Rainy Suffolk

We knew it was bound to happen.  After all, this is England, and we've considered ourselves fortunate to not have fallen victim to the rain until today.   Although I will admit that wind gusts and steady falling rain did cut short a potential walk through gardens.  But I was perfectly happy to view them from the thick glass windows.  

Our morning began with a last minute add on:  a stop in Lavenham.  I noticed that it was enroute to our intended destination, so we decided to stop along the way and give it a look.  And, we were certainly glad that we did!

When we arrived, there was one parking space left open in the Market square parking lot.  How was that for luck?

We decided to pop into the local store for a look around, and I spied this case full of cheeses. Has anyone actually heard of Wookey Cheese?

I'm kind of regretting not tasting it, but we had just finished breakfast and I simply was not tempted to try.

Lavenham is an ancient market town dating from Medieval  times.  A 16th century Market Cross stands in the middle of the square. 

It was erected in 1501. 

The building to the right, behind it is the Guildhall of Corpus Christi which was where we were headed. 

Once inside, we were greeted by a tour guide, who is also a local historian, who began to give us the history of Lavenham.  She pointed out this map hanging on the wall.

She mentioned that except for a few houses which had stood where the present day parking lot is today, the town was exactly as it had been in the 1500's.  

With so many sheep grazing the lands, the town became quite wealthy producing a special, heavy blue fabric called Lavenham Blue.  The export of the product resulted in the town of Lavenham being one of the richest in England in the 14th and 15th centuries.  

Monies from local merchants went to support the Corpus Christi Guild, and the building in which we stood had been the meeting house of the guild in Medieval times. 

With the reformation, the building no longer served the Catholic congregation.  It went on to serve as a prison and a benevolent workhouse, was purchased by a merchant with the intent of making a city hall building, but it ended up being purchased by the National Trust who keeps is preserved to this day. 

We walked up the stairs to learn read personal accounts from families who had lived in Lavenham. 

The view out the side window highlighted the brightly colored houses across the street. 

Just a few of the items were these needlework cases from a woman named Agnes Strumyn who was born in Levanham in the 1460's and was the wife of a wealthy merchant.

The upstairs gave a glimpse into the life of a prisoner who would have been held there in addition to those living on the edge of poverty.

There were signs of the wool trade with a collection of spinners

as well as an ancient loom.

One interesting fact about the building is that it was used in the Harry Potter movie:  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, creating Godrick's Hollow, Harry's parents' home where Harry is attacked by Voldemort's snake, Nagini. 

I've never seen a Harry Potter film so I can only presume that those who have will see the familiarity of the building and the village. 

There was also a horror movie starring Vincent Price that was filmed here.  Again, not something that I'd have any knowledge of. 

Jane Taylor, who wrote the familiar tune, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Stary", grew up in Lavenham.  There is a painting of her standing with her little sister, and also a beautiful white dress that she had worn. 

On a lighter note, there was this gadget created in 1910 by Albert Abrams.  It is an Electromagnetic Therapy Machine.

Adams claimed that he could heal people by balancing their frequencies using this machine. He actually became a millionaire selling these devices.  He was deemed the "Dean of Gadget Quackes" by the American Medical Association in 1924.

 A local resident who was a master tailor by trade, realized the importance of this building in Lavenham. He worked with Sir William Ely Quilter who purchased and restored the building prior to bequeathing it to the town of Lavenham.  It passed to the National Trust in 1951 who had maintained it since and has done a remarkable job with the interpretation media presented throughout. 

From here we set of for Melford Hall, which was only about 4 miles away. We had managed to escape any huge downpours, and we made our way along the walk to the manor. 

As you can see, it is far different than any of the building we have viewed so far on this trip. 

There was a sun dial, but no sun. 

We entered just in time to hear the guide giving a brief history of the house over the years. 

The manor of Melford had been owned by the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Edmundsbury going back before the Norman Conquest. But the Dissolution of the Monasteries resulted in it being purchased by Sir William Cordell.  

In 1578, Queen Elizabeth visited Melford.   

This stained glass window is featured on the second story level.  It is believed to date from the beginning of the 19th century.

Downstairs, in the entrance hall, there are stained glass windows that can be viewed from the front of the house. The guide commented that she believed that one of the family residents had found them in the attic. 

Also in the entrance hall, there is a case that holds the charter granting Milford Hall to the Cordell family in 1554.

Apparently the queen's signature is on it, but with the passing of time, it has faded and is nearly impossible to see.  Imagine having a document from 1554 still existing in this time!  Amazing!!

Sir William passed in 1581 and his wife, 4 years later.   The manor would eventually be bequeathed to Thomas Savage.  

His wife, Elizabeth, was a lady in waiting to the queen.  

I found the expression on her face to be quite amusing. I mentioned that to the guide upstairs, and he told me who she was and that she had 19 children in 29 years.   That might explain the "stay away from me" look in her eyes.  What do you think? 

