Just swanning about

Swans are beautiful birds, you can find them almost anywhere there is a river. In Layham, we are treated, most years, to at least one pair with a clutch of eggs, and a trail of cygnets in due course. This year being no exception.

Most swans mate for life, with the odd exception. It gives them a higher chance of raising more young than `sleeping around`!

Most of the time we see swans like this. Serenely gliding along ... 

Other times looking for lunch! Swans living on fresh water will typically eat pond-weed, stonewort and wigeon grass, as well as tadpoles and insects such as milfoil. 

Swans living on salt water will typically eat sea arrow grass, salt marsh grass, eel grass, club rush and green algae, as well as insects and molluscs. It`s best not to feed them bread as the mouldy leftovers can cause them problems. 

I have read that this behavior is called `busking`. I am not convinced, as I thought that was when they lowered their head, thrust it forward while raising their wings in an aggressive pose. 

I do know that they have a very laboured take off, appearing to run along the water surface. 

...but they eventually make it into the air. 

This year, a pair built a nest by Layham Mill and some eggs were laid, and covered, and more laid - I am not sure of the eventual total, but possible five. 

Then the male disappeared. This is not a problem, as the female is quite capable of incubating and raising her cygnets on her own. And `no` she will not starve in the process. I believe the male will also raise the young successfully too. 

So here she is, day after day. No male in sight. Until one morning there was an empty nest and no sign of either swan. The Mill residents told us that she had been attacked by another family (complete with cygnets) who had been nesting further up river previously. 

Sad, but that is nature sometimes. Maybe they saw another brood so close, as a threat? Who knows. 

The original pair have not been seen since. Just an abandoned nest with eggs. 

Same site, but different year. A family raise their cygnets and we were able to watch them grow. This time a happy ending. 

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Burnham Norton church and RSPB Titchwell

On our way from Wells to RSPB Titchwell, we stopped at the village Burnham Norton to have a look at the church of St Margaret. The church stands on a hilltop well south of the village it serves. In fact, it`s much closer to Burham Market than it is to Burnham Norton.

St Margaret's boasts a round west tower, and there is debate over just how old the tower is. Traditional historians date it to the Saxon period, but more recent surveys suggest a date somewhere around AD 1090, some 4 decades after the Norman Conquest. It could very well be that the church is Norman, but built by a Saxon mason using traditional techniques.

The oldest historic feature is a Norman font. The font is square, supported on a large central stem and four slender corner columns. It is comparatively plain; its sides are carved with blind arcading, chevron and diagonal crosshatch patterns, while the legs with chevrons, vertical stripes, and barley-twist style decoration. Unlike most Norman fonts, the legs are more richly carved than the font bowl. 

Beside the church door is a small medieval wafer oven, looking like a stone cupboard

The real treasure of St Margaret's church is the wonderfully decorated hexagonal wine glass pulpit, which somehow escaped the worst efforts of the Reformation iconoclasts. But how did such obviously Catholic images escape destruction?

The painted panels are so richly coloured and in such good condition that the pulpit has been called the finest medieval example in England. The pulpit was the gift of the Goldalle family in 1450.

Four panels depict the 'four doctors' of the Church. These were not doctors in the sense of physical healers, but theologians whose writings were considered especially important in early Christian thought. For that reason each 'doctor' is shows with a quill pen and a manuscript.

One painted panel shows St Augustine regarding his pen, a manuscript on his lap. Another shows St Ambrose reading a scroll. A third panel depicts St Gregory writing on a scroll, and the fourth panel depicts St Jerome mending his quill pen. Curiously, St Jerome is shown wearing a Cardinal's hat, which did not exist at the time he was alive (c. 347-420). Obviously his likeness is very much medieval symbolism rather than any attempt at realism.

The final two panels show the donors responsible for the pulpit, Johannis (John) and Katherine Goldalle (Goodall). Perhaps John Goldalle was trying to buy spiritual favour by donating the pulpit, for local records show that he was arrested in 1446 for stealing oysters from the nearby salt marshes.

Looking past the Norman Font, it`s just possible to see the rather sorry remains of the rood screen and to appreciate the relative simplicity of this pretty little Norfolk church.

As for Titchwell? well, the only photo I took was this one of an Oyster Catcher. The day was definitely lacking in birds, and we were on our way home anyway!

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Rhododendrons at Sheringham Park

Sheringham Park is a landscape park and gardens near the town of Sheringham, Norfolk. The park surrounds Sheringham Hall, which is privately occupied, but the park is in the care of the National Trust and open to visitors. We had visited previously, but not at this time of year.

