Manns is one of the oldest music shops in Great Britain, and possibly the world, under the same ownership.
It’s currently run by Tim Mann, the great, great grandson of the founder.
They moved to their current location in 1891 and have been there ever since.
As a family business they retailed the first iron framed pianos before World War I for less than half the cost of a modern day tuning!
Over the last 166 years they have retailed virtually all musical products from wireless sets and gramophones before World War I for around 10 guineas, vertical and overstrung pianos for between 30 and 40 guineas in the twenties and Pathescope home cinema movie cameras in the 1950s for £6.15.
Manns now sell over 15,000 stock lines, from reeds and strings, to brass and woodwind, a huge stock of printed music, both electric and acoustic guitars and electronic and acoustic pianos.
Indeed it could be said there are few music shops in the UK with such a large and diverse stock. Manns remains family owned and one of the oldest family firms in Essex today.
