Excerpt from The Parish of Waltham Abbey: Its History and Antiquities "The chief trait in a history is its truthfulness." The compiler (who has traced his family in Waltham Abbey, nearly four hundred years), being fully aware of this, makes a strict point to insert no information of a doubtful character. Truthfulness being the aim, we select authentic information only; and as a stepping stone to this, we shall avail ourselves of that given by Thos. Fuller, D.D., who first wrote a history of Waltham Abbey; he being the minister of this parish, in or about the year 1648; and who, in his history, informs us "Waltham is so called from the Saxon word ham, which signifies a town; and the word weald or wealt, that is woody; it being anciently covered with timber." We here pause to observe, that this assertion may be accepted as referring to the greater portion of the parish, but not so as to that part of it whereon the town is built; the rivers cut through it by King Alfred, together with the site, chosen for the abbey, are sufficient to prove that there, were no trees on this part, any more than on the contiguous marshes. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books.

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