Mistley

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Mistley
Mistley towers 700.jpg
Mistley Towers
Essex UK location map.svg
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Mistley
Location within Essex
Population2,685 (Including Horsley Cross. 2011) [1]
OS grid reference TM117318
Civil parish
  • Mistley
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Manningtree
Postcode district CO11
Dialling code 01206
Police Essex
Fire Essex
Ambulance East of England
List of places
UK
England
Essex
51°56′38″N1°04′52″E / 51.944°N 1.081°E / 51.944; 1.081 Coordinates: 51°56′38″N1°04′52″E / 51.944°N 1.081°E / 51.944; 1.081

Mistley is a large village and civil parish in the Tendring district of northeast Essex, England. It is around 11 miles northeast of Colchester and is east of, and almost contiguous with, Manningtree. The parish consists of Mistley and New Mistley, both lying beside the Stour Estuary, and Mistley Heath a kilometre to the south. Mistley railway station serves Mistley on the Mayflower Line.

Contents

Mistley is the location of one of five Cold War control rooms in Essex. Built in 1951, it was opened as a museum called the Secret Bunker in 1996 but closed in 2002. [2]

History

A Roman road leading from Mistley to the nearby provincial capital of Roman Britain at Camulodunum (modern Colchester) has led to the suggestion that there may have been a port in the vicinity of the modern village which served the town in the Roman period. [3]

Mistley is the village where Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General, was reputed to have lived, according to legend owning the Thorn Inn. He was buried a few hours after his death in the graveyard of the Church of St Mary. [4] From 1920–22 Rev Frank Buttle was rector of Mistley with Bradfield.

Sport

The village is home to Mistley Cricket Club, which plays its home games in New Road, next to the church. Both Mistley Football and Rugby clubs play at Furze Hill.

Mistley Quay

Thorn Quay Warehouse, Mistley, UK (River Side).JPG
Thorn Quay Warehouse, Mistley, UK (Road Side).JPG
Thorn Quay Warehouse

The first quay was built around 1720 [5] and trade went on from that quay up to Sudbury. Around about 1770, the quay was enlarged by Richard Rigby and was known as Port of Mistley. Small-scale shipbuilding took place here, and a number of smaller warships were built for the Royal Navy at Mistleythorn during the 18th century.

At that time, the village of Mistley, then known as Mistleythorn, consisted of warehouses, a granary, a large malting office and new quays. There was also a medieval church, only the porch of which survives, and a new church that Rigby's father had built to the north of the village in 1735. When Rigby hatched a scheme to turn Mistley into a fashionable spa this plain, rectangular brick building was not in keeping with his grand plans. Rigby originally called in Robert Adam to design a saltwater bath by the river, but this plan was never carried out and instead the architect was put to work on the church in around 1776.

Adam's scheme was unusual in that it avoided the standard form of 18th-century parish church design, which consisted typically of a rectangle with a western tower or portico (or both) and perhaps an eastern chancel. Instead, by adding towers at the east and west ends and semi-circular porticoes on the north and south sides, Adam created a design that was symmetrical along both the long and short axes. This unusual arrangement was possibly influenced by the design of Roman tombs and the result was most unconventional. Mistley would certainly have stood out from other 18th-century churches.

Sadly for Rigby his grand plans for the spa were unsuccessful. The main body of the church was demolished in 1870 when a new and larger church in the then fashionable Gothic Revival style was built nearby.

When the young French aristocrat Francois de La Rochefoucauld visited Mistley in 1784, he remarked [6] on the trade of the port which he said was 'created entirely by Mr Rigby'. His tutor and companion, Maximilien de Lazowski, was more precise in his comments, [7] saying that 'Newcastle ships bring coal which is either distributed by cart into Essex or Suffolk or carried on upriver by barge to Sudbury. The whole neighbourhood brings its corn here to be embarked or stored for the London markets and all the coastal ports. There are six ships at the quay – a fine sight.', [8]

Recent history

Aerial view Home of The English Diastatic Malt Extract Company Ltd (20638830609).jpg
Aerial view

