Post 1840 wall at York Street, Manningtree (EHER 80405)

A decorative wall constructed after 1840 as it is partially constructed of clinker from the nearby gasworks constructed in 1840.

July 2020. Level 1 building survey. In length, the wall runs for approximately 18m west to east. The wall is roughly 2m in height at its highest point at the western end, dropping to approximately 1.7m elsewhere. The wall is constructed from decorative panels equal in length, approximately 3.6m long. These are formed of uncoursed rubble, flint, reused brick, stone and clinker set in lime mortar matrix, between piers of red brick. The wall it topped with coping bricks, set upon two courses of bricks in stretcher bond. The piers between the panels extend in height to the level of the stretcher-bond brickwork below the coping and the piers are topped with moulded plinth bricks. The southern face of the wall, which faces onto York Street is the most ornate, with red bricks set in a diamond pattern. This façade also has the most amount of clinker in its make-up, which was sourced from the former Mistley Gas Works. As the gasworks was constructed in 1840, the wall must date to some time after. Also included within the fabric of the York Street Wall are a number of examples of moulded stones. The rounded torus and ovolo mouldings are visible in profile as the stones have been turned to be reused in the wall. The carving of stone decoration suggests that the building from which the reused stones originated had a level of considerable importance, probably an ecclesiastical building. <1>