Lawford

There are ring ditches and banks to the south west of Reed Island, the remnants of a Neolithic religious site. Flint implements and Neolithic pottery have been found there. The Church of St. Mary contains rich 14th Century stone carvings in the chancel. Read more…

This attractive old town was built on a grid pattern, in the 13th Century, by the Earl of Norfolk, to exploit its strategic position at the mouth of the Stour/Orwell estuary. The famous seafarers Hawkins, Drake and Frobisher all sailed from Harwich during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I on various expeditions. The Mayflower, the ship which carried the Pilgrim Read more…

Great Bentley is probably best known for, what is reputedly the largest Village Green in England, with approximately 43 acres. The Village Green was purchased by the Parish Council on behalf of the residents of the Great Bentley in 1965 from the then Lord of the Manor. Read more…

Developed as a select resort by Sir Richard Cooper and largely expanded after 1886. The area south of Frinton Gates was laid out with detached houses set along broad tree lined avenues and has preserved a unique local character. The Church of Old St. Mary contains some interesting panels of William Morris stained glass in the East window, designed by Read more…

Elmstead, a pleasant village, 4½ miles East by North of Colchester. It is sometimes called Elmstead Market, owing to a market being held in the village during one of the visitations of the plague in Colchester. The Church of St. Anne and St. Lawrence to the north of the village has a rare carved oak recumbent effigy of a knight Read more…

The town has been settled from Prehistoric times. Late Bronze Age axe heads were found at upper Dovercourt. To the Romans, the town was an important source of building stone ‘Septaria’, taken from the cliffs. The modern town largely developed in Victorian times as a fashionable resort. Read more…

The town has a history of shipbuilding and seafaring. There are disused oyster pits near the Town Hard, where the Colne Smack Preservation Society can also be found. In 1347 five ships and 51 men were sent to the siege of Calais. ‘William of Brightlingsea’ was in Sir Francis Drake’s fleet which vanquished the Spanish Armada. Brightlingsea has the distinction Read more…

Bradfield is located about five kilometres (3 miles) east of Manningtree. The Anglican church is dedicated to Saint Lawrence. One of the windows commemorates Edwin Harris Dunning, the first pilot to land an aircraft on a moving ship. Read more…

The village contains the disused Trading Quay, intended for vessels using Walton Backwaters. A tablet records the fact that it was rebuilt in 1832 using stones from old London Bridge. The 11th Century Parish Church of St. Leonard contains the grave of Viscount Byng of Vimy, Governor General of Canada. Photos by David Blackwell. Read more…

There is a fine group of 16th and 17th Century cottages grouped around the 15th Century Parish Church in the centre of the village. Spring Valley Mill, a privately owned 18th Century timber framed weather boarded building, was used as a watermill, later adapted to steam and is now empty. It formed the setting for M.Saville’s ‘Treasure at the Mill’. Read more…