The church of St Michael and All Angels was situated in Manningtree High Street, on land said to belong to the Archbishop Laud, who gave the Church it's silver communion plate, which is now in keeping at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This replaced a much more ancient chapel in a less convenient position. Some of the stone from the earlier monument is believed to have been incorporated into the replacement building.
The earlier chapel had suffered much at the hands of the Reformation and fell into disuse. The inhabitants of Manningtree feared their town would be open to invasion by pirates or other sea faring opportunists while they were worshipping at Mistley. So, in 1616 they chose a more convenient site for the replacement church: the High Street.
The frontage of the north aisle formed an integral part of the High Street until its demolition in 1967. The churchyard was situated at the rear. The first construction consisted simply of a nave and two aisles. It was built in brick, septaria and flint and featured an interesting 17th century hammerbeam roof. The chancel was added much later. Some of the church timbers are reputed to have been reused wood from old ships. The nave was 50ft by 15ft 5ins. Galleries over the two aisles were erected in about 1788. The south aisle was rebuilt in 1821. A chancel was finally added in 1839. It had a small bell tower and contained a 15th century octagonal font.
St Michael and All Angels’ was elevated to the status of a parish church in 1840, having previously been a chapel to its mother church in Mistley. The church could hold an impressive congregation of 1,250 people during this period.
The building also housed an interesting collection of artefacts. There was a memorial to Thomas Ormond, erected in 1748. The 'clothworker' was burned to death during the reign of Queen Mary I in 1555, for his religious convictions. There was a collection of plate cup, cover and two patens. The Bishop of London, William Laud, later Archbishop to Charles I. gave all these to the church, in 1633. There was also a fine painting by Constable of the Ascension, which then went to Feering Church, it was sold at a later date in an auction, and is now displayed in Dedham Church.
In 1899, it was not considered cost effective to carry out a substantial reconstruction of St Michael and All Angels, so the congregation made the best of the existing structure. At some time around this period, the church was closed. In December 1901 it was reopened and renovated. New pine seats replaced the old-fashioned high pews. A new floor was laid. A new pulpit, lectern, chancel rail and choir stalls were fitted, at a total cost of £700.
The church remained in use until 1964. Between 1957 and 1964 a number of examinations were carried out in order to save the timbers of the nave roof. During repair work it was found that these massive hidden oak timbers were so decayed by rot and beetle that the nave was in danger of collapsing. The estimated cost of restoration was £22,500: the same cost of a replacement, which could be situated more conveniently, in the centre of the village. A ‘Dangerous Structure’ notice was posted by Tendring District Council in December 1966 and insurance cover was withdrawn. Part of the church was demolished. The only part left was the High Street wall of the nave, the chancel and the vestry. Despite much vehement protestation against demolition, no funds were forthcoming and it was decided to amalgamate the two parishes of Mistley and Manningtree. Demolition was completed in December 1967. The sealed vault under the site was still in existence when the church was demolished. This contained coffins to the Alston family, old brewers in Manningtree.
A small number of houses, erected in the early 1970s, stand on the former site of the church. The only surviving relic is a section of the western-most buttress and a small part of that wall. The old rectory still survives and is over the road to the left of the War Memorial.
In order to find this cache you need to go to the published co-ords and visit what remains of the Church, there you will find a plaque with the answers to the following question:
There are 8 numbers on the plaque call them ABCDEFGH in the order as you read them, and use them below to give you the final co-ords........
N 051 56.(A+B)(D+E+1)(F-G-1) E 001 04.(C+H-4)(A+E-1)(G+B-3)
The plaque and the walk to the final location are wheelchair and buggy friendly, although help may be required to retrieve.