Thomas put a lot of money and effort into refurbishing the house, but all of that was plundered during the Civil War. 

In 1649, the house was bought by Robert Cordell, who, again, began restoration of the house.  He and his wife have paintings adorning the side walls of the stairs leading from the entrance hall.

Isn't that a grand staircase? 

Back downstairs, on the opposite side, also adjacent to the entrance hall is the refurbished dining room.  It felt victim to fire in 1942 when soldiers from the Royal Army were living in the house and had broken into this wing of the house for an evening of "fun".  The result was the complete burning of this room and the room above. Luckily, the room behind was preserved, probably due to the extra thick walls.  (Like 6 feet) 

This is the drawing room behind the dining room.

It holds a clock that was constructed in the early 1700s.

From there, we entered the library. 

Over time, the house was sold to Sir Harry Parker, 6th Baronet and also a distinguished naval man.  There were several paintings on the walls of ship battles dated 1781.  The guide tried telling us that they were battles that occurred in the Americas, but upon further investigation, we determined that one was off the coast of France, and another a battle with the Dutch.  Marty joked and said that the only boat the Americans had in that time period was a rowboat.  I'm not sure if the guide found that to be funny. 

His son, William inherited and it followed down the line to Sir William Hyde Parker, 10th Baronet who was married to Ethel Leech.  She was the cousin of Beatrix Potter.  The two were very close, and Beatrix had her own bedroom to use when she visited Melford Hall.  

Sketches of her famous characters adorn the wall.

She was loved by her cousin's children who were always excited to see her.  She gifted her favorite toy, Jemima Puddle-Duck to them, and it is displayed in a case in a small turret room adjacent to the bedroom where she slept. 

How sweet is that?

 

There were a few more bedrooms to see.

And a view of part of the gardens from one of them. 

We opted to stay dry and enjoy a bite to eat. Once again, I chose the cream tea.  

After all, I'm not going to find one of those back home!

We decided to head over to the medieval church that is in Lower Melford, just across the way.  We managed to make our way up the narrow street lined with parked cars, only to see a hearse sitting outside. So much for that plan.  

We headed back to our B&B and once again, had dinner at the restaurant as I don't believe that there is an other one anywhere nearby.  The staff has been super friendly and we couldn't ask for a better time.

Tomorrow we plan on visiting Cambridge. That's bound to be an adventure.  I'll be sure to keep you posted! 

Until next time....

 

Gallivanting in Suffolk

Today I learned that we are staying within miles of the global headquarters of thoroughbred horse racing, Newmarket.  I'll be frank, my only experience with horse racing is the Kentucky Derby, and even that is short-lived in my attention span.  

I had wondered as we drove along the country road yesterday, and I spied what appeared to be sprinting tracks set between a long row of white fences, if there was some sort of horse racing that goes on here.  But never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed the enormity of the sport here.  Or that people come from the United States to pay £250,000 for a race horse to take back with them.  

And, it appears that many of those same people stay here, at the Packhorse Inn.  

Which really kind of surprises me, because I thought the rooms here were a real bargain, and I would have presumed that people who were buying expensive horses would stay in more expensive establishments.  Perhaps they save all of their funds for the horse?  Who knows? 

But the location here is surreal, in a quiet little village, with the inn standing just a short distance from the medieval packhorse bridge. (thereby the name).

Just look at how quaint these houses are!

We both really love the location. 

At dinner last evening, the waiter told us about the local sprints that happen each morning, so after breakfast, we drove a few miles up the road to witness it for ourselves.  There is a parking lot just adjacent to the fields, along this narrow road, where one can easily view the sprints and watch the jockey's return on the horse as they make their way around again.  

These photos are taken with my phone as I left my zoom camera in the room. You can almost make out the riders on the track in the distance. 

And these photos were clipped from a movie that Marty took with his high powered zoom camera.

You can't argue that those are much better at seeing the action! 

These are photos of some of the horses and riders after finishing their sprint. 

It was really quite interesting to watch.  The parking lot was empty save for us and another car with a man in binoculars watching intently.  He apparently came prepared. 

From here we made our way southeast to Ickworth Manor, another property that is owned by the National Trust.  I've mentioned previously that we have a Royal Oak membership, so I set up these trips to take advantage of as many properties as possible in a particular area since each one is unique and offers so much interesting information. 

Ickworth estate is not quite as large as yesterday's, but it is quite substantial in comparison to most of the National Trust holdings. It is 1800 acres with a lot of paths to investigate should one choose to do so.  Since I definitely overdid it yesterday walking nearly 7 miles, we both decided that there would be no marathon hiking today.  Forget the folly.  It's not worth the after effect.  

But that being said, I grabbed a walking stick that I had brought with me, and we headed out to explore this magnificent site. 

