Manningtree: Difference between revisions
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|coordinates = {{coord|51.9443|1.0614|display=inline,title}} | |coordinates = {{coord|51.9443|1.0614|display=inline,title}} | ||
|label_position = top | |label_position = top | ||
| population = | | population = 874 | ||
| population_ref = ( | | population_ref = (Parish, 2021)<ref name=2021census>{{cite web |title=2021 Census Parish Profiles |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_pp |website=NOMIS |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=31 March 2025}} (To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.)</ref><br/>{{nowrap|1,761 (Built up area, 2021)<ref name=ONS>{{cite web |title=Population estimates - small area (2021 based) by single year of age - England and Wales |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/advanced.aspx |website=NOMIS |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=19 April 2025}} To get data for individual built-up areas, query the 'Population Estimates / Projections' dataset, then the 'Small area (2021 based) by single year of age - England and Wales' and then choose '2022 built-up areas' for the geography.</ref>}} | ||
|shire_district= [[Tendring District|Tendring]] | |shire_district= [[Tendring District|Tendring]] | ||
|shire_county = [[Essex]] | |shire_county = [[Essex]] | ||
|region= East of England | |region= East of England | ||
|constituency_westminster= [[ | |constituency_westminster= [[Harwich and North Essex]] | ||
|post_town= MANNINGTREE | |post_town= MANNINGTREE | ||
|postcode_district= CO11 | |postcode_district= CO11 | ||
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}} | }} | ||
'''Manningtree''' is a [[town]] and [[ | '''Manningtree''' is a [[town]] and [[civil parish]] in the [[Tendring District|Tendring]] district of [[Essex]], England. It lies on the [[River Stour, Suffolk|River Stour]] and forms part of the [[Suffolk Coast and Heaths]] Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-53308890 | title=Suffolk Coast and Heaths: England's first 'beauty extension' since 1991 | work=BBC News | date=7 July 2020 }}</ref> At the [[2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses|2021 census]] the parish had a population of 874 and the built up area (which extends into the neighbouring parishes of [[Lawford]] and [[Mistley]]) had a population of 1,761. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
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==Governance== | ==Governance== | ||
Manningtree | [[File:The Essex Way 142, Methodist church, Manningtree - geograph.org.uk - 2457426.jpg|thumb|Methodist Church, South Street, with its church hall to the left]] | ||
There are three tiers of local government covering Manningtree, at [[Parish council (England)|parish]] (town), [[non-metropolitan district|district]], and [[non-metropolitan county|county]] level: Manningtree Town Council, [[Tendring District Council]], and [[Essex County Council]]. The town council meets at the Methodist Church Hall on South Street.<ref>{{cite web |title=Manningtree Town Council |url=https://www.manningtreetowncouncil.gov.uk/manningtree-town-council |access-date=16 November 2025}}</ref> | |||
===Administrative history=== | |||
Manningtree historically formed part of the [[ancient parish]] of Mistley. Manningtree developed as a market town after it was granted a [[market charter]] in 1238.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Britnell |first1=Richard |title=Markets, Trade and Economic Development in England and Europe, 1050–1550 |date=2023 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=9781000938753 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Markets_Trade_and_Economic_Development_i/Mlm-EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT103&printsec=frontcover |access-date=16 November 2025}}</ref> The town was administered for some purposes by a [[guild]], giving it some of the characteristics of a [[ancient borough|borough]], but borough status was never formalised and the guild had ceased operating by the early 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cromwell |first1=Thomas |title=Excursions in the County of Essex |date=1818 |page=102 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Excursions_in_the_County_of_Essex/OfAGAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA1-PA102-IA5&printsec=frontcover |access-date=16 November 2025}}</ref><ref name=Youngs>{{cite book |last1=Youngs |first1=Frederic |title=Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume I, Southern England |date=1979 |publisher=Royal Historical Society |location=London |isbn=0901050679 |page=145}}</ref> | |||
