" This parish lies north - east from Great Maplestead, and westward from Lamarsh, extending to Twinstead, Wickham St. Paul's, and Castle Hedingham; it is four miles in circumference, and distant from Halstead four miles. It is included, with Great Maplestead, in the hop land district, and the soil of these two parishes is not materially different; both are well wooded , and present beautiful landscapes, diversified by a succession of elevations and declivities, with some low and level grounds. "

" In the reign of Edward the Confessor, Orim, a freeman, held this parish; and, at the survey, it had come into the possession of John , the son of Waleram, and his under tenant was Osmund . In the time of King Stephen, it belonged to Robert Doisnel, whose daughter and heiress, Juliana, was married to William , the son of Audelin , steward to King Henry the Second; he was also governor of Wexford , and of Ireland , under that king; and was the ancestor of Hubert de Burgh , the celebrated earl of Kent. (footnote) "

" This whole parish, with all its appurtenances, was given to the Knights Hospitalers, by the lady Juliana (footnote) and her husband confirmed the gift in 1186; this donation was also confirmed by King John; and King Henry the Third granted the liberty of free warren to the brethren, who, enjoying this liberal patronage, established a preceptory (footnote) here, under the appellation of Le Hospital, which rapidly encreased in wealth and importance, and, in less than two centuries, received donations from more than seven hundred benefactors, in this and other counties. Among these were Robert de Vere, Sir John Dyn, and Margaret, his wife, of Dynes Hall; Hugh Hoding, William Joye , a very munificent benefactor; and Sir Simon Odewell , who gave them a considerable estate in Odewell and Gestingthorp . (footnote) "

" The present manor - house of Maplestead Hall , which is a handsome building , near the church , occupies the site of the ancient erection , with which it is partly incorporated , as may be seen by the chimney of the parlour and the staircase. On the dissolution of this house, in 1540, its possessions, with Temple Sutton and Chawreth, were granted, by King Henry the Eighth, to George Harper, Esq. (footnote) to hold by knight's service. It soon afterwards became the property of John Wiseman, Esq . one of the auditors of the king's revenues. He was of Great Canfield, and , on his death, left this estate to his wife, Agnes, for life; on whose decease it descended to her son , John Wiseman , whose youngest son , Edmund , succeeded to this estate on the death of his father , in 1602. Edmund Wiseman was a soldier, and a follower of the fortunes of Robert Devereux, earl of Essex, whose untimely death was believed to have been occasioned by the secret influence of a court faction , to which this Edmund became subservient , by neglecting the timely delivery of a letter from the Earl to the Queen ; (footnote) the disastrous consequence of this negligence so affected him , that he vowed never more to rest on a bed; in conformity to which resolution he procured a wooden block , cut out of a large tree , in the form of a bed and bolster , which he used as his only place of repose , till his death , which happened in 1646 . His brother , Sir William Wiseman , bart, was his heir , and succeeded to this estate . He was engaged in the service of King Charles the First , and died at Oxford in 1643 . By his lady Elizabeth , daughter of Sir Henry Capel , knt , he left an only son and heir , Sir William Wiseman , who married , first , Anne , youngest daughter of Sir John Prescot , by whom he had no children ; but , by his second wife , Arabella , daughter of Şir Thomas Hewitt , knt . he had a numerous offspring of thirteen children . Previous to his decease, in 1684 , he sold this estate to Sir Mark Guyon , knt . of Coggeshall and Great Maplestead , whose daughter and heiress, Elizabeth, conveyed it , in marriage , to Edward Bullock, Esq. of Faulkbourn Hall , who sold it, in 1705, to Mr. Joseph Davis, mercer, of London. "

" Walshes is an estate in this parish, which belongs to a free school at Sudbury.
At the time of Juliana's donation to the Knights Hospitalers, there was a church here at Little Maplestead, (footnote) but it certainly was not the present building, which is a small ancient edifice, of a pleasing appearance, and internally possessing a considerable degree of elegance: it is celebrated on account of its resemblance to the church of the Holy Sepulchre , at Jerusalem , and the Temple church , in London. The principal entrance is at the west end , by a porch with three doors ; this immediately introduces us into the circular part , which measures thirty feet in diameter , and has a peristyle , consisting of six clustered columns , supporting pointed arches : the whole length of the church is seventy feet ; and the east end is semi-circular . Tradition informs us that this sacred edifice had the privilege of sanctuary , and it is dedicated to St. John, of Jerusalem. "

" Bede, and other ancient writers, describe the structure as a round church, with three walls and twelve pillars . The circular form of it yet remains. It was revered by the knights above all earthly objects . As they were originally instituted and stationed at the Holy Sepulchre to protect the Christian pilgrims against the Saracens , it seems extremely probable that they would imitate that structure , when they had occasion to erect a new church in those parts of Europe into which they were after wards distributed ; and it is ascertained , beyond doubt , that some of those in England , so formed and denominated , were of their erection . Yet it must be acknowledged , that various specimens were formerly to be met with , as in the inner court of the castle at Ludlow, in Shropshire , and at other places , which cannot be supposed to have had this origin ; and , as it can by no means be ascertained that the Knights Templars had possessions at Little Maplestead , the opinion of their having erected this church is purely hypothetical. "

" In 1821 , this parish contained three hundred and thirteen , and , in 1831 , three hundred and seventy - three inhabitants . "

" Maplestead, Little, a parish in Essex, 2½ miles N of Halstead station on the Colne Valley railway.
It has a post office under Halstead; money order and telegraph office, Halstead. Acreage, 1212; population of civil parish, 236; of ecclesiastical, 217. The church belonged to a preceptory, had the privilege of sanctuary, is the latest and smallest of the four extant round churches of England, was restored or rebuilt in 1857, retains its ancient form and features, is in fine Decorated English style, has a circular nave 30 feet in diameter, surrounded by a peristyle of six clustered columns, and an eastern apse or semicircular chancel, measures 62 feet in length, and contains a restored Primitive Norman font. There is a Congregational chapel. " In the reign of Henry I. The place belonged to Robert Dosnel,'whose daughter Juliana married William son of Andelin or Fitz Adhelin de Burgo, one of the great officers attached to the court of Henry II. This lady in 1185 gave the whole of the parish, including the church, to the Knights Hospitallers, and this gift was subsequently confirmed by her husband and also by King John. As soon as the Hospitallers had obtained possession of the place they proceeded to erect a commandery, which was subject to the priory of St John at ClerkenwelL In 1705 Mr Joseph Davis, a Sabbatarian (i.e. Seventh Day Baptist), purchased the manor of Little Maplestead, and by will left, with other property, the tithes of the parish, two farms of about 200 acres each, and advowson of the living for the benefit of the Seventh Day Baptists, subject to the payment, under which the purchase was made, of £10 a year to the incumbent." The trustees to the Sabbatarians were formerly city men, not themselves Sabbatarians, as males could not be found in the sect to make trustees; but now, although the Sabbatarians separated from the General Baptists on the question of the observance of the seventh day, the General Baptists are allowed to become trustees and to share in the funds of the Sabbatarians; consequently they now have the appointment to the living. "