Dunwich Heath

 National Trust land - saved for the Nation, but £6 to park as I'm no longer a member.

This is an area all along this part of the coast which is protected heathland. I don't think I've ever seen the heather so colourful before

The view north to Dunwich village, Southwold in the distance and the cliffs that fall into the sea every winter.

The heathland was beautiful in the sunshine

This collection of buildings were once cottages for the coastguards. Now they are holiday lets and tearooms and shop all belonging to the National Trust

National Trust info HERE

Back Soon

Sweet Chestnuts

 Many thanks for comments yesterday - apologies for not replying - just got side tracked by other stuff.

These are  Sweet Chestnut trees, two of several dozen all around the entrance roads and paths at the National Trust Sutton Hoo site.

I don't think I've been anywhere with so many fallen chestnuts, the grandchildren thought they looked like baby hedgehogs - it seemed really bad to walk over them - walking over something edible was all wrong.

I brought some home to cook. 

But then I remembered that the last time I'd tried this they had been really small and had fallen to pieces when I tried to peel them and, come to think of it, I don't really like them anyway!

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Sutton Hoo Part Two - Inside

There are two National Trust buildings at Sutton Hoo one has the shop, cafe and toilets and the other holds the displays telling the story of the Anglo Saxons and the burial.

Reconstructions of many of the items found in the ship are on display, the originals are in the British Museum

And the huge shield

Sorry this isn't very clear. They are reconstructions of the Lyre and lyre bag

Picture of the textiles specially for all knitting/crafting bloggers!

Son was interested to see this display, as his Archaeology company had done some work there. He said they'd also checked the ground where the NT had recently built a compost toilet on the Sutton Hoo site.

Rendlesham is just up river from Sutton Hoo. More about Rendlesham HERE

As we were living not far away from Sutton Hoo when we were at the smallholding we went to visit when it first opened to the public in 2002 but there wasn't much to see at all. We went a few years later when they had more of a display including a life-sized reconstruction of a section of the ship with the furnished burial chamber. That's gone now they've reorganised the displays which is a pity as it was quite effective.

Lots more about Sutton Hoo HERE but it's worth going for a proper look. I now need a visit to Woodbridge where experts and volunteers are in the process of building a full sized replica of the ship. It will be quite a sight when it's finished, their website is HERE.

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Sutton Hoo Part One - Outside

 Son and Daughter in Law found an online voucher for free admission to a National Trust property for October and they hadn't been to Sutton Hoo for many years and I'd not been since they built the viewing tower and refurbished the displays in the main building so we all went together. Including youngest granddaughter and middle grandson of course.

Sutton Hoo is all about a ship burial containing an important man from the Anglo-Saxon period and his treasures - thought to be King Rædwald - and hidden beneath a mound in the 7th Century, rediscovered properly in 1939 and made even more famous recently with the film The Dig (wiki info HERE).

This is what I wanted to see .........the relatively new viewing tower. 81 steps up to see the view over the burial mounds - sorry the sun was wrong for this photo.

Below are the remains of the burial mounds. Much flatter than they would have been originally. The one with the rope around is the main ship burial.

(The dozens of little metal huts in the distance are for outdoor pig production - very big area for this all along the light land of the Suffolk coast)

This sculpture of the skeleton ribs below shows the size of this boat, must have been hard work dragging it uphill from the river and then burying.

Below you can just see the river in the distance down the valley, across the other side is the town of Woodbridge.

Lots of heathland walks all around the estate and son said they have recently been able to acquire land by the river which they hadn't had before.

Tranmer House, the home of Mrs Pretty who owned the estate at the time of the dig in 1939. It is laid out downstairs as a 1930s property and upstairs are holiday flats available to rent.

Tomorrow they will be some photos of inside the exhibition hall

Sue

The Oxburgh Estate.

 A few weeks ago I had a day out across the border into Norfolk so I could visit Oxburgh Manor House while I had my NT membership.

I say 'day out' but actually I was only there a couple of hours as there's not really much to see. Once you've seen one lot of Estate Parkland you've seen them all I reckon!

The house is still a home so only a few rooms are open to the public, but it's the outside that's probably the most impressive thing about the place.