A church dedicated to St Michael was built in the High Street in 1616.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of Essex |date=1914 |page=419 |url=https://leicester.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/61009/rec/2 |access-date=16 November 2025}}</ref> It was initially a [[chapel of ease]] to St Mary's Church at Mistley. The [[chapelry]] of Manningtree was then administered separately from Mistley for [[civil parish]] functions under the [[poor laws]], whilst remaining part of the [[ecclesiastical parish]] of Mistley. Manningtree was subsequently also made a separate ecclesiastical parish from Mistley in 1840.<ref name=Youngs/> The area ceded from Mistley to the chapelry and later parish of Manningtree was very tightly drawn around the core of the town as it then was. The first [[Ordnance Survey]] map to show detailed parish boundaries of this area, published in 1881, recorded that Manningtree parish only covered {{convert|22|acres|hectare|0}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Essex Sheet XX |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/102341852 |website=National Library of Scotland |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=16 November 2025 |date=1881}}</ref> | |||
When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894, Manningtree was given a parish council and included in the [[Tendring Rural District]]. The rural district was replaced in 1974 by the larger Tendring District. The ecclesiastical parish of Manningtree was reunited with Mistley in 1967, but Manningtree remains a separate civil parish.<ref name=Youngs/> Following the reunion of the ecclesiastical parishes in 1967, St Michael's at Manningtree was demolished, and St Mary's at Mistley was renamed St Mary and St Michael.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Church of St Mary and St Michael|grade=II|num=1074933}}</ref> | |||
===Smallest town claim=== | |||
As part of the 1974 reforms, each parish council was given the right to declare its parish to be a town, allowing it to take the title of town council and give the chair of the council the title of [[Mayors in England|mayor]].<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government Act 1972|year=1972|chapter=70|section=245|access-date=13 April 2024}}</ref> Manningtree Parish Council exercised this right in 1998, becoming Manningtree Town Council. Since then it has claimed to be the smallest town by land area in England, although its population exceeds that of [[Fordwich]] in [[Kent]], which was also the smallest town by land area prior to 1998.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lampert |first1=Neil |title=Upstart claims to be smallest town |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0005421%2F19980521&page=5 |access-date=16 November 2025 |work=Kentish Gazette |date=21 May 1998 |location=Canterbury |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.manningtreetowncouncil.gov.uk/manningtree|publisher=VCS Parish Council Websites|title=About Manningtree - Manningtree Town Council|accessdate=2024-01-13 }}</ref> | |||
In 2009, proposals were considered for merging Manningtree with Mistley and Lawford to form a single parish.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.harwichandmanningtreestandard.co.uk/news/localnews/4299842.Manningtree__Threat_to_Mayor/ |title=Manningtree: Threat to Mayor |date=17 April 2009 |first=Andrea |last=Collitt |journal=Harwich and Manningtree Standard | url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004163753/http://www.harwichandmanningtreestandard.co.uk/news/localnews/4299842.Manningtree__Threat_to_Mayor/ |archive-date=4 October 2011 }}</ref> The merger was not pursued. | |||
==Geography== | ==Geography== | ||
[[File:cmglee_Manningtree_River_Stour.jpg|thumb|left|River Stour near Manningtree]] | [[File:cmglee_Manningtree_River_Stour.jpg|thumb|left|River Stour near Manningtree]] | ||
Manningtree is on Holbrook Bay, part of the [[River Stour, Suffolk|River Stour]] in the north of Essex. It is the eastern edge of [[Dedham Vale National Landscape|Dedham Vale]]. | Manningtree is on Holbrook Bay, part of the [[River Stour, Suffolk|River Stour]] in the north of Essex. It is the eastern edge of [[Dedham Vale National Landscape|Dedham Vale]]. | ||
Manningtree's built up area as defined by the [[Office for National Statistics]] following the 2021 census extends beyond the parish boundary to the east to include part of Mistley parish, and also includes some eastern fringes of Lawford parish. A separate Lawford built up area is identified which immediately abuts the Manningtree built up area.<ref>{{cite web |title=Built up areas (December 2022) boundaries |url=https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::built-up-areas-december-2022-boundaries-gb-bgg/explore?location=51.944091%2C1.057132%2C15.00 |website=ONS Geography |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref> The Manningtree built up area had a population in 2021 of 1,761 and the adjacent Lawford built up area had a population of 4,579.<ref name=ONS/> | |||
