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| Monument Name |
Manningtree |
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| SMR Number |
3229 |
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| Summary |
Town first referred to as a borough in 1248, granted market possibly in 1238 when one was granted to the manor of Sciddingchou (see 3206). |
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| Description |
Town first referred to as a borough in 1248, granted market possibly in 1238 when one was granted to the manor of Sciddingchou (see 3206). It remained a chapel of Mistley until the C19. The towns layout suggests some form of planning based on the market in the High Street and the Quay. <1> - <5>
There is no evidence for there having been any Saxon settlement in the Manningtree town area. However, the manor of Sciddinghou (Old Hall) located just to the south-east of the town is described in the Domesday Book <6> as a manor covering 7 hides, including the later area of Manningtree. Manningtree appears to have been deliberately planted as a market town and port in the mid thirteenth century. A market was granted to the manor of Sciddinghou in 1238 which may have been held on the Manningtree site, although the earliest reference to the town is in 1248. The port served as a transhipment point for provisions destined for the North Sea fleet based at Harwich and also a leading fishing port for Colchester. The town did not have its own parish church, although it had at least one, possibly two chapels.<8>
The town's layout suggests some form of planning based on the market in the High Street and the Quay, both running parallel to the river. It is not clear however whether North Street and South Street were intended to be back lanes to the High Street or whether they were an attempt at a 'chequer-board' layout as at Harwich. The market was sited in the High Street. The original siting of a medieval chapel somewhere to the south of Stour Street suggests that it was originally envisaged that the town would extend this far south, but this did not actually take place and a chapel-of-ease was eventually built on the High Street in the seventeenth century. Excavation of the seventeenth century chapel site revealed that it had been built over a layer of domestic debris, and three sherds of thirteenth-fourteenth century pottery were recovered from the graveyard <7>. Examination of groundworks on the western side of the junction of South Street and North Street revealed a substantial stone wall of unknown date. It has been suggested <4> that the dog-leg plan of South Street on the southern side of the town may have been caused by the presence of a town enclosure ditch at that point. This has yet to be proved, but the medieval town was certainly quite compact in nature indicating again that it was enclosed in some form. <8>
Manningtree emerged as a major centre of the Essex malt industry during the early nineteenth century with five separate sites in operation by 1875. Barley was probably delivered and malt then dispatched by boat from the docks beside the River Stour; the more substantial maltings being deliberately located in estuarine positions. The Lawford Works was also a major employer with three complexes producing leather and iron goods on the west side of the town. A dammed pond beyond the leather works to the south of Mill Hill suggests the use of water wheels to provide motive power; the tail race then ran parallel to Mill Lane to a second smaller pond before discharging into the Stour. Maltings required large quantities of water for steeping and the tail race may also have fulfilled these requirements. Small terraces of brick-built worker's housing can be identified on the hill-slopes above the commercial centre, and more substantial managers' dwellings stand beside the Lawford Ironworks and 'The Walls' maltings. The production of malt in Manningtree was eclipsed during late nineteenth century by the creation of huge multi-storey maltings in the nearby settlement of Mistley and parts of the Lawford Works also appear to have gone into decline at a similar date. The buildings in the High Street are largely Georgian in date, several with Greek Doric doorways or porches. Watching-briefs in the town area in the 1960s and 70s revealed layers of post-medieval build-up. There are small terraces of brick-built worker's housing on the hill-slopes above the town centre, and more substantial managers' dwellings beside the Lawford Ironworks and 'The Walls' maltings. <8> |
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| Monument Type(s) |
PUBLIC BUILDING (Dated 1066AD to 1900AD)
TOWN (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
MARKET (Dated 1066AD to 1900AD)
TOWN DEFENCES (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
MALTINGS (Dated 1540AD to 1900AD)
TANNERY (Dated 1540AD to 1900AD)
QUAY (Dated 1066AD to 1900AD)
CHAPEL (Dated 1066AD to 1900AD)
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| Monument Class(es) |
CONJECTURAL EVIDENCE
DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
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Period
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1066AD to 1900AD Medieval
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| Status |
Not Known |
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| Administration Area |
MANNINGTREE, TENDRING, ESSEX |
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National Grid Reference
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Square: TM13SW
Ref: 107318 |
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| Finds |
None listed
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| Events |
None listed
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Sources
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Map : SMR (unknown)
Desc Text : SMR Form (unknown) Dated : 1960s to
Desc Text : English Medieval Borough - a Handlist (Beresford, MW and Finberg, HPR) Dated : 1973
Desc Text : English Medieval Boroughs - A Handlist (Beresford, MW and Finberg, HPR) Dated : 1973
Desc Text : A Trial Excavation at Manningtree Church 1974 (Rodwell, Warwick J) Dated : 1976
Desc Text : Domesday Book - 32, Essex (Rumble, A) Dated : 1983
Desc Text : Historic Towns in Essex (Eddy MR and Petchey MR) p66, 70, 71 Dated : 1983
Desc Text : Historic Towns in Essex: An Archaeological Survey (Eddy, MR with Petchey, MR) p66, 70, 71 Dated : 1983
Aerial Photo : TM13-032 (Rogers, P) Ref: Aerial 5-9, 10, Date 1985:5 Dated : 1985
Aerial Photo : 86-13,14 (unknown) Dated : 1988
Aerial Photo : CP/97/32/1A (Tyler, Sue) Dated : 1997
Desc Text : Manningtree Historic Town Assessment Report (Medlycott, Maria) Dated : 1999
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