The park was designed by Humphry Repton (1752-1818) widely regarded as the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, and often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown

In the Park there are fine mature woodlands and a large variety of rhododendrons and azaleas. Several overlook towers provide good views over the gardens, and of the nearby coast and surrounding countryside. Although the one we climbed to the top of gave us a view of - nothing! Wrong lookout!.

The walks through the woods were lovely too, giving us an opportunity to see a Tree creeper, among other birds. A garden temple was constructed in the Park in 1975.

The colours are truly stunning, and, on a clear day like today, were beautiful against the deep blue sky background.

A peek through the trees toward the North sea coastline.

Some close-ups of the blooms.

A carpet of fallen petals.

Sheringham Hall - Designed and built by Humphry Repton and his son John Adey Repton for the Upcher family of Norfolk in 1812-17, romantic Sheringham Hall was Repton’s ‘most favourite work’ and one of his last. This finest of Repton’s ‘creations’, with its elegantly understated Regency house, listed Grade II*, and spectacular landscape setting, showcases both his acclaimed genius as a landscape designer and his less familiar talent as a country-house architect. When Thomas Upcher, who inherited the estate in 1954, died in the mid-1980s, Sheringham Hall and its surrounding park were left to the National Trust, since when the nine-bedroom house and its immediate eight acres of gardens and grounds have been privately let on a long Trust lease.

Soon after leaving the Park, on stopping at a layby for an ice cream, we spotted this swan with her young.

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Weird and Wonderful Wood - Haughley Park

Weird and Wonderful Wood is an annual event that we had intended to visit in the past, but somehow not managed to make it. Not so this year, as the whole family met in Haughley Park, Wetherden. The event showcases everything wood and includes craftsmen and women with every conceivable skill in wood. Amazing, is my summary of the day. A re-visit next year penciled in!

Demonstrations included furniture making, musical instrument making, displays by traditional fletchers and bowyers (think Middle Ages).

How on earth do they cut such intricate details with a chain saw! With lots of skill to be sure.

Chain saw carving (could have watched for hours) A small mole having a look around. 

Included also, wheel wright, hurdle making, wood turning, pole lathe turning, sign writing, labyrinth making, flute maker as well as coracle making and traditional gypsy caravan displays. On top of which there was a wealth of excellent locally sourced and produced food and drink. A brilliant day out. Beside all this, there were entertainers around the grounds and here are a few images of just a small fraction of what was on show. 

This contraption had various handles for the kids to turn and bubbles then emerged from all sorts of places. The kid loved it.

How about that for a flowered dress!

Haughley Park House in Stowmarket, Suffolk is an historical house of significance listed in the English Heritage Register. It is a large red brick country house built in about 1620 for the Sulyard family who were very prominent landowners in this area. The property remained with this family for two centuries after which it was sold. Today it is a private residence but at certain times of the year the gardens are open for viewing. The barn and gardens are also available for weddings. What a great spot!

Built on the site of a royal hunting ground attached to Haughley castle, the land was granted by Henry VIII to Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk who later surrendered it to the Crown. The land was then granted to Sir John Sulyard by Queen Mary (Bloody Mary to most of us) because of the loyalty he had shown when she was deposed. John was a staunch catholic and Lord Chief Justice of England's. The house was subsequently built in the reign of King James I and generations of Sulyards lived there until the end of the 18th century. 

Fast forward to the 20th century and the property was bought in 1924 by Turner Henderson who was the second son of John Henderson owner of Studley Priory in Oxfordshire. 

When he died in 1956 he left Haughley Park to the Zoological Society to be used as a zoological establishment but they declined his offer. Instead Alfred Williams bought the Park to be used as for his poultry processing business. A devastating fire in 1961 gutted some of the house. However it was fully restored by the family three years later. The poultry business was sold but the Williams family still retain ownership of the Park. 

In 2019, plans to build new homes on the former poultry processing site were rejected by the local authority. 

For those who choose to use the exclusive and relaxed hire offered at the Barn, the Farmhouse is the ideal place to be together with family and friends and enhance the enjoyment of your special occasion. Make yourselves at home in this large Victorian property, surrounded by its own spacious gardens. There is plenty of room, outside and in, for guests to unwind and relax.`

So runs the advertising blurb, but by the looks of the farmhouse it would be a great place to spend a few days anytime. I believe this Victorian Farmhouse is only about 75 m from the actual Barn used for the weddings.

This was the view I had from the Weird and Wonderful Wood event we were visiting today.

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A day at RSPB Minsmere

This is one of our favourite places to visit and so we were looking forward to today. After all, spring is here, and we should see something of interest? We did - and here are some of my efforts!

