|
|
Essex - Castles, Cathedrals,
Monuments,
Stately Homes & Palaces
|
|
Since the stone age, man has been
creating majestic structures that we still marvel at
today.
|
 |
 |
|
Whether you are interested in ancient monuments,
battlefield sites,
re-enactments, Roman and Norman forts and castles,
Stately Homes, Country Houses, Historic Cathedrals,
Ruined Abbeys etc, this is the page that should give you
the information you need.
Here we try to list properties in
private ownership but open to the public (even if only
occasionally) as well as those in the care of the
National Trust or English/Scottish Heritage.
We know that not all the
properties in Essex are listed. Please help us
make this guide comprehensive by giving details of
missing attractions
here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bourne Mill
Bourne Road, Colchester, CO2 8RT
Tel: 01206 572422
|
Picturesque watermill.
The mill was originally built as a fishing
lodge in 1591 and features stepped ‘Dutch’
gables.
It was converted in the 19th century to a mill
for fulling (a process in cloth manufacture)
and later flour milling.
The waterwheel is in working order. |
|
Bourne Mill Colchester -
Photo:
Glyn Baker
CCL |
|
|
Coggeshall Grange Barn
Grange Hill, Coggeshall, Colchester, CO6 1RE
Tel: 01376 562226
|
Coggeshall Grange Barn -
Photo:
Keith Evans
CCL |
|
This majestic building is one of the oldest
surviving timber-framed barns in Europe and
was originally part of a Cistercian monastery.
It was restored in the 1980s by The Coggeshall
Grange Barn Trust, Braintree DC and Essex CC,
and contains a small collection of farm carts
and wagons. |
|
|
Rayleigh Mount
Castle Park, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1TJ
Tel: 01206 282939 Fax:
01206 282925
Web:
www.theheritagetrail.co.uk
|
11th-century earthwork.
This motte and bailey mound is what remains of
the castle erected by Sweyn of Essex, dating
from the period following the Norman invasion
of 1066.
Display boards explain the main points of
interest. |
|
Rayleigh Mount Essex -
Photo:
John Myers
CCL |
|
|
The Cunning Men of Essex
|
Witches Butter -
Photo:
John Myers
CCL |
|
If you think witch doctors lived only in
remote regions of darkest African, then you
obviously haven't visited the county of Essex
and heard the tales of "Cunning Murrell."
Daubed the last witch doctor in England, James
Murrell was born in 1812 in the village of
Hadleigh, just inland from the coastal town of
Southend-on-Sea.
He was the seventh son of a seventh son, which
is said to confer the gift of second sight.
More... |
|
|
Manningtree, Mistley and
the Ghost of the Witchfinder General
|
Claiming the title of
England's smallest town, Manningtree lies on
the southern bank of the river Stour, some ten
miles north east of Colchester and about as
far due west of Harwich.
Together with the neighbouring village of
Mistley, the town is often viewed as little
more than the gateway to Constable country,
but both have their own rich history and
architectural legacy, making them well worth
taking a little time to explore.
More... |
|
Mistley Towers -
Photo:
Robert Edwards
CCL |
|
|
Colchester Castle
Castle Park, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1TJ
Tel: 01206 282939 Fax:
01206 282925
Web:
rayleighmount@nationaltrust.org.uk
The largest Norman Keep in Europe.
|
|
Harwich Redoubt Fort
Behind 29 Main Road, Harwich, Essex, CO12 3LT
Tel: 01255 503429 Fax:
01255 503429
Web:
www.harwich-society.co.uk
Circular fort built in 1808 to defend the port
of Harwich against a Napoleonic invasion.
|
|
Hedingham Castle
Castle Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 3DJ
Tel: 01787 460 261 Fax:
01787 461 473
E-mail:
mail@hedinghamcastle.co.uk
Web:
www.hedinghamcastle.co.uk
Hedingham Castle's Norman keep, built by Aubrey
de Vere in 1140, is still owned by one of his
descendants, The Honourable Thomas Lindsay and
his wife Virginia.
|
|
Mountfitchet Castle
Stansted Mountfitchet, Stansted, Essex, CM24 8SP
Tel: 01279 813237 Fax:
01279 816391
E-mail:
info@mountfitchetcastle.com
Web:
www.mountfitchetcastle.com
The only Norman motte and bailey castle in the
world.
|
|
Tilbury Fort
Tilbury, Essex, RM18 7NR
Tel: 01375 858489
E-mail:
customers@english-heritage.org.uk
Web:
www.english-heritage.org.uk
Originally built to protect London's
seaward approach from the 16th century through
to World War II.
|
|
[back to top]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chelmsford Cathedral
Cathedral Office, 53 New Street, Chelmsford,
Essex, CM1 1TY
Tel: 01245 294480 Fax:
01245 294499
E-mail:
office@chelmsfordcathedral.org.uk
Web:
www.cathedral.chelmsford.anglican.org
All though not a tourist led attraction,
visitors are welcome to the cathedral.
|
|
[back to top]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paycocke’s
West Street, Coggeshall, Colchester, CO6 1NS
Tel/Fax: 01376 561305
|
Merchant’s house, dating
from c.1500.
