My Adventures 3: Hadleigh

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On Monday the 20th February 2023, Dan and I set off to walk from Hadleigh to Kersey circular walk in Suffolk.

We drive down Duke Street in Hadleigh and cross the Toppesfield Bridge and park on the right just after by the Riverside Walk. Here is free parking.

Scheduled as an Ancient Monument, this medieval three arch bridge that spans the River Brett, has been described as ‘˜the finest ancient road bridge in Suffolk'.

Toppesfield Bridge

The River Brett has its source is in the villages to the north of Lavenham and it flows through Hadleigh to its confluence with the River Stour via Monks Eleigh, Brent Eleigh and Chelsworth.

We follow the Riverside Walk for a way, a bit too far in fact and we need to double back to take a path that heads out over farmland.

Nice to see all the snowdrops beneath the trees, Spring isn't far away!

We walk across farmland and climb up Broom Hill. I thought Suffolk was supposed to be flat !!

This former quarry is now covered with woodland, grassland and scrub. There are many ancient trees, together with pollarded oaks and small-leaved limes, which had high branches removed, and coppiced hazel and lime trees, which were cut at ground level.

We continue on up Constitution Hill and across Coram Lodge Farm and up to Coram Street.

We follow Coram Street passing Coram Street Farm and take a footpath across the Kersey Vale.

We walk down to the charming home pictured above and the follow Vale Lane.

After walking along Vale Lane for some way, we reach the Church of St Marys at Kersey.

The oldest parts of the church date to the twelfth century. A reconstruction of the church is thought to have started with the north aisle which was joined to the nave by an arcade and completed in 1335. Work then started on the tower, but was delayed by the outbreak of the black death in 1349. The tower was completed in 1481 and the north and south porches were then added.

View down into Kersey.

The church is of flint and stone and stands on high ground to the south of the village. In about 1335 the north aisle was built and the tower's foundations laid. The tower was completed in 1481. The tower has four stages. There are diagonal buttresses, a castellated parapet with flint chequer work and an octagonal stair turret. The south porch has two bays with buttresses rising to crocketed pinnacles. The north porch is similar but less elaborate.

Inside the church, the ceiling has moulded and carved beams and carved panels. The nave roof has hammer beams alternating with tie beams with arched braces meeting in the centre. There are two baptismal fonts, one 12th-century and another 15th-century. There is a 15th-century lectern and chancel screen. The north aisle has a defaced stone carved frieze.

The chancel was rebuilt in 1862 by King's College, Cambridge, and a small vestry was added in the north east corner.

In Medieval times St Mary's was an important site of pilgrimage with a shrine filling the whole north aisle. This survived Henry VIII's dissolution program but was destroyed around the time of the Civil War. On 8 March 2020 the shrine was re-hallowed.

The newly re-hallowed Shrine and church is host to arts and music events. Jazz evenings take place twice a year, classical music concerts, film evenings, dances and various other events happen regularly.

The Shrine was rehallowed in the presence of Leading Aircraftman Dougie Vince. The bomber on which he served as engineer was attacked by an ME 109 as they returned from a raid on western Germany. The navigation instruments were destroyed and a fire started toward the rear of the aircraft. The navigator had no positional fix and fuel was critically low. The RAF, however, had installed two searchlights in the churchyard of St Mary's Kersey which illuminated the church tower, giving pilots a known navigational reference point. As a result, the church gained the nickname of the “Thank God Church”. Mr Vince's bomber fixed their position and landed at a nearby airfield. The tail gunner died in the fire and Leading Aircraftman Vince's hand was almost burnt away as he fought the flames using an extinguisher that had become red hot in the flames.

We leave St Marys and head out towards Kersey.

The main street has a ford across a stream. Its principal claim to fame is that a coarse woollen cloth called Kersey cloth takes its name from it. The cloth was presumably originally made there, but later in many other places too.