In September 2008, at the behest of the Health and Safety Executive, owners Trent Wharfage erected a safety fence along the quay. [9] A protest group was formed to object to the fence, claiming that it ended 500 years of free access to the water. [10] [11] After locals raised £35,000 to pay for legal advice a public enquiry was held, and Essex County Council ruled that the quay constituted a "village green". [9] [12] Locals hope this paves the way to the removal of the fence, on the grounds that it interferes with the public's enjoyment of the public space. [13] As of May 2016 the decision was under appeal. In February 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the registration of the land as a village green. [14]

Thorn Quay Warehouse, the main building of which dates from the 1950s, is the subject of a debate regarding its demolition. [15] [16] In November 2014 a High Court judge sided with the council, meaning that the planning permission for the demolition stood and new homes could be built on the site. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Hopkins</span> English witch hunter (1620–1647)

Matthew Hopkins was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, and was mainly active in East Anglia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clacton-on-Sea</span> Human settlement in England

Clacton-on-Sea is a seaside town in the Tendring District in the county of Essex, England. It is located on the Tendring Peninsula and is the largest settlement in the Tendring District with a population of 56,874. The town is situated around 85 miles north-east of London, 42 miles from Chelmsford, 58 miles from Southend-on-Sea, 16 miles south-east of Colchester and 18 miles south of Harwich. The town is a seaside resort, located on the south-east coast of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tendring District</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

Tendring is a local government district in north-east Essex, England. It extends from the River Stour in the north, to the coast and the River Colne in the south, with the coast to the east and the town of Colchester to the west. Its council is based in Clacton-on-Sea. Towns in the district include Frinton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze, Brightlingsea and Harwich. Large villages in the district include St Osyth and Great Bentley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manningtree</span> Town and civil parish in Essex, England

Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England, which lies on the River Stour. It is part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Natural Beauty.

Stratford St. Mary Human settlement in England

Stratford St. Mary is a village in Suffolk, England in the heart of 'Constable Country'. John Constable painted a number of paintings in and around Stratford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mistley Towers</span>

Mistley Towers are the twin towers of the now demolished Church of St. Mary the Virgin at Mistley in Essex. The original Georgian parish church on the site had been built in classical style early in the 18th century following the death of Richard Rigby Esquire. Later in that century there was a grandiose plan by his son, the wealthy politician Richard Rigby, to transform Mistley Thorn into a spa town.

Lawford Human settlement in England

Lawford is a large village and civil parish in the Tendring district of northeast Essex, England. It is approximately 6 miles (10 km) northeast from the centre of Colchester and west of, and contiguous with, Manningtree. Mistley merges with the east side of Manningtree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke-by-Nayland</span> Human settlement in England

Stoke-by-Nayland is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England, close to the border with Essex. The parish includes the village of Withermarsh Green and the hamlets of Thorington Street and Scotland Street. The village has many cottages and timber-framed houses and all surround a recreation field. Possibly once the site of a monastery, the population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 703, falling to 682 at the Census 2011.

Brantham Human settlement in England

Brantham is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. It is located close to the River Stour and the border with Essex, around 2 miles (3 km) north of Manningtree, and around 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Ipswich.

Great Bentley Human settlement in England

Great Bentley is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Tendring district of north Essex, England, located seven miles east of Colchester. The parish includes the hamlets of Aingers Green and South Heath. It is home to the second largest village green in the country, at a size of 43 acres (170,000 m2), behind Duncan Down and has won 'Essex Village of the Year' and 'Daily Telegraph/Calor Gas Village of the Year' awards. Great Bentley railway station provides the village with frequent rail services along the Sunshine Coast Line to London Liverpool Street, Clacton-on-Sea, Colchester and Walton-on-the-Naze.

Ardleigh Human settlement in England

Ardleigh is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is situated approximately 4 miles (6 km) northeast from the centre of Colchester and 26 miles (42 km) northeast from the county town of Chelmsford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harwich and North Essex (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2010 onwards

Harwich and North Essex is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Bernard Jenkin of the Conservative Party since its creation in 2010.

