Son of Owen Manning of Orlingbury, Northamptonshire, he was born there on 11 August 1721, and received his education at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A.
His parishioners placed a marble tablet to his memory in the church, and some private friends put an inscription on a headstone in the churchyard.
[2] He amassed materials for a history of Surrey, but he did not regard his collections as sufficiently complete for publication, and a total loss of sight prevented him from having them printed under his own care.
The work appeared under the title of The History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey, with a facsimile Copy of Domesday, engraved on thirteen Plates, three volumes, London, 1804–9–14.
[3] He also translated and annotated ‘The Will of King Alfred,’ from the original in Thomas Astle's library; this was printed in 1788, under the editorship of Sir Herbert Croft.