Nearby villages include [[Dedham, Essex|Dedham]], [[Mistley]], [[Lawford]], [[Wrabness]] and [[Brantham]]. | Nearby villages include [[Dedham, Essex|Dedham]], [[Mistley]], [[Lawford]], [[Wrabness]] and [[Brantham]]. | ||
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[[File:Manningtree Station.jpg|thumb|[[Manningtree railway station]]]] | [[File:Manningtree Station.jpg|thumb|[[Manningtree railway station]]]] | ||
[[Manningtree railway station]] is on the [[Great Eastern Main Line]] and provides regular, direct services to [[Liverpool_Street_station|London]], [[Norwich_railway_station|Norwich]] and [[Harwich_Town_railway_station|Harwich]]. The station is actually located in the | [[Manningtree railway station]] is on the [[Great Eastern Main Line]] and provides regular, direct services to [[Liverpool_Street_station|London]], [[Norwich_railway_station|Norwich]] and [[Harwich_Town_railway_station|Harwich]]. The station is actually located in the parish of Lawford. | ||
==Media== | ==Media== | ||
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Manningtree features in [[Ronald Bassett]]'s 1966 novel ''[[Witchfinder General (novel)|Witchfinder General]]'' and in [[A. K. Blakemore]]'s 2021 novel ''The Manningtree Witches''. | Manningtree features in [[Ronald Bassett]]'s 1966 novel ''[[Witchfinder General (novel)|Witchfinder General]]'' and in [[A. K. Blakemore]]'s 2021 novel ''The Manningtree Witches''. | ||
In Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I (Act 2 Scene 4), | In Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I (Act 2 Scene 4), Falstaff is referred to as “that roasted Manningtree ox“.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Famous Quotes {{!}} Henry IV Part I {{!}} Royal Shakespeare Company|url=https://www.rsc.org.uk/henry-iv-part-i/about-the-play/famous-quotes|access-date=2021-11-17|website=www.rsc.org.uk}}</ref> This was marked in 2000 with a sculpture of an ox in the town centre.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Shakespeare's Manningtree to celebrate bard's anniversary|url=https://www.harwichandmanningtreestandard.co.uk/news/14351609.shakespeares-manningtree-to-celebrate-bards-anniversary/|access-date=2021-11-17|website=Harwich and Manningtree Standard|language=en}}</ref> | ||
[[A. K. Blakemore]]'s 2021 novel, ''The Manningtree Witches'', is set in the town.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O’Donnell |first=Paraic |date=2021-03-12 |title=The Manningtree Witches by AK Blakemore review – a darkly witty debut |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/mar/12/the-manningtree-witches-by-ak-blakemore-review-a-darkly-witty-debut |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> The novel won the [[Desmond Elliott Prize]] 2021, being described by the judges as "a stunning achievement."<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKenna |first=Steph |title=The Desmond Elliott Prize 2021 |url=https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/dep-2021/ |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=National Centre for Writing}}</ref> | [[A. K. Blakemore]]'s 2021 novel, ''The Manningtree Witches'', is set in the town.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O’Donnell |first=Paraic |date=2021-03-12 |title=The Manningtree Witches by AK Blakemore review – a darkly witty debut |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/mar/12/the-manningtree-witches-by-ak-blakemore-review-a-darkly-witty-debut |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> The novel won the [[Desmond Elliott Prize]] 2021, being described by the judges as "a stunning achievement."<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKenna |first=Steph |title=The Desmond Elliott Prize 2021 |url=https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/dep-2021/ |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=National Centre for Writing}}</ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 16:48, 23 November 2025
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Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England. It lies on the River Stour and forms part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[1] At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 874 and the built up area (which extends into the neighbouring parishes of Lawford and Mistley) had a population of 1,761.