Great Bromley Human settlement in England

Great Bromley is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England. It lies 6 kilometres (4 mi) south of Manningtree and 9 kilometres (6 mi) east of Colchester and includes the hamlets of Balls Green, Hare Green and Bromley Cross. The A120 trunk road cuts right through the middle of the parish.

Tendring Human settlement in England

Tendring is a village and civil parish in Essex. It gives its name to the Tendring District and before that the Tendring Hundred. Its name was given to the larger groupings because it was at the centre, not because it was larger than the other settlements. In 2011 the parish had a population of 736 and the district had a population of 138,048. The linear village straddles the B1035 from Manningtree to Thorpe-le-Soken.

Little Bromley Human settlement in England

Little Bromley is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England. The name "Bromley" is Old English for "broomy wood/clearing". The village lies 9 kilometres (6 mi) east northeast of Colchester and 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of Manningtree. It is surrounded by the parishes of Lawford, Ardleigh, Great Bromley, Little Bentley, and Mistley. Its area is about 7.5 square kilometres. The population was reported to be 426 in the 1841 census, 361 in the 1911 census, 289 in the 2001 census, and 253 in the 2011 census. The main economic activity is arable farming. The village shop, mentioned in Kelly's Directory of Essex (1914), ceased operating in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colchester North (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983–1997

North Colchester was a Borough Constituency in Essex, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Mistley railway station Railway station in Essex, England

Mistley railway station is on the Mayflower Line, a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the village of Mistley, Essex. It is 61 miles 14 chains (98.45 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Manningtree to the west and Wrabness to the east. Its three-letter station code is MIS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dedham, Essex</span> Human settlement in England

Dedham is a village within the borough of Colchester in northeast Essex, England, on the River Stour and the border of Essex and Suffolk. The nearest town to Dedham is the small market town of Manningtree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essex</span> County of England

Essex is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Greater London to the south and south-west. The county town is Chelmsford, which is one of two cities in the county, the other being Southend-on-Sea which was granted city status on 1 March 2022. Colchester will become a city later in 2022 as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. For the purposes of government statistics, Essex is placed in the East of England region.

References

  1. ↑ "Parish population 2011" . Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Subterranea Britannica: Research Study Group: Sites: Mistley". Subbrit.org.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Crummy, Philip (1997) City of Victory; the story of Colchester – Britain's first Roman town. Published by Colchester Archaeological Trust ( ISBN   1 897719 04 3)
  4. ↑ Gaskill, Malcolm (2005), Witchfinders: A Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy, John Murray, p. 263, ISBN   978-0-7195-6120-7
  5. ↑ Mistley Quay through the ages (16 September 2008). "Essex – History – Mistley Quay through the ages". BBC. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  6. ↑ A Frenchman's Year in Suffolk, 1784 (Suffolk Records Society): Amazon.co.uk: Francois de la Rochefoucauld, Norman Scarfe: 9780851155081: Books. ASIN   0851155081.
  7. ↑ Rochefoucauld, Alexandre de La; Lazowski, Maximilien de; Scarfe, Norman (2001). To the Highlands in 1786: The Inquisitive Journey of a Young French Aristocrat – Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld, Maximilien de Lazowski, Norman Scarfe – Google Books. ISBN   9780851158433 . Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Visit-Manningtree.co.uk - A History of Manningtree, the 1700's - the Rigby Vision". Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  9. 1 2 Milmo, Cahal (8 August 2014). "Thorn Quay is Britain's newest village green – even though there isn't a blade of grass in sight". The Independent . Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Freethequay.Org". Freethequay.Org. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Mistley: Trent Wharfage statement". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "Village green bid for concrete Mistley quay". BBC News . 24 June 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "Looking back: The Mistley Quay fence story". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. Newsquest. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  14. ↑ Supreme Court ruling 12 February 2021, T W Logistics Ltd v Essex County Council.
  15. ↑ Tendring District Council, Planning Application Reference 12/00427/FUL
  16. ↑ "Homes on Edme factory site are given go-ahead for second time". Essex County Standard. 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  17. ↑ "Judge dismisses Essex port legal challenge over loss of employment space". planningresource.co.uk. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2016.

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