The parish contains the village of Kersey and the hamlets of Kersey Tye, Kersey Upland, Wicker Street Green and William's Green.

We walk down the hill into Kersey, quite possibly one of the most prettiest village in Suffolk.

Kersey is famous for its historical medieval timber frame houses which can be seen on the main street running through the village. They are all estimated to date from between the 12th and 15th centuries and are one of the biggest collections preserved in Suffolk and East Anglia.

The main road running through Kersey is called The Street and there’s no doubt that it is absolutely stunning.

The vibrant pink, orange and pastel houses plus the historic timber frames make this a totally unique street to wander up and down.

The village is known for its picturesque main street with medieval timber-framed houses and a ford of a tributary of the River Brett known locally as "The Splash".

Sad to see River House under Scaffolding, ruins the look of the village too. Hopefully its taken down soon.

The Grade II-listed home dating back to 1490 has gone on the market for £1.4million complete with a Tudor tower and Medieval wing in 2022.

River House needs a major overhaul as it hasn't been lived in for more than 20 years and has no central heating.

The home, in the heart of 'Constable country', features a rare wall painting depicting life-size figures in Elizabethan dress.

Its original construction is on a jetted oak timber frame, which is still visible throughout many parts of the house.

In the late 16th and early 17th century, the house was owned by the Cooke family, wealthy clothiers.

The 13th century picturesque pub, called The Bell Inn, on the main street cannot be missed for its timber framed medieval facade.

This is such a well-kept pub, both inside and out and it also boasts a great beer garden if you’re visiting in summer and want to enjoy the quiet village atmosphere with your drink.

Sadly closed as it was still too early in the day!

We walk up the hill and pass the water pump here in Kersey.

We follow the road round and do some more road walking for a while.

Further up the road we take a footpath on our right and follow the field round and we cross the road into Kersey Mill.

The Mill building, Maltings and elegant Georgian fronted Mill House are surrounded by 18 acres of grounds, beautiful established water gardens and sunken Mediterranean garden, with brooks and streams that flow to the River Brett.

Kersey Mill is complimented with a host of diverse local businesses, which are independently owned. These range from a gym, pilates room, art studio with crafts and gallery, florist, beauty salon, boutique, suffolk craft and produce and cake shop . In addition there are services providing holistic and wellbeing therapies, counselling, creative photography and graphic design and promotion.

You will also find a unique wedding and corporate meeting venue nestled in the grounds. While you are visiting us, why not take the opportunity to relax and unwind in the coffee shop.

We stop in the coffee shop, Dan had a hot chocolate and myself a pot of tea. We had a look at the menu but at £9.80 for a sausage roll and the same price for a sandwich, err no thanks!

We leave the coffee shop and pass the wedding venue, and stopped to have a go on the swing!

We cross the ditch and over the fence to avoid the long walk around up the access road.

We take the same footpath we walked up but turn left across a bridge and across farmland and out onto Mill Lane.

Almost immediately take a footpath opposite and across more farmland.

St Marys is still in sight and has been pretty much since we left it.

We walk pass Noaks Tye Farm and its dilapidated farm buildings and then down down a tree lined path and more snowdrops.

We follow the path uphill across farmland that's full of startled partridges taking flight.

We cross the busy A1071 and onto the path opposite.

We cross the fields that now leads us back into Hadleigh.

We head back downhill into Hadleigh.

We pass The White Hart.

The White Hart is a substantial detached house which according to its Grade II listing dates from the 15th Century. As the name suggests it served the town as a public house, however, following a successful planning application a change of use to residential was granted in December 2018. Up for sale at £775,000!

We walk on crossing the River Brett and onto Hadleigh's High Street.

Established in 1991, Ainger Holbrows Ltd are a family-run business selling new and used cars for over 25 years. Pretty certain these Austin's are for sale though!

The former Kings Arms on Benton Street is a typical example of timber framing. The building, a pub for over 400 years, has sections that date to the 15th century. It was known unofficially as the "Old Monkey" and is still referred to by that name today. It is now a private residence and bed and breakfast.

