Little Maplestead

Little Maplestead
Church of St John the Baptist
Little Maplestead  Little Maplestead shown within Essex
Population	294 (2001) 270 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	TL8234
Civil parish	Little Maplestead
District	Braintree
Shire county	Essex
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HALSTEAD
Postcode district	CO9
Dialling code	01787
Police	Essex
Fire	Essex
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Braintree
List of places UK England Essex

Coordinates: 51°58′29″N 0°39′17″E / 51.9748°N 0.6546°E / 51.9748; 0.6546

Little Maplestead is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England.

Amenities

Little Maplestead once had a Knights Hospitaller establishment called Little Maplestead Preceptory.^[2]

The round parish church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, is a Grade II* listed building^[3] dating from around 1335. It is one of only four medieval round churches in England now surviving and was built by the Knights of St John. In March 2013 the church was granted £5,000 by the National Churches Trust towards the repair of the gutters. A total of £42,000 has now been raised for a restoration project at the church, which was started by supporters two years ago, with a fund-raising target of £100,000. Some restoration took place in the 1850s, but the original design and composition of the rotunda that forms the nave remains, as do many of the earlier fittings.^[4] In 1836, William Wallen published The History and Antiquities of the Round Church at Little Maplestead, Essex.

Location grid

		Wickham St. Paul
	Great Maplestead		Pebmarsh
		Little Maplestead
		Halstead

Notable people

Little Maplestead is the home of X Factor 2010 winner Matt Cardle^[5] and actress Barbara Hicks.

References