East Bergholt

East Bergholt
Suffolk
Church of St Mary the Virgin
Location
Grid reference:	TM072351
Location:	51°58’41"N, 1°1’1"E
Data
Population:	2,765
Post town:	Colchester
Postcode:	CO7
Dialling code:	01206
Local Government
Council:	Babergh
Parliamentary constituency:	South Suffolk

East Bergholt is a village in Suffolk, just north of the Essex border.

The nearest town and railway station is Manningtree in Essex. East Bergholt is ten miles north of Colchester and eight miles south of Ipswich. Schools include East Bergholt High School, a comprehensive for children aged 11–16, and a primary school.

During the 16th century, its inhabitants became well known for Protestant radicalism. A few of its citizens were martyred during the reign of Queen Mary I, and the Protestant martyrologist John Foxe recorded their stories in his famous work Acts and Monuments (also known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs).

East Bergholt is the birthplace of painter John Constable whose father owned Flatford Mill. Flatford and Dedham, Essex, both made famous by John Constable, are within walking distance of East Bergholt.

Village Centre

The central area of the village includes a variety of businesses:

• Co-Operative Village Shop.
• Grier & Partners - a local estate agents.
• Fountain House Tea Rooms - a small tea room.
• The Red Lion - one of many pubs in East Bergholt.
• Dunthorne Cottage - a small independently run hardware store.

St Mary's Church and bell cage

The Church of St Mary the Virgin was built in the 15th and 16th centuries, but is well known for the absence of a tower or spire to house the bells. Work began on a tower in 1525, but Cardinal Wolsey's fall from grace in 1530 brought construction to a halt and the following year a wooden bell cage was erected in the churchyard. This temporary structure still exists although not in its original position. It was moved from the south to the north side of the church in the 17th century because the occupant of Old Hall objected to the noise of the bells.

Bellcage of St. Mary's Church

The bells are exceptional in that they are not rung from below by ropes attached to wheels, as is usual in change ringing, but the headstock is manipulated by hand by ringers standing beside the bells.

The bells are believed to be the heaviest five (A, G, F#, E, and D) that are rung in England today, with a total weight of 4¼ tons.

Other important buildings

Old Hall, south façade

• Old Hall, with over 100 rooms and 355 windows has been in its time a manor house, nunnery, army barracks and friary. It now houses the Old Hall Community, a single household of about 60 people who live co-operatively and farm organically.
• Stour House was once the home of Randolph Churchill.
• East Bergholt Place, home of the Eley family and "The Place for Plants" garden centre is noted for camellias.
• Lambe School, a Grade-II listed building, now the village hall, was founded 1594 by Edward Lambe.
• Bridge Cottage is a 16th-century cottage used as a location by John Constable.

Amenities

The village is the home of the East Bergholt Dramatic Society, which was probably formed some time during the 1960s. Lady Anne Wake-Walker was President of the Society for most of the time from its inception to the early 1990s. Her daughter Diana MacFarlane is the present President. The group, which has about 20 members, meets most Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Constable Memorial Hall, from 8pm to 10pm.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about East Bergholt)

• "East Anglian Film Archive: "East Bergholt" search results - eafa.org.uk". http://www.eafa.org.uk/search.aspx#&&page=1&navid=&tagid=1020%2c%2c%2c&psize=10. Retrieved 2 May 2012.