Little Maplestead

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 but practically rebuilt 1849–55. The round nave has an arcade of six bays. It is one of only four medieval round churches in England now surviving and was built by the Knights Hospitallers.

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.

Every year on the first Sunday in June, the Order of St John in Essex hold an annual service, where Knights and other officials of The Order from the county process in their formal Mantels (ceremonial cloaks).

Little Maplestead is the home of X Factor 2010 winner Matt Cardle,[5] actress Barbara Hicks, and former World and European Bridge Champion David Price.[6]