History
The name Manningtree is thought to derive from 'many trees'.[2] The town grew around the wool trade from the 15th century until 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.[2] 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.[2]
Many of the buildings in the centre of the town have Georgian facades which obscure their earlier origins. Notable buildings include Manningtree Library, which was originally built as 'a public hall for the purposes of corn exchange' and was later used around 1900 for public entertainment,[2] and the Methodist church located on South Street, completed in 1807.[3]
The Ascension, by John Constable, which now hangs in Dedham church, was commissioned in 1821 for the altarpiece of the early seventeenth-century church on the High Street, demolished in 1967.[4]
Governance
There are three tiers of local government covering Manningtree, at parish (town), district, and county level: Manningtree Town Council, Tendring District Council, and Essex County Council. The town council meets at the Methodist Church Hall on South Street.[5]
Administrative history
Manningtree historically formed part of the ancient parish of Mistley. Manningtree developed as a market town after it was granted a market charter in 1238.[6] The town was administered for some purposes by a guild, giving it some of the characteristics of a borough, but borough status was never formalised and the guild had ceased operating by the early 19th century.[7][8]
A church dedicated to St Michael was built in the High Street in 1616.[9] It was initially a chapel of ease to St Mary's Church at Mistley. The chapelry of Manningtree was then administered separately from Mistley for civil parish functions under the poor laws, whilst remaining part of the ecclesiastical parish of Mistley. Manningtree was subsequently also made a separate ecclesiastical parish from Mistley in 1840.[8] The area ceded from Mistley to the chapelry and later parish of Manningtree was very tightly drawn around the core of the town as it then was. The first Ordnance Survey map to show detailed parish boundaries of this area, published in 1881, recorded that Manningtree parish only covered Script error: No such module "convert"..[10]
When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894, Manningtree was given a parish council and included in the Tendring Rural District. The rural district was replaced in 1974 by the larger Tendring District. The ecclesiastical parish of Manningtree was reunited with Mistley in 1967, but Manningtree remains a separate civil parish.[8] Following the reunion of the ecclesiastical parishes in 1967, St Michael's at Manningtree was demolished, and St Mary's at Mistley was renamed St Mary and St Michael.[11]
Smallest town claim
As part of the 1974 reforms, each parish council was given the right to declare its parish to be a town, allowing it to take the title of town council and give the chair of the council the title of mayor.[12] Manningtree Parish Council exercised this right in 1998, becoming Manningtree Town Council. Since then it has claimed to be the smallest town by land area in England, although its population exceeds that of Fordwich in Kent, which was also the smallest town by land area prior to 1998.[13][14]
In 2009, proposals were considered for merging Manningtree with Mistley and Lawford to form a single parish.[15] The merger was not pursued.
Geography
Manningtree is on Holbrook Bay, part of the River Stour in the north of Essex. It is the eastern edge of Dedham Vale.
Manningtree's built up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics following the 2021 census extends beyond the parish boundary to the east to include part of Mistley parish, and also includes some eastern fringes of Lawford parish. A separate Lawford built up area is identified which immediately abuts the Manningtree built up area.[16] The Manningtree built up area had a population in 2021 of 1,761 and the adjacent Lawford built up area had a population of 4,579.[17]
Nearby villages include Dedham, Mistley, Lawford, Wrabness and Brantham.
Transport
Manningtree railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line and provides regular, direct services to London, Norwich and Harwich. The station is actually located in the parish of Lawford.
Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia. Television signals are received from the Sudbury TV transmitter. [18]
The town is served by both BBC Essex and BBC Radio Suffolk. Other radio stations including Heart East, Greatest Hits Radio Essex, and Actual Radio.
Harwich and Manningtree Standard is the town's local newspaper which publishes on Fridays. [19]
In fiction
Manningtree features in Ronald Bassett's 1966 novel Witchfinder General and in A. K. Blakemore's 2021 novel The Manningtree Witches.
In Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I (Act 2 Scene 4), Falstaff is referred to as “that roasted Manningtree ox“.[20] This was marked in 2000 with a sculpture of an ox in the town centre.[21]
A. K. Blakemore's 2021 novel, The Manningtree Witches, is set in the town.[22] The novel won the Desmond Elliott Prize 2021, being described by the judges as "a stunning achievement."[23]
Notable people
- Margaret Thatcher lived and worked in Manningtree and worked for BX Plastics[24]
- Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled Witch-Finder General, lived in Manningtree
- Henry Patten, the 2024 Gentlemen's Wimbledon doubles champion lived in Manningtree.
Twin town
Manningtree is twinned with Frankenberg, Hesse, Germany.
References
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External links
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