Reinterred: Bildeston Walk

Today I led a walk for Joyce's group. I decided to do a walk that combined the recent U3A walk from Bildeston we did earlier this month (see here) with the Chelsworth Charmer we did in July 2020.

This was the invite.

"Tuesday 21st June – John is leading a walk from Bildeston via Chelsworth, Kettlebaston and Hitcham. We will meet at Chamberlin Hall, Chamberlin Close, Bildeston IP7 7EZ to start walking at 10:15. The walk is about 10 miles. We will stop for a drinks break at Chelsworth Church or woodland park, lunch at Kettlebaston and a final drinks top in Hitcham. Please bring a packed lunch and plenty to drink. It's a walk with lovely villages, open paths and good views. Expect a bit of up and down and maybe a meeting with Sam the itinerant metal scarecrow. John will have room for 3 others in his car for anyone who wants a lift from Skyliner Sports Centre – please email him if you would like a lift."

Hmm. In retrospect, that description wasn't entirely accurate, as you will see. This was our route today.

Here are a few of my photos.

Here we are at the start at Chamberlin Hall.. a nice big car park and the hall was open... and the toilets. For a second week in a row we were joined by new members of the group, this time Donna and Wendy. Welcome to you both!

We started with a little loop around Bildeston before going through the square and then on via Consent Lane towards the church.

On the way, we passed the impressive Church Farm with its unusual silos turned into accommodation.

It was been recently sold - the guide price was £1.6m. Read about it in the estate agent's particulars here.

We got our best view of the church looking back as we continued towards Chelsworth.

Bildeston Church has a rather unusual tower. Like many Suffolk churches it is remote from the centre of the village. Simon Knott explains...

"When you find a parish church remote from its village, as you often do in Suffolk, it is pertinent to ask why. More than once I've read accounts in church guides blaming the Black Death, but there's no real evidence to suggest this was the cause of the isolation of any Suffolk churches. But the removal of the village of Bildeston from its parish church is fairly well-documented and researched. Here, beside the church, are traces of a substantial manor house. Until 1960s hedge-removal and deep-ploughing destroyed them, there was also evidence of other dwellings, smallholdings, farmsteads and tenements.

They were much older than the church, but, of course, this church was built on the site of its predecessor, located for the convenience of the manor house. So, why are there no houses here now? Some time in the 13th century, people from this parish migrated down to the river valley, possibly to be near resources for the budding cloth industry. Soon, this new community was active enough to merit a market, and here, on the main road between Stowmarket and Hadleigh, it became a busy one. Changing patterns of agriculture in the late medieval period meant the disappearance of the remaining community from around the church, and so now St Mary Magdalene stands grand, isolated, and half a mile or so from the large village (almost a small town) of Bildeston. This, conversely, makes Bildeston a rather curious village, since it has a typical Suffolk market place, except for the fact that there isn't a church on it.".

We enjoyed brushing our hands on the feathery barley awns as we walked through it.

At Chelsworth we crossed the River Brett at the narrow bridge...

...and took this path to do a variation of the loop done on the Chelsworth Charmer. At least I spotted this one...

...as I hadn't had time to do a recce. We then had a pleasant walk alongside the river...

...and the sheep in the field scurried away in front of us.

After a scramble up a path through a small wood, I missed the next path and thought I spotted an opening at the end of a field onto the road we were to join. But it turned out not to be a gate and we ended up walking right round the field. I'd already mentioned that Glen's original walk had several loops in it and Roland pointed out that we had just added a loop within the loop! Moral of the story, John... stick to the footpaths shown on the map. But never mind. We got to see some sheep being driven across the bottom of the field.

We then took the proper path, which turned out to be a bit, um, adventurous. I wish I'd brought my machete.

Back in Chelsworth, we passed The Grange, shown at the top of the post, with its street sign "Rue d'Eglise" to the church, our drinks and toilet stop.

All Saints Church is spacious and prettier on the inside and out. I had £2 in my pocket so bought the Church Guide which explained that this painting on the chancel arch...

..is called the Doom. It was discovered during redecoration in 1849 and is highly regarded among surviving church murals of the 15th century.

Onwards towards Kettlebaston we came to some barley that was already turning quite yellow.

The "open paths" I remembered from earlier in the month were now among tall stems of grass.... which wasn't doing my hayfever any good.

Kettlebaston is even smaller than Chelsworth which only has 67 houses, and also has some pretty cottages and gardens.

Sam the metal scarecrow was not on display here any more.

...but here is my photo of him from last time...

There were some lovely roses across the road.

Our lunch stop was at St Mary's Church.

Returning through the churchyard we passed the statue of the Coronation of the Queen of Heaven sat behind a padlocked grill. It is a copy of an alabaster found under the floorboards during the 1860s restoration. The original is now in the British Museum.