxon rule in Waltham, the locality was familiar to the Romans, and other warlike men of Britain who ranged the primeval wilds of Essex, and whose trackways are traceable from Ambresbury Banks across the ancient Lea to Cheshunt, the Durolitum of the Romans. The early history of the Abbey Church is established by reliable documents, such as the Great Charter (Cart Antique) of Waltham and the Cottonian and Harleian MSS., in which appear Edward the Confessor's gifts to Harold and the various lands given by Harold to his Church. A copy of the original deed, of contemporary date, (1062, ) is preserved in the Public Record Office. Domesday Book is another splendid document extant, which contains notices in brief of everything belonging to the parish at that period. Every acre of land is there recorded, also all houses, fisheries, mills, woods, cattle, together with the names of their owners, &c. The Abbey of Waltham being a royal foundation it was not subject to episcopal jurisdiction, but only to the "See of Rome and the King." The superior was one of the twenty-eight mitred Abbots of England, and ranked the twentieth. These mitred Abbots were called "Abbots General" or "Abbots Sovereign," and sat as Lords in Parliament, four of which were denominated "Abbots exempt," viz, the Abbots of Waltham, Bury, St. Albans and Evesham. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."