house with a meadow alongside opposite the Black Horse, is close to a narrow strip of waste land which marks the line of the old London road. The road now passes close to the front of the cottages on the river bank now known as "the Island" and across the eastern end of the Talbooth Hotel. Le Talbooth, originally known as Leggs, was formerly a pair of cottages with their own quay and lime kiln. Chalk was brought by barge from Great Cornard near Sudbury and coal from Manningtree and Mistley. It was first described as the Tolbooth in 1659. Merchandise was weighed here and tolls charged for upkeep of the tall, narrow toll bridge. The weirs and locks placed across the river made the area prone to flooding when the river rose. Skalders, (now replaced by Riversdale, the modern house next to Fords) was the home of the Mors family for 200 years. Thomas Mors, the first to appear in the records, was one of three wealthy clothiers in the village, and a generous benefactor to the church. His wife Margaret Webb from Dedham and her parents played a large part in building and improving the church. Azal Mors, the last of the family, sold most of the family property in 1615 and left the village. His mother stayed in the family home to live on the rents of two or three cottages and her half share in the new water mill. The old Stratford Mill shown in Constable's painting dates from around 1600. A group of Sudbury Merchants and gentlemen formed "The Stower Navigation Company" in 1708, making the river navigable to bring coal upriver and to transport corn, straw and hay downstream to be offloaded and shipped to London. It was a busy, prosperous waterway until the railways took away the trade. The mill was demolished about 1850 and replaced by a vast structure of five floors with a undershot water wheel and an auxiliary steam engine for use when the river was low. Stratford Hall Manor had three great Open Fields: Stregmer, Hatters Field and East Croft. The Common Meadow was about , running along the Stour between the river and the west side of the village. Several substantial Tudor Halls were constructed by wealthy clothiers and gentry, including the Manor of Veyseys and Veyseys Farm; the Woadhouse and its attached buildings, built by Thomas Woadhouse