Saturday, December 03, 2005
Village Life
We were thrilled to be able to find a cottage for rent in Lavenham. Angel Cottage was built in the 1970's and fits beautifully into the back garden of the Angel Gallery.
Our landlords' Angel Gallery
The gallery is a 15th Century cottage and while we were staying in a medieval cottage in Hessett and hitting our heads on the beams and doorways until we were dizzy, we decided a new cottage in an historic village would suit us just fine.
Low Doorway in Hessett
We first got to know Lavenham 30 years ago when Bill was doing research at the Sedgewick Museum in Cambridge. We never dreamt we would get to live there. Wendy and Philip Gibson, our landlords have been wonderful; introducing us to friends at dinners in their home; furnishing the cottage with all mod-cons and kitchen aids and being great fun to be around. We have loved having a succession of family and friends drop by for a meal or a weekend and get a kick out of showing them the sights of Lavenham.
Lynne volunteers in the office of the Village Hall once a week and it has been remarkably easy getting to know people coming through and knowing what was going on in the social calendar. She also helps to shelve books in the local library. Lavenham has a population of 1,700, four pubs, at least five tea rooms and a staggering number of clubs, organizations and events. All 1,700 of us were in the Market Place to see Charles and Camilla when they came to visit the Guildhall in July. We could be doing something social most days (not always with Charles and Camilla) if our energy held up. We really enjoyed the concerts in the church (a cathedral-sized monument to the wool boom) and Pride and Prejudice in the grounds of Kentwell Hall. The Church of St Peter and St Paul is packed when the Lavenham Symphonia performs and we have got used to getting a glass of wine and resting it on the hymnal ledge, with a very soft cushion for the pew while we appreciate fine music. The welsh choir was mind-blowing.
Church of St Peter & St Paul, Lavenham
Lynne has made Xmas puddings for charity, attended numerous coffees and Bill has attended various metal-detecting rallies and detected the local farm and both have enjoyed dinners in the fascinating homes, been to a variety of lectures in the Guildhall and been charmed by the villagers of all walks. Kyle was with us for Guy Fawkes and was expecting twenty people in the grounds of Melford Hall on bonfire night. There were thousands, and at least 50 food carts, a fun fair and a bonfire of pallets the size of a small house. The Brits do fireworks so well. The local grocer and baker are at our doorstep and the butcher a block away (Melinda tells me she has to walk farther to her kitchen than I do to buy milk or bread) and it is a treat to be able to dash out to get something I have forgotten. It is a great social aid too as you cannot get into the baker without seeing someone you know.
We have traversed East Anglia visiting stately homes, museums, castles, churches, cathedrals, Roman sites, Saxon reconstructions and walked the fields and river banks. Cambridge is an hour away and even though it has grown enormously in the past 30 years, the old part is the same and Lynne still marvels at how lucky she was to work in the Kings College Library in 1974.
King's College Chapel, Cambridge
We have taken the coach from Bury St Edmunds up to London a few times and made a number of excursions farther afield - Darwin's house in Kent, the Roman site at St. Alban's, the White Horse at Uffington and Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire on a hunt for trout while Kyle was here. One of our favorite spots is Flatford Mill on the River Stour in Essex, originally owned by the Constable family and where he did so many of his most famous paintings. Choosing the perfect village meant we were forced to visit every one in Suffolk on every list of prettiest, quaintist, most historic or most liveable - no hardship at all.
It will be hard to leave Suffolk but we are getting into the Nashville mode ready to get home after Christmas and see all our good middle Tennessee friends again.
LS
Our landlords' Angel Gallery
The gallery is a 15th Century cottage and while we were staying in a medieval cottage in Hessett and hitting our heads on the beams and doorways until we were dizzy, we decided a new cottage in an historic village would suit us just fine.
Low Doorway in Hessett
We first got to know Lavenham 30 years ago when Bill was doing research at the Sedgewick Museum in Cambridge. We never dreamt we would get to live there. Wendy and Philip Gibson, our landlords have been wonderful; introducing us to friends at dinners in their home; furnishing the cottage with all mod-cons and kitchen aids and being great fun to be around. We have loved having a succession of family and friends drop by for a meal or a weekend and get a kick out of showing them the sights of Lavenham.
Lynne volunteers in the office of the Village Hall once a week and it has been remarkably easy getting to know people coming through and knowing what was going on in the social calendar. She also helps to shelve books in the local library. Lavenham has a population of 1,700, four pubs, at least five tea rooms and a staggering number of clubs, organizations and events. All 1,700 of us were in the Market Place to see Charles and Camilla when they came to visit the Guildhall in July. We could be doing something social most days (not always with Charles and Camilla) if our energy held up. We really enjoyed the concerts in the church (a cathedral-sized monument to the wool boom) and Pride and Prejudice in the grounds of Kentwell Hall. The Church of St Peter and St Paul is packed when the Lavenham Symphonia performs and we have got used to getting a glass of wine and resting it on the hymnal ledge, with a very soft cushion for the pew while we appreciate fine music. The welsh choir was mind-blowing.
Church of St Peter & St Paul, Lavenham
Lynne has made Xmas puddings for charity, attended numerous coffees and Bill has attended various metal-detecting rallies and detected the local farm and both have enjoyed dinners in the fascinating homes, been to a variety of lectures in the Guildhall and been charmed by the villagers of all walks. Kyle was with us for Guy Fawkes and was expecting twenty people in the grounds of Melford Hall on bonfire night. There were thousands, and at least 50 food carts, a fun fair and a bonfire of pallets the size of a small house. The Brits do fireworks so well. The local grocer and baker are at our doorstep and the butcher a block away (Melinda tells me she has to walk farther to her kitchen than I do to buy milk or bread) and it is a treat to be able to dash out to get something I have forgotten. It is a great social aid too as you cannot get into the baker without seeing someone you know.
We have traversed East Anglia visiting stately homes, museums, castles, churches, cathedrals, Roman sites, Saxon reconstructions and walked the fields and river banks. Cambridge is an hour away and even though it has grown enormously in the past 30 years, the old part is the same and Lynne still marvels at how lucky she was to work in the Kings College Library in 1974.
King's College Chapel, Cambridge
We have taken the coach from Bury St Edmunds up to London a few times and made a number of excursions farther afield - Darwin's house in Kent, the Roman site at St. Alban's, the White Horse at Uffington and Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire on a hunt for trout while Kyle was here. One of our favorite spots is Flatford Mill on the River Stour in Essex, originally owned by the Constable family and where he did so many of his most famous paintings. Choosing the perfect village meant we were forced to visit every one in Suffolk on every list of prettiest, quaintist, most historic or most liveable - no hardship at all.
It will be hard to leave Suffolk but we are getting into the Nashville mode ready to get home after Christmas and see all our good middle Tennessee friends again.
LS
# posted by Bill and Lynne @ 10:40 PM 
