Today is the equinox which means that the nights start to become
longer than the days, however for many weeks now the days have been noticeably
becoming shorter. Today the sun came up at 6.45am and set 6.50pm; it is
definitely time that we headed for the southern hemisphere.
Today, despite the shortening hours of daylight, the weather was
mostly clear and sunny, so much so it seemed a shame to spend more than the
morning cleaning and attending to administration matters. Chris suggested we
head off to Framlingham for the rest of the day, and what a brilliant idea that
turned out to be.
Framlingham is a small village, or town, of about 3,000
inhabitants these days, lying twenty miles or so east north east of Stowmarket.
We took the A1120 through Suffolk villages of charming thatched cottages until
we turned onto the B1115 into our destination. 
Framlingham Castle is reportedly located on a bluff, however I
would have said a “low rise”, because the rise and fall of the land around here
is very gentle. The castle walls are still intact and one sign suggested that
with a decent garrison, it could withstand a siege even today, but I suspect
that boast does not take into account that wars today involve drones and
hydrogen bombs.
The castle’s defence was based on a deep ditch and huge stone
towers built into a curtain wall, built at the end of the 12th
century. The stone walls are 2.5 metres thick and 13 metres high and were
protected by thirteen strong towers. Once the surrounding farmland was part of
a 600 acre park able to accommodate up to 1,600 head of deer and then the lake,
or mere, was much more expansive than it is today.
The coast is only twelve miles away, as the crow flies, and with
the Continent less than two days sail away, the network and excellent ports
meant that East Anglia became rich through trade very early on.
Between the 12th and 16th centuries the
castle was repeatedly confiscated by the king and then returned when he needed
the noble’s support. During the 15th and 16th centuries
the Howard dukes of Norfolk needed a castle to suit their ambition and turned
the castle into more luxurious accommodation, including the addition of
elaborate chimneys, most of which were for show only. One of the last people to
stay in the castle during that era, was Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry
VIII, She came to Framlingham to gather her support before she was crowned
Queen of England in 1553.
By the 17th century, the main home of the Howards
family had moved to Kenninghall, another of their estates in Norfolk. In 1635, Framlingham
Castle was sold to a local politician and lawyer, Sir Robert Hitcham, for £14,000,
who died just one year later, instructing his estate be divided amongst the
poor. Most of the buildings were pulled down and the first poorhouse building
opened in the mid-17th century, but it was too small. The main
poorhouse wing was added in 1729 using part of the earlier medieval hall.
Hitcham was apparently born poor but died rich, hence his bequest.
He knew that education and learning a trade could help one to escape poverty.
He was a man of vision and a notable philanthropist in his day. His poorhouse
housed around forty people, employing women to spin wool and men to work as
farm labourers in the better seasons and cobble shoes in the winter. Boys were
sent out as apprentices and girls placed in domestic service. Here there was a
more community sense than in many other workhouses that sprang up through the
country to meet the need of the poor. This need had become more so after the
dissolution of the monasteries; one of the more positive roles they had filled.
After 1839, the poor were moved out to join the Union workhouse at
nearby Wickham Market, where conditions were probably a lot harsher.
The castle was given to the Commissioner of Works in 1913 and during
the Second World War was used by the British military as part of the regional
defences against a potential German invasion. These days it is run as a tourist
attraction, protected as a Grade I listed building. It is also a draw card for
tour parties, including parties of small school children. Fortunately one such
group was leaving as we arrived; excellent timing we thought.
As has become our habit, we set off along the castle walls armed
with audio guides, to enjoy the fabulous views over the surroundings and down
into the sheltered suntrap of the bailey itself. Across the mere we could see
the rather grand buildings of Framlingham College, originally called the Albert Memorial College in memory of Prince Albert, founded in 1864 by public
subscription. It was a boys’ only school until the 1970s, but now is co-ed. It
is one of those “public” schools populated by the children of the rich, or of
those who manage to secure a scholarship. We did learn that the school has a
very communal relationship with the town folk; their considerable facilities
are made available to the general populace on a regular basis.
Descending one floor after the circuit, we found ourselves in the
small Lanman Museum, the relocated collection of an avid collector of historic
bric a brac from the area. Mr Lanman originally opened his collection to the
public in the front of his shop in 1957, then it was moved to the Old Court
House in Framlingham in 1979, finally moved to its present location in the
castle in 1984. While the many items do reflect past life in the village, it is
a distraction from the castle’s more grand history.
After we had explored the castle then walked around the perimeter
of the grounds, we walked down to the Church of Saint Michael, where the tombs
of the Howard family are to be found, some reputedly the finest in Europe. The
Church has been built, rebuilt and added to over the centuries, the greater
part of the structure erected between 1350 and 1555.
Inside we found the tombs as advertised, that of Thomas Howard, 3rd
Duke of Norfolk, Sir Robert Hitcham, and most colourful, the alabaster tomb of
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, son of the 3rd Duke.
Back outside we made our way to the local Co-op to buy the daily
newspaper before returning to the car and heading toward home, but this time on
yet another rural route, back along the B1078.
It would seem that our sightseeing in Suffolk is not finished yet.
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