Painters, Pageantry and Punch
Our UK summer sitting journey continues in Suffolk, East Anglia. Basic geography lesson ..... the part of the UK bulging into the North Sea. Suffolk borders Essex and Norfolk, counties steeped in history and having such diverse topography. People fascinate me, one of the reasons I love house sitting, it gives me the opportunity to learn so much about my home owners my current client is no exception. Every year and she's done this for 20, she spends three weeks in costume and completely in character (speech included) as a Tudor Cook. The kitchens are absolutely authentic, not a microwave, cooker or food mixer in sight, all food is grown, prepared and cooked in the manner of the time ..... true cooking and oh so fascinating to see.
We spent the day at Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, Suffolk, being transported back to 1556 Tudor England where we discovered while Spain and Portugal carved up the New World the English had been idle, until now. Sir Hugh Willoughby had led an expedition to find a Northeast passage to China, although he and all his men perished, others had reached Moscow setting up a new venture, The Muscovy Company.
A time when every craftsman and labourer had to be at work by 5 o'clock in the morning and not depart before 7 in the evening. Where they were paid, with meat and drink, 4d a day, or 5d for a “better” sort. Where money had lost value in recent years, so much so that it is only worth half it value of a few years ago. Yet “lesser sorts” were paid no more than formerly, which created dissatisfaction (sounds familiar) Where despite Sumptuary Laws which define who should wear what, many still wore clothes above their station.
A time when Pageants were very popular. They enabled the “Quality” (great or lesser) to show off. They enabled lesser sorts, whose lives were ones of unremitting toil, to have breaks in a dull routine and enjoy themselves. Pageants often included a Tournament, a Melee or a Mock Battle, we were treated to a Pageant in honour of Dame Elizabeth Clopton's betrothal, featuring the Battle of Agincourt.
All of this and the sun shone as well!! Considering it's been the wettest June since records began(July's not looking too good either) we felt incredibly lucky.
Painters www.constablecountry.co.uk/
Just down the A12 from Ipswich is Dedham, a pretty village in the heart of Constable Country. The Parish Church dates back to the late 15th Century. 5 miles from Dedham is Flatford Mill where Constable painted his famous Hay Wain in 1821. You can stand on the banks of the stream exactly where he stood but no need to take the easel and paints, unless of course you can paint, a digital camera or phone will tell your story!! We had a delightful encounter with a pair of swans, actually they weren't THAT delightful, hissing and spitting in protection of their young, it was the newly hatched cygnet, not yet able to co-ordinate it's very big feet, that was the source of great amusement ..... we were laughing with him NOT at him (or her)
Punch www.suffolkpunchtrust.org/
“....combining the horses with the unique living landscape of the Suffolk Coast.
It's well known amongst family, friends and the Facebook World that I'm a huge lover of all animals, great and small. Horses hold a very special place in my affections, I've ridden, owned, loved and been in awe of them my entire life. If I could have spent my every waking hour surrounded by everything equine .... including the manure, I would willing have worked for FREE!! So a visit to the Suffolk Punch Trust was a must, they really are the gentle giants of the equine world:
“The Suffolk Punch Trust is a charity set up in 2002. Initially the plan was to purchase the stud of very rare Suffolk Punch horses which was about to be sold by the Prison Service which was then running over thirty farms in association with prisons around the country. The one at Hollesley, near Woodbridge in Suffolk, was the biggest at 1,500 acres on which a dairy herd and a pig herd were kept and where a variety of crops including potatoes, apples and soft fruit were grown with produce being used by prisons. All the farms were to be sold, and this would have caused the dispersal of the stud of Suffolks. However, the Prison Commissioners were anxious that this large breeding group should be kept together, so they gave the Trust 3 years to raise the money to buy a 200 acre farm and the horses."
For over twenty years the Prison had received visits by children from deprived inner city areas, so the Suffolk Punch Trust was set up as an educational charity whose remit was to provide educational opportunities for all age groups. The charitable aims also include the rehabilitation of prisoners, the conservation of rare breeds of domestic animals and the provision of an open space for the benefit of all.”
