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Manningtree,
England's smallest town, and its smaller near neighbour Mistley,
is on the south bank of the River Stour, just as the river
opens out down toward Felixstowe and Harwich. You can walk
from here into Suffolk to Flattford Mill.
The area
was once important for the brewing and malting industries,
long since gone.
Georgian
facades in the town, hiding older buildings. Also of note
are the weavers cottages and the old inns.
Market
days on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the square.
Manningtree's
claim to fame is as the starting point of the infamous career
of Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General of the 17th century,
who is buried at Mistley Heath.
Over at
Mistley, a small village, once the site of a proposed spa.
The scheme was thought up by Richard Rigby who used the famous
architect Robert Adam.
Original
maltings and quay can still been seen. Watch out for the Swan
Basin in the High Street, part of the spa project.
Please
note that the "secret bunker" at Mistley closed
to the public in Dec 2002.
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