One of the things about tracing the rivers, is how history reveals itself, not always to advantage though.
Yesterday we went to find the river Ter at Leez Priory. Now from the map I knew that nothing remains of the old priory except a long line of fish ponds that follow the small river. According to a map, there is also a small reservoir near to Lavendar Bridge, which we found eventually.
The river is very similar here as to much further down near Chelmsford, we parked and tried a broad bean that tasted horrible, but there are many fields planted with these beans, either animal fodder or green manure perhaps. The wheat fields look ready for harvesting, even though it is so early, they must have ripened very quickly in this long dry spell.
Leez Priory is now a great red bricked Tudor house given over to wedding parties, the priory must have been acquired during the Dissolution, and one can almost feel a parallel world of rapacious greed that occurred as the Tudor gentry acquired the lands and buildings of the monasterys happening today as this Tory led government seems to be handing over the public sector into the private market - there will be plenty of juicy prizes to be won no doubt.
The source of the Ter is still to be found, but river searching is a very soothing occupation, and the one thing I have noticed about the area around Chelmsford, is that there is a lot of water, not only in the rivers, but in the ponds, quarries, small reservoirs that follow the path of these rivers.
Timber framed house on the way back to Terling, probably an old farmhouse.
Wheat fields everywhere, but the grassy verges still housed plenty of wild flowers
One side of Lavendar bridge, choked with weeds
The other side, trickling through, with what looks like Jacob leafed plants
Tudor Leez Priory seen from a distance
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