Sunday was spent with SBB's brother - we hit up two castles and a National Heritage site. It was a whole lotta history but that's what we love! We went to Framlingham Castle - which has a very interesting history - Orford Castle and Sutton Hoo. I don't have any pictures to show you for Sutton Hoo because it started raining just as SBB and I were heading out to the burial mounds and we had to do the 'Sharpe's rifles quick march' to get there before we got drenched. We managed to snap one picture of us in front of said burial mounds in which we both look disheveled and a little wild.
Framlingham Castle (the one that can be seen today) was built by Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, and completed about 1213 and was captured by King John in 1216. By the end of the 13th century the castle was a luxurious home with extensive land for hunting. During the 15th and 16th centuries Framlingham was at the heart of the estates of the powerful Mowbray and Howard families (relations of both Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard) - and it was during this time that the fashionable brick work was added. Later Mary (aka Bloody Mary) seized power in 1553 - she collected her forces at Framlingham Castle before successfully marching on London. In the years that followed the castle was also used as a poor house, a public house, an isolation ward during the plague and as an equipment store during the Napoleonic Wars.
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| The old poorhouse - such a beautiful building |
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| The old poor house |
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| Love this door |
There's an odd but interesting animated video next to the reception/shop which gives visitors a quick run through of the history. None of us were English Heritage members so we had to pay but while we were in the shop SBB and I noticed a reproduction sword for sale for the bargain price of £85. I wasn't willing to commit to buying it until I'd seen the blade so we decided to ask to look at it after a walk around the walls. However, by the time we got back down - it had been sold! We were a little bit sad but then it probably just wasn't meant to be.
SBB was particularly enamored with the brick chimneys - as you'd expect - and I must have taken over 100 photos of the place. It was definitely worth the admission fee but SO COLD up on the battlements. It was windy and the wind was bitter. I'd left my gloves back at the hotel so by the time I'd finished taking all the photos my hands were painfully numb from the cold.
Next up was Orford Castle - it was built between 1165 and 1173 by Henry II and was heavily garrisoned during the conflict between 1173-1174. The political importance of Orford diminished after Henry's death although the port of Orford grew in importance as it handled more trade. The castle was captured in 1216 by Prince Louis. After 1336 it was no longer a royal castle and passed through various families whilst the surrounding economy of Orford went into decline. The estuary of the River Ore increased and gradually the harbour became more difficult to access and trade dried up. The castle and the land changed hands again in 1754 and by the late-18th century only the north wall of the bailey survived and the roof and upper floors of the keep had badly decayed. In 1805 a proposal was made to destroy it but this was declined and in 1831 restorations began. In 1930 the castle was given to Orford Town Trust. During the Second World War it was used as a radar emplacement.
Inside there were some cabinets with the various archeological finds from the site and the cabinet that caught my attention held information about the Wild Man of Orford. According to the story, a naked wild man, covered in hair, was caught in the nets of local fishermen around 1167. The man was brought back to the castle where he was held for six months, being questioned and tortured but he said nothing. The man was feral although eventually they decided he wasn't a threat and let him roam the castle but he was disdained by all. Eventually they took him out to the water and he swam away, popping up in the water every now and again 'in a mocking manner'. Obviously there were a few theories at the time ranging from demons to mermen. Modern suggestions seem to be that it was a seal but if the account is to be believed the wild man had the body of a man, slept in a bed and walked around... which doesn't sound very seal-like to me.
Unfortunately most of the castle has been demolished so only the tower is left. Apparently it's quite well-known for its unusual design and I can see why - each level had curling tunnels and rooms around the outside of each main room - a bit like a starfish if it bent all its legs round in a spiral. Most of the rooms were too dark to get any decent pictures but they were certainly entertaining. We found a couple of 'waterclosets' which had the wooden seats reconstructed so there were a couple of joking references to a certain scene from Game of Thrones.
Sutton Hoo is home to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time - they discovered the ship burial of an Anglo-Saxon king and his treasured possessions; including the famous Saxon helmet - have a look at the National Heritage website and you'll recognise it. We only arrived at site ten minutes before it was about to close so we rushed around the museum and had a quick (damp) peek at the burial mounds.
Sunday evening we went out to dinner with SBB's brother and his small family in Bury St Edmunds. We popped into a Wetherspoons - I think it was called the Corn Exchange? - and SBB and I were pretty impressed with the interior.
....Okay then....
Instead we ended up eating at Chimichangas which didn't seem to me to be a particularly special place (but hey, what do I know...). There were a couple of mix ups with our order - my sister-in-law isn't eating dairy at the moment as the baby has an allergy and somehow that translated to the staff that she wouldn't be eating rice as her vege chilli came out with - I kid you not - a dessert spoonful of rice. We had to ask for more. As for my order I asked for the cajun chicken quesadilla and ended up with just cajun chicken and the soggiest corn on the cob I've ever had in my life.
The funeral was in a little village called Clare and was to be held in Clare Priory. That's extent of the directions that we were given and, determined not to get lost as we had at the other funerals, decided to scout out the place to find out EXACTLY where we were going. SBB's mum had implied that the Priory was easy to find. After an hour of driving around in the dark we finally found the place so we were both glad we hadn't left it til the morning of the funeral.
In Clare we did spot this amusingly named pub and, indulging my immature side, I took a quick snap.
The next day we drove through some lovely old villages and towns and there some places that we'd have definitely liked to stop to take photos but it felt a little inappropriate given the occasion. I think, given the chance, we'd definitely go back to Suffolk and see more of what the area has to offer.
Have you been to Suffolk (or live there?) do you have any recommendations for places to visit?
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