What you see is the completion of the 4th Earl of Bristol's dream.  He was the son of John Hervey, the 1st Earl of Bristol whose painting greets one when they walk through the doors into the foyer. 

Here is another likeness of the first Earl

his first wife Jane

and his second wife, Isabella. 

I found these miniatures to be remarkably beautiful. 

The title passed through two sons, settling on the third,  Frederick, who then became the 4th Earl. He arranged construction in 1795 with the intention of using this mansion as an art gallery.  He spent 17 years touring Europe, collecting all sorts of art and artifacts in which to fill the house. But the holdings that he had collected were lost during the Napoleonic wars, and when he passed in 1803, the house was merely a shell with nothing to fill it. 

It was his son, the 5th Earl, also Frederick, who not only finished the house for the purpose that his father wished, but he also managed to acquire many of the holdings that his father had originally purchased specifically for the house.  

Today we had the opportunity to take a personal tour of the house before it opened to the public as it was offered to us when we checked in at the visitor center.  The man running the tour was in his early 80's, extremely knowledgeable, and true to form, quite cheeky in his presentation.  He seemed to be up on all of the gossip of the 19th century and was excited to share all sorts of tidbits of information.  We not only learned a lot, but had an entertaining time doing so.  

Our tour began in the entrance hall. 

And here is the view looking down from the first landing.

We went through to the red drawing room, which was primarily used by the women of the day.

and entered the library. The paintings here all came from the earl's grand tour. 

The piano dates from 1820 and is made from rosewood with a brass inlay.  

There were numerous bookcases filled with over 8000 books, not just in the library, but scattered throughout the house.  This library holds the volumes of 200 Years of the House of Lords.  There are apparently twelve copies of all of these volumes, and Ickworth holds one of them. 

The adjacent dining room holds paintings of family members, many of whom we were updated on regarding their social behavior. 

There were also some interesting artifacts. 

We were able to explore the two side wings.  One led to an Italian room with frescoes.  You can see how the floor was constructed to curve with the walls. 

Now that was certainly interesting.  I can't even imagine the time that went into that feat!

The opposite wing displayed a myriad of art. 

Paintings of the 5th earl and his wife.

A painting by Titian that was painted in 1512. He is considered to be the greatest painter of the 16th century. 

A self portrait by Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, painted in 1791. She was considered to be one of the greatest portrait painters of her time. She is painting her daughter,  and has made herself smiling, which was not generally accepted by fellow artists of the time.  I think she looks beautiful.  I'd say this was my favorite painting in the house. 

Down the hall there was this beautiful depiction of the Virgin Mary and child.  Although the painting stems from the 1600's. the stand in which it is displayed is from the 19th century. 

Continuing around you can see the bookshelf scattered on the second floor under the rotunda. 

As I said, books nearly in every corner

and Marty spied this collection of books pertaining to William Penn.

The second floor also had a room filled with a silver collection.  The second Earl, George, who died young, was responsible for the acquisition of much of this collection. 

One of the entertaining items were these perfume decanters in the shape of fish.  I can't imagine a woman wanting to carry such a thing in that time period.  But there was quite the collection in this cabinet!

We could probably have spent hours more in the house perusing the holdings, but we decided to head out to see the Italianate Garden that had been planned to compliment the layout of the house. 

This gives some perspective into the size of those round shrubs.

Here is a view from the end of the garden.

And the view looking out which shows just how vast this estate is. 

Walking along the exterior paths, we spied this mediterranean garden.

In addition to various palm trees, a eucalyptus  tree stands as well as a couple of olive trees. 

From here we set out in search of the walled garden. 

Once again, the map that we were given made it look as if the walled garden was nearby, and I honestly thought that the above photo just might have satisfied.  

However, upon careful inspection of the map, the walled garden needed to be red brick, and needed to have four sides, neither of which we see here. 

So, we set out through a gate, although Marty was skeptical, and headed down a trail, with sheep surrounding us on either side. 

Soon we came upon St Mary's church, which shows up on the map (although it does show the church to be adjacent to the walled garden....which it was NOT!

So we continued down the trail until we were greeted by this welcoming committee. 

Actually, they all scattered into the distance and we saw that we were nearly at our destination. 

There wasn't much left to see in the garden save some lovely flowers, and the church in the distance from this viewpoint. 

And across the way, this ideal scene of a lake, with sheep in the field, and a blue heron posing.

Marty got this closeup. 

How special was that? 

We headed back up to the house where we stopped in at the cafe and we enjoyed some tasty scones with a cup of tea. 

What a treat!

We decided to take one more photo

then we headed out with Marty behind the wheel, back to the Packhorse Inn where we could relax a bit before heading to the restaurant for dinner. 

Our waiter was a delight and made us feel quite special even though it was obvious we weren't there to purchase a £250000 horse. Or any horse, for that matter!

We're having a great time, as you can tell.

Thanks for following along!

Until next time....