Manningtree
Manningtree is proud to be one of England’s smallest market towns. The origin of the town’s name is obscure, but by Tudor times it had become a thriving port known as Manytre.
There are plenty of walks through the town with its imposing flat front Georgian facades, many of which conceal Tudor or Elizabethan houses with lathe and plaster walls. Much of the wealth of the town in those days came from the cloth trade. Some fine examples of weavers’ cottages still stand in Brook Street and South Street. Manningtree Local History Museum is well worth a visit and is housed in the Library.
Manningtree is a junction point between the Great Eastern Main Line and the Mayflower Line. The station has three platforms where local services meet the mainline connections to Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford and London.
Matthew Hopkins, the notorious Witchfinder General of the 17th century, began his career in Manningtree by condemning a coven of witches and the names of those unfortunate women are still to be found locally. Hopkins is buried at Mistley Heath.