So there it is folks our house sitting tour around Suffolk. We've been here for three weeks and as we prepare to leave for our next www.trustedhousesitters.com sit in London the Olympic Flame arrives ...... we're headed west along the A12
Our UK summer sitting journey continues in Suffolk, East Anglia. Basic geography lesson ..... the part of the UK bulging into the North Sea. Suffolk borders Essex and Norfolk, counties steeped in history and having such diverse topography. People fascinate me, one of the reasons I love house sitting, it gives me the opportunity to learn so much about my home owners my current client is no exception. Every year and she's done this for 20, she spends three weeks in costume and completely in character (speech included) as a Tudor Cook. The kitchens are absolutely authentic, not a microwave, cooker or food mixer in sight, all food is grown, prepared and cooked in the manner of the time ..... true cooking and oh so fascinating to see.
We spent the day at Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, Suffolk, being transported back to 1556 Tudor England where we discovered while Spain and Portugal carved up the New World the English had been idle, until now. Sir Hugh Willoughby had led an expedition to find a Northeast passage to China, although he and all his men perished, others had reached Moscow setting up a new venture, The Muscovy Company.
A time when every craftsman and labourer had to be at work by 5 o'clock in the morning and not depart before 7 in the evening. Where they were paid, with meat and drink, 4d a day, or 5d for a “better” sort. Where money had lost value in recent years, so much so that it is only worth half it value of a few years ago. Yet “lesser sorts” were paid no more than formerly, which created dissatisfaction (sounds familiar) Where despite Sumptuary Laws which define who should wear what, many still wore clothes above their station.
A time when Pageants were very popular. They enabled the “Quality” (great or lesser) to show off. They enabled lesser sorts, whose lives were ones of unremitting toil, to have breaks in a dull routine and enjoy themselves. Pageants often included a Tournament, a Melee or a Mock Battle, we were treated to a Pageant in honour of Dame Elizabeth Clopton's betrothal, featuring the Battle of Agincourt.
All of this and the sun shone as well!! Considering it's been the wettest June since records began(July's not looking too good either) we felt incredibly lucky.
Painters www.constablecountry.co.uk/
Just down the A12 from Ipswich is Dedham, a pretty village in the heart of Constable Country. The Parish Church dates back to the late 15th Century. 5 miles from Dedham is Flatford Mill where Constable painted his famous Hay Wain in 1821. You can stand on the banks of the stream exactly where he stood but no need to take the easel and paints, unless of course you can paint, a digital camera or phone will tell your story!! We had a delightful encounter with a pair of swans, actually they weren't THAT delightful, hissing and spitting in protection of their young, it was the newly hatched cygnet, not yet able to co-ordinate it's very big feet, that was the source of great amusement ..... we were laughing with him NOT at him (or her)
Punch www.suffolkpunchtrust.org/
“....combining the horses with the unique living landscape of the Suffolk Coast.
It's well known amongst family, friends and the Facebook World that I'm a huge lover of all animals, great and small. Horses hold a very special place in my affections, I've ridden, owned, loved and been in awe of them my entire life. If I could have spent my every waking hour surrounded by everything equine .... including the manure, I would willing have worked for FREE!! So a visit to the Suffolk Punch Trust was a must, they really are the gentle giants of the equine world:
“The Suffolk Punch Trust is a charity set up in 2002. Initially the plan was to purchase the stud of very rare Suffolk Punch horses which was about to be sold by the Prison Service which was then running over thirty farms in association with prisons around the country. The one at Hollesley, near Woodbridge in Suffolk, was the biggest at 1,500 acres on which a dairy herd and a pig herd were kept and where a variety of crops including potatoes, apples and soft fruit were grown with produce being used by prisons. All the farms were to be sold, and this would have caused the dispersal of the stud of Suffolks. However, the Prison Commissioners were anxious that this large breeding group should be kept together, so they gave the Trust 3 years to raise the money to buy a 200 acre farm and the horses."
For over twenty years the Prison had received visits by children from deprived inner city areas, so the Suffolk Punch Trust was set up as an educational charity whose remit was to provide educational opportunities for all age groups. The charitable aims also include the rehabilitation of prisoners, the conservation of rare breeds of domestic animals and the provision of an open space for the benefit of all.”
So there it is folks our house sitting tour around Suffolk. We've been here for three weeks and as we prepare to leave for our next www.trustedhousesitters.com sit in London the Olympic Flame arrives ...... we're headed west along the A12
