The walk starts in the town centre beneath the blue-and-white weatherboarded Victorian clock tower, which was restored for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. From here it proceeds along Church Street with its striking collection of rendered and timber-framed houses dating from medieval to Georgian times. On the edge of Coggeshall is the church of St Peter ad Vincula, built in the 15th century and partly destroyed in 1940 by a bomb.
The Monk House, a sprawling old farmhouse, is part of the remains of Coggeshall Abbey, founded here in 1140. Nearby, St Nicholas's Church — a modest chapel standing seemingly isolated in the middle of fields — is another remnant of the monastery; though small, it is remarkable as being partly built of brick, almost the earliest known use of this building material since Roman times.
Grange Barn was probably the first building to be put up for the abbey. It is the earliest timber-framed barn in Britain and one of the oldest agricultural buildings in Europe, much studied especially for the design of the joints holding the timbers together.
A short diversion up the road from Grange Barn leads to a bridge known by three names: Stephen's Bridge, The Long Bridge, and by Coggeshall natives as the Horse River Bridge. On the bridge there used to be an inscription above the centre arch showing "the arms or badge of King Stephen and a sagittarius, a creature half man and half horse".
After Grange Barn, the walk continues through open countryside along the Essex Way and into a plantation, where an interesting arched wrought-iron footbridge takes you over the River Blackwater.
While walking the stretch along the River Blackwater, look out for a weatherboarded water mill now privately owned.
Perhaps Coggeshall's finest timber-framed building is Paycocke's. Built in 1505 for Thomas Paycocke, a wealthy clothier, it is now owned by the National Trust. The close spacing of the timber uprights is one of its most impressive aspects, serving purely as a display of the owner's wealth, and there is interesting carving on the front of the house and in the carriage doors. Next door, the Fleece Inn was also built by the Paycockes; while Paycocke's has exposed timbers, the Fleece displays the decorated plasterwork or pargetting for which East Anglia is famous.
When the walk is finished — or better still before you set off — it is well worth visiting the Coggeshall Museum on Stoneham Street, where there is much to learn about the history of the town and the historic landmarks visited during the walk.