In among the gorse, we were entertained by the family of Stonechats. Apparently, On heathland in the south of England, Dartford Warblers can often be seen following Stonechats around, perhaps catching the small insects that the larger bird disturbs. We were lucky / unlucky enough to see a Dartford Warbler flit past while we were photographing the Stonechats, but were not quick enough to get the picture!

Two youngsters deciding who was to have the worm.

Dunnock sitting on the gorse

A Whitethroat, but the quality is rather poor due to the distance it was away from me.

Although a common bird with a dubious reputation, the Magpie is a rather good looking bird, especially if you catch one in sunlight.

A Redshank walking the edge of the Scrape

The Sand Martins were fascinating to watch as they wheeled overhead and dived at their burrows in the cliff side. Well worth standing here for some while.

Having caught his lunch, the Heron gave a performance as he tried to get it down his long throat. I believe it was a sand eel and it tried to wind itself around the Herons` beak!

Eventually, after some more shaking about and dipping in water?, it slips reluctantly down the Herons` throat.

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A walk to picturesque Dedham

Set by the River Stour, Dedham is in the heart of Constable Country. It was here that Britain's greatest landscape artist John Constable went to school. The attractive high street is lined with Georgian-fronted houses, old inns and a large art and crafts centre. The magnificent 15th C. church was built from the wealth of the medieval cloth industry.

Dedham is frequently rated as containing some of England's most beautiful Lowland landscapes, particularly the Water Meadows of the River Stour, which passes along the northern boundary of the village forming the boundary between the counties of Essex and Suffolk. 

So today we walked from Flatford, across these same meadows to Dedham.

The view we had from just outside Dedham on this beautiful sunny, but cold, morning.

Village signs always make me turn my head as they vary considerable, and some are just plain intriguing. I usually have to take the picture!

As we approached the main street we walked past this magnificent old building. It is 16th century, Grade II* listed building, sitting proudly at the centre of Dedham, and has been an inn since 1704. 

It was named after the Duke of Marlborough who had enjoyed a famous victory over the French at the Battle of Blenheim in that year. And while landlords have come and gone, the name, and much of the pub, has stayed the same for more than 300 years.

John Constable attended the Grammar School in Dedham in the 1780s, after his initial education in Lavenham. The grammar school is now two private houses.

The present parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Dedham was built in the 15th century. Building work started in 1492, the year that Columbus discovered America, and St Mary's was completed 30 years later, before King Henry VIII made himself head of the Church in England. 

The tower, completed in 1519, is actually an independent structure and is particularly imposing for a church of this size. It is said that Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, paid for the tower to be built. The tower is 131 feet high and is the most striking feature in this part of the Stour Valley.

Galilee Porch under St Mary Church tower. A Galilee is a chapel or porch at the west end of some churches where penitents waited before admission to the body of the church and where clergy received women who had business with them. 

Many medieval Cistercian churches were entered through something called a Galilee or ‘paradise’. It was a porch situated on the west front of the church. It was an important starting point for religious processions into the church. It was also a popular place for patrons to be buried. In Rievaulx there are the remains of eight graves in the Galilee. There was often also a smaller altar. The Galilee porch at Tintern Abbey was said to house a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary. 

These days it isn’t just monasteries and cathedrals that have Galilee porches. A number of parish churches have them as well, and this church is one such. 

In Cistercian monasteries there was initially no place for lay visitors in the church during canonical hours and mass but it was recognised that visitors should be admitted on very holy days such as Easter, though historians are unclear where the guests sat once they were inside the church. The other thing to be remembered is that these guests were largely male as Cistercians took a dim view of women entering their precincts although they did provide hospitality to noble guests outside the abbey. How times change - thankfully! 

The door allowing a view of the church interior from the Galilee Porch

Interior of Dedham Church looking toward the east end and the high altar.

Pew end - The American Connection with Dedham, Massachusetts

Many residents of Dedham and surrounding villages emigrated to the United States of America, some settling in Massachusetts. In 1636, the town of Dedham, Massachusetts was founded, taking its name from Dedham, Essex. From that time the links between Dedham, Essex, and descendants of early settlers in the USA have remained strong.

Shields in the Nave Roof, a dedicated Nave Pew and a Sealed Resolution in the Vicar's Vestry all mark the connection between Dedham, Essex and Dedham, Massachusetts

Here is the Nave pew mentioned above. 

The Nave roof with its shields. 

Wandering through the village, I was drawn to this rather small door. I could knock my head every time I entered I am sure!

To finish, a reflection on the source of the wealth that once made this pretty village - wool. Sheep browsing in a field on the edge of the village.

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