Steeple is a village on the Dengie Peninsula in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. It is situated just east of

Maylandsea Maylandsea, and the adjacent Mayland, are villages on the Dengie Peninsula in the English county of Essex. They are part of the Althorne ward of the Maldon district, and have a parish council that covers both villages. Governance Mayland is ...

and Mayland, on the southern side of the River Blackwater

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

. A hamlet, within the village of Steeple, on the banks of the River Blackwater is called Stansgate.

Amenities

The village has no shops, but does have a pub called The Star, which has a serviced touring field to the rear with 40 pitches as well as four rooms for visitors.

Steeple Church

The original parish church of St Lawrence, located west of the present building, was destroyed by fire. The current church was built in the centre of the village re-using some materials from the old church. On the west side of the village, there is a former chapel building of the

Peculiar People The Peculiar People, now officially known as the Union of Evangelical Churches, is a Christian movement that was originally an offshoot of the Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain), Wesleyan denomination, founded in 1838 in Rochford, Essex, ...

, built in 1877.

Stansgate Priory

Stansgate Priory was a

Cluniac Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter, Saints Peter and Saint Paul, Paul. The abbey was constructed ...

Priory built near to the banks of the River Blackwater in about 1120. It was one of many priories closed by

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

in 1534.

Viscounts Stansgate

The village has been home to several generations of the

Benn family The Benn family is a British family that has been prominent in UK politics, government, public service, and business since the late nineteenth century. * Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet (1850–1922), Liberal MP 1892–1910. ** Sir Ernest Benn, 2nd ...

, who were created Viscounts Stansgate in 1942, since about 1900. They live in Stansgate House.

References

Villages in Essex Maldon District {{Essex-geo-stub