Manningtree

Manningtree

The River Stour at Manningtree
Manningtree
 Manningtree shown within Essex
Population 900 (2001 census)[1]
OS grid referenceTM105317
DistrictTendring
Shire countyEssex
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town MANNINGTREE
Postcode district CO11
Dialling code 01206
Police Essex
Fire Essex
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentHarwich and North Essex
List of places
UK
England
Essex

Coordinates: 51°56′39″N 1°03′41″E / 51.9443°N 1.0614°E

Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England, which lies on the River Stour. It adjoins built-up areas of Lawford to the west and Mistley to the east and the three parishes together are sometimes referred to as "Manningtree".

Manningtree is a claimant for the title of smallest town in England.

Smallest town

Manningtree has traditionally claimed to be the smallest town in England, and in 2007 mayor Lee Lay-Flurrie said that this had been confirmed to her by the Census Customer Services, with 700 people in 20 hectares[2] (using the high tide mark). However both this figure and the population of 900[1] in the civil parish is much higher than the 351 population of Fordwich in Kent.[3] In April 2009 it was proposed that Manningtree should merge with Mistley and Lawford to form a single parish, losing its separate identity as a town.[4]

History

Manningtree Library

The name Manningtree is thought to derive from 'many trees'.[5] The town grew around the wool trade from the 15th century under its decline in the 18th century and also had a thriving shipping trade in corn, timber and coal until this declined with the coming of the railway.[5] Manningtree is known as the centre of the activities of Matthew Hopkins, the self-appointed Witchfinder General, who claimed to have overheard local women discussing their meetings with the devil in 1644 with his accusations leading to their execution as witches.[5]

Many of the buildings in the centre of the town have Georgian facades which obscure their earlier origins. Notable buildings include the town's library, which was originally built as, 'a public hall for the purposes of corn exchange' and was later used around 1900 for public entertainment,[5] and the oldest Methodist church in Essex, located on South Street.

The Ascension, by John Constable, which hangs in Dedham church, was painted for Manningtree church, pulled down in the 1960s.

Geography

River Stour near Manningtree

Manningtree is on Holbrook Bay, part of the River Stour in the north of Essex. It is the eastern edge of Dedham Vale.

Nearby villages include Dedham, Mistley, Lawford, Wrabness and Brantham.

Manningtree railway station provides a direct train link to London, Norwich and Harwich.

Notable people

Manningtree Station

Twin town

Germany Frankenberg, Hesse, Germany

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Area: Manningtree CP (Parish)". National Statistics. 28 April 2004. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  2. ↑ "Essex: Town is happy to be small wonder". Echo Newspapers. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  3. ↑ "Area: Fordwich CP (Parish)". National Statistics. 28 April 2004. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  4. ↑ Collitt, Andrea (17 April 2009). "Manningtree: Threat to Mayor". Harwich and Manningtree Standard
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Peers, Deborah (February 2009). "Once upon a time in... Manningtree". Essex Life (Archant Life). p. 52.
  6. ↑ Lewis, Russell (1975). Margaret Thatcher: a personal and political biography. Routledge and Kegan Paul. p. 16. ISBN 0-7100-8283-5.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manningtree.