Here's some information about it's history copied from the website

Built by the Bedingfeld family in 1482 as a statement of power, Oxburgh and the family have endured turbulent times. Through religious persecution, Civil War devastation, near dereliction and threatened demolition, Oxburgh’s story is one of survival.

Step inside to discover the legacy of the 6th Baronet who created much of what you see today, from the Victorian Gothic interiors to the ornate architectural additions that reflect a romantic view of Oxburgh's medieval past.

The rise and fall of the Bedingfelds

The Bedingfelds’ unshakable Catholic faith and commitment to preserving their history are a potent combination, expressed throughout this remarkable place in its architecture, collections and landscape. Add to this the family’s strong royal connections and a powerful story unfolds.

But when Henry VIII became head of the Church of England, little could the Bedingfelds have foreseen how their religious beliefs could have consequences for successive generations.

The entrance is through this archway into the inner courtyard

I didn't take many photos inside as the rooms are kept shaded to protect the old furnishings.

The library has a hidden door into the next room. There was a room steward standing by the door to open it for everyone to see, so I couldn't take a photo of the real thing. I bought a postcard and took a photo of that instead.

Below are embossed and coloured leather panels covering the walls of one room

Three photos below of ongoing work to restore the Parterre

Below are part of the walled gardens with some veg growing.  There was a big fruit cage full of raspberry canes that were absolutely loaded with ripe raspberries. Why on earth had no one picked them? What a waste!

I found the second hand book shop in the Potting Shed and just bought one small book which I'll write about another day.

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Ickworth House

Making use of my one year National Trust membership while visiting Little Saxham church last week, I went to Ickworth House and Estate which is a few miles outside of Bury St Edmunds. I'd been once before but with Eldest Daughter and Eldest Grandson when he was just a little fella and we didn't get to see much inside.(Just worked out that was 5 years ago just after Colin died)

The Rotunda is probably the most photographed part of this grand house. This ordinary photo is just a part of the whole.

So I tried a panoramic shot and got a bit more in - there's still more off to the right - it's big! The wing over to the left is now a private hotel - not National Trust

The Porters Lodge just inside the gates, now a small cafe.

Below I've copied some of the information about Ickworth from the website. Plenty more about the estate there.

Building Ickworth House

The house you see at Ickworth today – with its distinctive Rotunda – was the vision of the 4th Earl of Bristol, known as the Earl Bishop. Upon inheriting the estate in 1779, he aspired to build a house that would, in his own words, unite ‘magnificence with convenience’.

The Earl Bishop’s vision

The Earl Bishop had spent his life travelling in Europe, and had secured a vast collection of art and treasures. Started in 1795, Ickworth House was to be the home of this extensive stash, with the Earl Bishop hoping to create a gallery that would enlighten and educate receptive minds.

Irish architects the Sandys brothers brought Italian designs to life and society held its breath as the building began to take shape. Nothing like it had ever been seen in this country before, and it is unique even today.

Sadly, the Earl Bishop’s collection was confiscated by Napoleonic troops in 1798 and he spent the remainder of his days trying to recover his losses. Ickworth House was still just a shell when he died in 1803.

Completing the project

After the Earl Bishop’s death, his son Frederick, the 5th Earl (later the 1st Marquess), took over the building project, eventually moving his family into the completed house in 1829.

Frederick changed the original concept of a magnificent central house with two wings, preferring to make the East Wing the family home and the central Rotunda a gallery and entertaining space to impress visitors.

The West Wing was simply built for symmetry, and remained empty, occasionally being used for storage until 2003.

A few photos of inside. All the bedrooms and living areas etc are kept with shaded windows so as not to spoil the furnishings so I didn't take many photos.

'Below stairs'  is the servants hall, where they ate and relaxed - if they had time! Look how many servants they would have had.

Another part of the servants quarters for them to do their own washing

One photo of the 'Above Stairs' - The dining room

The Estate is huge and a lot of areas are open to the public for walking

Thank you for comments yesterday and apologies for not replying - I'm doing a bit of Nanna duty for a couple of days.

Back Tomorrow

Sue