Fall Journey - Part IV. Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Essex

Jan & John Maggs

Antiques and Art

Our Fall 2024 National Trust Journey

Part IV. Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Essex

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On the morning of September 15th, the sixth day of our National Trust outing, we planned to visit two properties.

After an early breakfast we left our hotel and headed west towards Cambridge, where we would visit Anglesey Abbey.

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10. Anglesey Abbey, Gardens, and Lode Mill

This Jacobean manor house was purchased by the first Lord Fairhaven in 1926. Lord Fairhaven was a horse racing devotee, and it is thought that his choice of Anglesey was inspired by its proximity to Newmarket, currently home to more than three thousand racehorses and historically one of Britain's most prestigeous horse towns. But horses were not the Duke's only passion. He was an avid gardener as well, who designed and supervised horticultural installations on 114 acres of the property. We arrived an hour before opening and spent that time wandering through Lord Fairhaven's sprawling gardens.

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Part of Quy water,

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which powered the Lode Mill.

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Anglesey's famous dahlia beds, displaying myriad species of the plant

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Inside the house, Lord Fairbanks assembled an extraordinary collection of paintings, tapestries, and furniture.

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Margaret, Marchioness of Dorset, mother of Lady Jane Grey

Painted by Hans Holbein

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Edward VI

by Guillim Streetes, 1550

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A spectacular enclosed cabinet

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Detail of one of many paneled walls

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A simple joined coffer transformed into a work of art

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One of the abbey's many fireplaces, this one crowned by a lantern clock

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Our plan was to drive directly from Anglesey to Lavenham, but we were so close to Ely that we took a drive into the city for a brief visit to the cathedral.

After driving in circles through the area around the church, we happened upon a place to park, allowing us a brief visit.

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11. Ely Cathedral

We had hoped to walk through this cathedral, begun in 1080 and famous for the carvings in the choir,

but the admission fee of 15 pounds each seemed excessive, since our schedule allowed for only the briefest of visits.

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Instead, I risked censure by taking this picture through the open doors.

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We resumed our journey, heading for the iconic English medieval town, Lavenham, and its famous guildhall.

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12. Lavenham Guildhall

Built in the 1520's for the Guild of Corpus Christi, this sprawling timber-framed building has since served as town hall, a prison, a workhouse, and a wool store.

Despite its fame and its iconic presence, its location at the edge of a car park seriously diminishes its impact.

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The guildhall's spare interior is similarly disappointing, though not without interest.

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The lovely garden, accessible from within the hall.

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Tourists like us come to Lavenham to see the Guildhall, but the most memorable structures in the town are to be found lining the neighborhood streets.

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We returned to our hotel in Stowmarket, ate dinner and considered our two destinations for the following day: Ickworth in Suffolk and Paycocke's in Essex.

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13. Ickworth Estate

"A dream of classical Rome, an Italianate palace, an art gallery disguised as a country house

and a visionary curator make for an estate rich in art, architecture and landscape design." (National Trust Handbook)

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Self -Portrait

Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, 1791

A narcissistic and somewhat defiant work by Ms Le Brun, considered one of the great portrait painters of her time.

In 1791 it was not considered proper for a female subject to expose her teeth.

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The Hervey Conversation Piece (1738 - 40)

William Hogarth

John Hervey, creator of Ickworth, with a group of aristocratic friends.

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Self-Portrait in a Fur Coat

Copy of an original by Durer in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich

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An Unknown Man, c. 1512

An oil painting on canvas by Titian

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The dining room

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Geraldine's collection of fish-shaped silver scent containers and vinaigrettes

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A few portrait miniatures from the Hervey family collection

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Jan, beneath a large portrait, resting her ailing hip, while I explored the first floor

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Leaving the house

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Approaching St. Mary's Church, begun in the middle of the 13th century

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We left Ickworth and headed south towards the hamlet of Coggeshall. Our destination was Paycock's House amd the Coggeshall Grange Barn.

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14. Paycock's

In Tudor times Coggeshall was a thriving community whose wealth came from the cloth trade. Thomas Paycock was a wealthy cloth merchant, and he built this house to advertise his success. Over centuries it fell into disrepair and was threatened with demolition. The following account was posted on a wall of the house.

In 1904 an old tumbledown building in Coggeshall went up for sale. It was a locally cherished building known as Paycocke’s House, which in 1509 had been the smartest house in town.

Developers were on the horizon, bids were flooding in for its timbers, and there was talk of knocking the house down. In a desperate attempt to hold back demolition, a local solicitor wrote to the Buxtons – a wealthy, philanthropic family whose ancestors had lived in the house in the 1600s. Given that Paycocke’s was once a Buxton family seat, he asked, would they consider saving it?

Noel Buxton paid the asking price. He had visions of restoring Paycocke’s to its original Tudor glory. He wrote to historians and architects for advice, but found himself in the centre of a controversy. He was told that it would be sacrilege to change or restore the house in any way – it should remain as found.

Noel was spending most of his time away, building up a political career. His cousins, the fervent Cristian Socialist Conrad Noel, was looking for somewhere to live and write. So Noel invited Conrad to live in the house with his wife Miriam. Conrad and Miriam persuaded Noel to forget about talking to historians and architects. They proposed asking a local carpenter for help instead.

At last we persuaded Noel to employ Ernest Beckwith, a local craftsman. Beckwith told us afterwards that he had walked up and down outside Paycocke’s as a boy, and that it had been the dream of his life to restore it but only a miracle could have given him the job and now he had it. (Conrad Noel, Autobiography)

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Inside, we enter the 16th century.

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Spectacular ceiling joists

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Detailed paneling

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More decorated ceiling joists

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A very early "mule" chest

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Extraordinary cup-and-cover legs support this refectory table.

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An unusual crested backstool and a simple livery, at home by the fire

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A large, very early coffer

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Interesting overlapping demilune carvings on the face of this boarded coffer

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Coggeshall's High Street, from within the house

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Less than half a mile away from Paycocke's is one of the oldest timber-framed buildings in England, the Grange Barn.

Although it was late in the afternoon, we decided to chance a visit.

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15. Grange Barn

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Built in the 13th century to serve Coggeshall Abbey, the barn remained in agricultural use until 1960. It was restored by a local group and given to the National Trust in 1989. Unfortunately, our itinerary didn't allow us to enter the building, but its appearance - even from outside - is most impressive. To read a bit more about the barn and see an image of the interior, CLICK HERE to visit the Trust's website.

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In next month's Newsletter: Part V. Ightham Mote, Knole, the Weald and Downland Living Museum, and a hidden treasure in London

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Click HERE to visit the J&J Maggs Antiques home page.