This fine half-timbered house is evidence of
the wealth generated by the East Anglian wool
trade in the 15th and 16th centuries.
It contains unusually rich panelling and wood
carving.
Coggeshall was also famous for its lace,
examples of which are displayed inside the
house.
There is a very attractive cottage garden. |
|
Paycocke's House Essex -
Photo:
Robert Edwards
CCL |
|
|
Thorington Hall
Stoke by Nayland, Colchester, CO6 4SS
Tel: 01284 735270 Fax:
01284 735175
E-mail:
thoringtonhall@nationaltrust.org.uk
Early 17th-century house. The oak-framed,
plastered and gabled house was built c.1600 and
later extended.
|
|
Hylands House
Hylands Park, London Road, Chelmsford, Essex,
CM2 8WQ
Tel: 01245 605500 Fax:
01245 496800
E-mail:
hylands@chelmsford.gov.uk
Web:
www.chelmsford.gov.uk/hylands
Hylands House is set in
574 acres of historic landscaped parkland.
Following five phases of restoration, visitors
can now enjoy spectacular rooms throughout the
House, ranging from the exquisitely gilded
Drawing Room to the sumptuously ornate
Banqueting Room. The magnificent Grand Staircase
has been fully restored to its former glory, and
the Repton Room on the first floor provides
stunning views over the landscaped parkland. The
final stages of restoration of the Estate are
due for completion by 2007.
|
|
Leez Priory
Hartford End, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 1JP
Tel: 01245 362555 Fax:
01245 361079
Web:
www.leezpriory.co.uk
A 450 year old Tudor mansion, set within a 40
acre parkland.
|
|
RHS Garden Hyde Hall
Rettendon, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 8ET
Tel: 01245 400 256 Fax:
01245 402 100
E-mail:
info@rhs.org.uk
Web:
www.rhs.org.uk
Once the site of a cold, windswept hill is now
the location of a stunning and diverse garden.
|
|
Beth Chatto Gardens
Elmstead Market, Colchester, Essex, CO7 7DB
Tel: 01206 822007 Fax:
01206 825933
E-mail:
info@bethchatto.fsnet.co.uk
Web:
www.bethchatto.co.uk
Beth Chatto Gardens began life as an overgrown
wasteland with poor gravel soil and boggy
hollows, now its a informal garden of
outstanding beauty.
|
|
Layer Marney Tower
Colchester, Essex, CO5 9US
Tel: 01206 330 784 Fax:
01206 330 884
E-mail:
info@layermarneytower.co.uk
Web:
www.layermarneytower.co.uk
The gatehouse, (England’s tallest Tudor
gatehouse), farm and gardens are open to the
public between April and October each year.
|
|
Gardens of Easton Lodge
Warwick House, Easton Lodge, Great Dunmow,
Essex, CM6 2BB
Tel: 01371 876979 Fax:
01371 876979
E-mail:
enquiries@eastonlodge.co.uk
Web:
www.eastonlodge.co.uk
Originally a Royal hunting Lodge that dates back
to Elizabethan England, the Gardens were
redesigned by Harold Peto in 1902.
|
|
Ingatestone Hall
Hall Lane, Ingatestone, Essex, CM4 9NR
Tel: 01277 353010 Fax:
01245 248979
Tudor mansion built by Sir William Petre.
|
|
Audley End House and Park
Audley End, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB11 4JF
Tel: 01799 522399 Fax:
01799 521276
E-mail:
customers@english-heritage.org.uk
Web:
www.english-heritage.org.uk
Thomas, first Earl of Suffolk, rebuilt this
mansion between 1610 and 1614 from the original
Walden Abbey buildings.
|
CAMBRIDGE LODGE, the principle gatehouse to
Audley End House, is a self
catering holiday property available through
English Heritage.
More info... |
|
|
|
New Members required for this section!
To join or recommend an establishment to
us, please
contact Tourist Net UK
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
