Manningtree Life Jan '24 Layout v6 - Flipbook - Page 15
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Great reasons to
live in Manningtree
Countryside
For a town with such great links to the big city you
wouldn’t expect to also be on the edge of the Dedham
Vale, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AKA
Constable Country). With picturesque villages Mistley,
Lawford and Stratford St Mary nearby there is no
shortage of country walks to take in local wildlife
and incredible views.
Community
Once known as Britain’s smallest town, there is a
thriving local community in Manningtree. From the
traditional sailing, bowls and cricket clubs to more
modern wild swimming, theatre and photographic
society, there is a club or society for everyone that
wants to join one.
Excellent education
There are plenty of nurseries, primary and secondary
schools on the doorstep. Lawford’s Highfield’s Primary
School, home to Busy Bees nursery, was awarded
‘Outstanding’ at its most recent Ofsted inspection,
while other local primary and secondary schools all
carry a ‘Good’ rating or above. Manningtree is also
situated close to some of the top performing schools
in the country, like Colchester Royal Grammar School
and Colchester County High Schools for Girls as well as
private schools like Ipswich High School and the Royal
Hospital School. The University of Essex and University
of Suffolk are short drives away.
Sustainability
at its heart
In 2022 Manningtree was given special
environmental status after its businesses
agreed to stop using unnecessary single-use
plastics. A local mother created a group called
PACE, which stands for Practical Actions for Climate
and the Environment. They organise litter picks
with reusable sacks and have planted 300 trees in a
community orchard. The Wholefood Store based on
the high street also encourages sustainable living,
selling loose, unpackaged organic fruit and veg, natural
supplements, refillable laundry, kitchen and body
products plus dried foods in dispensers.
thewholefoodstore.co.uk
Steeped in history
Manningtree has plenty of local history for you to
share at dinner parties. It was mentioned in the
Doomsday Book, was the first site of the notorious
Matthew Hopkins, self-styled ‘witchfinder general’
trials and was even named in William Shakespeare’s
play Henry IV. Walks through the town will reveal
Georgian façades; however many of these conceal
Tudor or Elizabethan houses with lath and plaster
walls. The ancient site of the market, at the crossroads
in the town centre, is still known as Market Cross, and
in Elizabethan times there stood a public clock tower
with a room beneath it for public assembly.
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