We walk up along High Street, it has a nice feeling to this quaint town. I like it!

We stop to shop at Adnams shop and stock up on beers to take home!

The first documented lord of the manor was ealdorman Byrhtnoth, who was killed at the Battle of Maldon in 991, when Anglo-Saxon forces tried to repel Viking invaders. Ealdorman was the highest rank of noble and just before his death he was the most senior ealdorman in the country to King Æthelred I. Byrhtnoth and his wife had no children, and "so he bequeathed his many lands to churches or religious institutions around the country". Hadleigh received its market charter in 1252 and had a grammar school by 1275. The manor of Hadleigh, along with those of Lawling in Essex and Monks Eleigh in Suffolk, were among those given to the Priory Church of Canterbury Cathedral. It made Hadleigh an "archiepiscopal peculiar" – under the direct control of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Hadleigh was one of the East Anglian towns that derived its prosperity from its wool and cloth industries. It has a 15th-century timber-framed Guildhall and many fine examples of timber and brick listed buildings, some with highly detailed 17th century plasterwork or "pargeting". Most of these buildings can be found in the High Street, Angel Street, Benton Street and George Street.

A old milestone stands on the High Street that once had a unique lamp standard but now removed.

We turn down Church Street and up to St Marys in Hadleigh.

The church has a late 13th-century or early 14th-century tower and 14th-century aisles. The church was almost wholly reworked in the 15th century, when the arcades were rebuilt, and the clerestory, south porch and northeast vestry added. At this time also the whole building, except for the tower, was re-fenestrated. In the 19th century and early 20th century the church was extensively restored.

The church is constructed of flint rubble with stone dressings and has leaded roofs and spire. It has an aisled nave and chancel, a western tower, a two-storey south porch and a north vestry. On 26 April 1950 the church was designated a Grade I listed building. Its listing by Historic England records the principal reasons for designation as its size, the quality of its late-medieval architecture and its interior.

Opposite the church is Hadleigh Town Hall & Guildhall Complex. It is one of the finest medieval buildings in East Anglia and the only one available for hire in our beautiful market town that can trace its origins back to the 15th Century.

The Market House

The Guildhall buildings are, in fact, formed of three separate structures, all of which lie to the south of the churchyard: the Market House, the Guilds Halls and the New Town Hall (Grand Hall). They are located on land that belonged originally to the manor of Toppesfield Hall. In 1252, king Henry III of England granted a weekly market and an annual fair to Gilbert de Kirkeby, his wife Lauretta and their heirs. By 1438, the Lord of the Manor was William de Clopton, who granted these rights, to fifteen trustees, with an initial annual payment of 6s 8d. In 1438, the Hadleigh Market Feoffment was formed, to manage the market and buildings. The oldest part of the complex, the Market House, fronts the churchyard. Later the Guilds Halls were built and the final addition was the New Town Hall. Abutting the Market House to the west was the 'Long Hall newly built' (1438), which appears to have been the home of the Grammar School, the earliest record of which is dated 7 May 1382. Its last use was as an almshouses and accommodation for the Dean's servants; but it was seriously damaged in a storm in 1884 and was demolished.

The Deanery.

The Deanery, is a most impressive ecclesiastical property believed to date from the early 14th Century, of impressive proportions and standing within the grounds of St Marys’ Church. Now a private residence.

Guthrum, King of the Danes, is said to be buried in the grounds of St Mary's Church in the town. He was defeated by King Alfred at the battle of Edington in 878.

We leave St Marys and walk across to Market House.

We walk through to Market Place and pass the new town hall.

The New Town Hall.

At the top of Market Place on the High Street is the White Lion Hotel.

A former Commercial Inn & Posting House.

Now converted into a number of flats. The building retains many original features both at the front and in a small enclosed central courtyard. Sadly a fire in 2011 damaged part of building to the rear of the property.