Constable Country

Wednesday
Today we spent a wonderful day exploring Constable country - the beautiful Dedham Vale the far side of Ipswich. We started at Flatford Mill, the site of perhaps his most famous painting The Haywain. The site is owned by the National Trust, and there is a small exhibit about Constable and some of his best known pictures painted in the area. Unfortunately, whilst the day had started sunny with clear blue skies, by this time it had turned overcast. We then walked along the River, about 1 3/4 miles to Dedham, where we had some lunch, visited the fine church and had a wander along its main street before returning along the river to Flatford, this time passing right through a herd of cows! The sun had reappeared by this time, and after our walk we thought we deserved an ice cream. We then continued the short distance to East Bergholt, where Constable was born, though his place of birth is no longer standing. In the churchyard adjacent to the church,there is an interesting structure, known as a “bell cage”. In East Bergholt the building of a bell tower was started in 1525 with assistance promised by Cardinal Wolsey, but his downfall cut short any help and the work ceased in 1530. The Bell Cage was erected as a temporary measure in 1531 and the bells have remained there ever since, and are still in regular use today. Although other Bell Cages exist, the one in East Bergholt is the only place where the bells are swung by pure force of hand applied directly to a wooden headstock and not by rope and wheel.