Dedham Vale Society Winter 2007 No 61

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His main interest begins in Victorian times, his chief source being a fellow called JosephGlass who was born in Colchester, who lived in Manningtree as a boy and who published inl855 Reminiscences of Manningtree and its Vicinity. (It was Joseph Glass who inventedextendable chimney brushes – the origin of what we use today – which meant the end ofchild chimney sweeps.) Glass’s Reminiscenses are written in appalling verse which is greatfun to read and he gives you all the important facts, for instance that in the early nineteenthcentury there were 24 pubs in Manningtree, 16 in Mistley:Houses with painted signs as we have seen,Are places of resort where men conveneOn business matters: they attend at first,Then take a glass or two to quench their thirst.Half pints they quaff, of ale, or stout, or porter,And smoke and drink their rum and gin and water.Meanwhile their business is so much extended –‘Tis hard indeed, to tell when’t will be ended.‘Tis night! – one leaves for home with staggering gait,But is not seen, as it is getting late.”The most exciting time to live here, David Cleveland thinks, would have been before therailway was built in l846. It took 36 hours to get to London by a coach, starting from Harwich,called The Defiance which rather ruled out commuting, but there was a lot going on here - apartfrom all the jolly drinking -particularly in Mistley. They were building ships on the quay, theRigbys had grand ideas for building a spa, and the Edward Norman was building the maltings.The population of Mistley almost doubled between 1841 and 1851, there were no drains,no paving on the streets and the whole place stank. People caught typhoid and cholera. Inthese antiseptic times, it’s hard to imagine the smells. Privies were emptied twice a year.Otherwise, waste of all kinds was chucked into the street. Not only that, but manure andwaste were shipped down by barge from London, piled up on Mistley quay and spread on theland. “A glass of water,” said David Cleveland, “would have things floating in it.” A lot ofsewage ended up in the estuary. (Indeed, before they built the sewage plant between theNorwich and Harwich lines in the 1970’s, they were still emptying sewage into the river, ashe could see from his boat.)“In l916, sailing barges and big fishing boats would come from London to Manningtree.The river was very active. They fished for flounders and winkles and cockles and whelks,all sold at the door. At Mistley quay coal would be unloaded on to the lighters which wentup to Dedham and Sudbury. They would be poled along until Brantham lock. You werenow in fresh water and the horses on the banks on the other side of the lock would draw thelighters up to Sudbury. There was a brick works in Sudbury and the lighters would bringbricks back to Mistley and load them on to barges to go to London .There were still quite a lot of smells when he came to live here in l969: “The plasticsfactory at Brantham smelt awful but, until the seventies, there was a sawmill down on thequay which smelt lovely.” And there was always the sweet almond smell of the maltingswafting down from Mistley.22
Things are still busy on Mistley quay, suitable and cheaper for smaller vessels to use. Passingthrough might be metal from Spain, building materials from Northern Ireland. The old maltingsmay be luxury flats with splendid views across the estuary to Suffolk, but Simpsons Maltbehind Mistley station turns out 27,000 tonnes of malt a year, more than all the old manualmaltings put together.In Manningtree business has declined since the closure of the post office in the l990’s, butbefore his death Mr Howells finally persuaded the wisteria to grow up Wisteria House and westill have The Crown, The White Hart, The Red Lion, The Swan and the Skinners’ Arms. Wehave beauty salons, a Bangladeshi restaurant, a tanning parlour, a fish and chip shop, a café,Townsends and the health food store. What will happen if we get Tescos, goodness only knows.We still have the barber in South Street, we still have Mr Sadler and we still have the market.The Manningtree market charter dates back to 1238, the original market day being a Monday.During the Middle Ages, every year at the fair, the town roasted a whole ox. In Henry IVpart 1, Falstaff talks about “that roasted Manningtree ox with the pudding in its belly.”What of Manningtree’s most famous - and infamous - son, Matthew Hopkins, WitchfinderGeneral, who is said to have had countless witches burnt at the stake during the Civil War?“There’s a certificate,” said David Cleveland, “confirming that he was buried in 1647 in theold churchyard at Mistley Heath, but no proof at all of his killing people in Manningtree onSouth Green at the top of South Street, or that he plotted and planned his killings at theThorn in Mistley.” Here’s Joseph Glass again:We find by records, that in former yearsA most notorious character appears –Was Matthew Hopkins named, of base renown,Who long resided in our native town.Large numbers by his wiles were guilty found,And some were strangled, other burnt, or drowned!While he for each convicted of this crimeReceived full twenty shillings at the time.There used to be nine bakers in Manningtree. Now there’s only De’Aths where they startbaking at 4am. “Another lovely smell,” said David Cleveland. “I sniff it on my way to catch anearly train.”Peter Kenny at work early in the morning breadmaking in ManningtreeDavid Cleveland’s book, Mannintree and Mistley, the People the Trades and the Industries,is to be published by Malthouse Press on March 28 at £17.50. It is available in ManningtreeLibrary and in various shops in the town. On March 31 he will be in Manningtree Libraryall day to sign copies.23
Page 1 and 2: Dedham Vale Society Winter 2007 No.
Page 3 and 4: NEWSLETTER NUMBER 61 WINTER 2007CON
Page 5 and 6: ESSEX PLANNING NOTESThe Dedham Vale
Page 7 and 8: MEETING WITH CBC PLANNING DEPARTMEN
Page 9 and 10: DEDHAM NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCHNeighbour
Page 11: Power cables in Dedham to disappear
Page 14 and 15: PLANNING GUIDELINES - BABERGHWhat i
Page 16 and 17: is not expected until sometime next
Page 18 and 19: down Monk’s Lane. Some people had
Page 20 and 21: Well, when I first joined in 1950 w
Page 24: Spring & Summer WalksProgramme 2007

Dedham Vale Society Winter 2007 No 61

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