Framlingham

[mossie]

A day or two ago I decided on an excursion into "bow and arrow" territory to the little town of Framingham way out in the sticks (about half an hour drive).

One comes to the castle looming menacingly over the countryside as it was intended to intimidate strangers




This castle is a bit unusual in that there is no keep, or stronghold, just an enclose space with defensive towers at intervals round a high wall. I have pinched a shot of the explanatory leaflet one gets when purchasing the entry ticket. The living accommodation was added in stages in later years.



When it was built of course the bow and arrow was state of heart military equipment and from the walkway round the walls attackers could be shot at with impunity from the narrow slits, which would require a very accurate shot to penetrate



One is able to walk almost the full circuit of the walls, in fact one has to because access is by a very narrow circular stone stairway, but luckily a decent staircase allows a safe descent



There are good views of the surrounding countryside



And it is possible to appreciate the internal layout



Some of the domestic buildings are Tudor but the largest was a "Poorhouse"of the 16th century.

There are the remains of the bridge spanning the moat to the rear entrance



Now the only approach is from the front



And the moat is crossed by a more substantial bridge



There is a very interesting museum. Warm dresses ladies??



After my visit I walked through the town in search of much needed coffee

[mossie]

Why is Apple so bloody arrogant that it knows what I am going to write. I put "state of the art" and it soppily changes "the art"to heart !!!!!!!

Anyway, going down the slight hill into the town one passes the church



This is unusual in that the chancel is larger and grander than the nave. This is because the castle was a place great power in the Middle Ages, the Dukes were sometimes more powerful than the king. Here is the very ornate tomb of one, which is among several which occupy parts of the chancel.



Here the priests door is almost blocked by another tomb



There is some rich decoration to the walls remaining in places



But I think the windows have lost their original glass



There is a reminder that powerful families were exported to the colonies




The super woodwork of the nave roof reminds me of when this area was heavily involved in building ships for navies



The nave feels cramped in comparison with the chancel



The Sunday School had obviously been taught about Jonah and the Whale



Walking back through the churchyard this Norman arch, which allowed passage to the priests door through the buttress, struck me.

[bixaorellana]

Fascinating and quite beautiful, Mossie. I am intrigued by the chimneys in the wall -- were those living spaces? Also, isn't that downward pointing arrow slit a clever innovation not always seen in forts and castles? It seems that usually the slit looks straight out, whereas the angled one you show would make anyone under it a sitting duck while protecting the archer, as you point out.

Lovely church and the arch incorporated into the buttress is indeed nice. It wasn't until recently that I learned that many churches weren't endowed out of piety, but rather as a way to flaunt the power and wealth of the giver. Still, it made for really great fancy tombs. The painted one you show is somewhat out of the ordinary, isn't it?

[mossie]

That fancy tomb commemorates Henry Earl of Surrey and his wife Frances de Vere, daughter of the l5th Earl of Oxford. He was born in 1517, son of the Third Duke of Norfolk, a very powerful man of the time. He fell foul of Henry VIII and was executed for treason in 1547, a common fate then.

The chimneys are tudor additions from later times when the castle was lived in, the towers would have several floors. I don't know why or how they became stripped out, but obviously there were several floors in each one at one time.

It is only in relatively recent times that these places have been valued as historical monuments. I guess in previous centuries they provided the locals with very useful building materials.

[htmb]

Very interesting, Mossie. This looks like a place I'd enjoy visiting. I was looking around at information on a few other websites and found one hat listed the castle as one of the top 101 places to visit in the UK.

[mossie]

Now a few snaps from the town of Framingham itself. It centres round a triangular market place with an odd mixture go building styles.
Mediaeval supermarket anyone?



Here is a general view of one side



A side alley to the church and a back lane



Another row



The boutique craze has even infected this place. I guess there was some sniffing from the older locals when this appeared.



More Tudor type




and a grand merchants house to finish

[Deleted]

I don't know how you manage to find all of these charming little towns, Mossie. I didn't think England was big enough to have so many. (That is inspired by an actual statement that I heard an American make back in the 1970's when somebody said they were going to play golf in England: "I didn't think England was big enough to have golf courses." And yes, it was said seriously.)

Anyway, your pictures are great as usual, and I absolutely love to see photos of castles and fortresses, particularly in ruins. Once again, the downtown section looks incredibly tidy with not only no trash to be seen anywhere in the streets but not even any rubbish bins standing out on the footpath. I won't say that you cannot imagine how many of my Paris photos have been marred by those bright green rubbish bins standing around because I'm sure that you have been annoyed by them yourself when trying to find the proper angle for a photo.

[bixaorellana]

Very interesting, Mossie. The tarted-up boutique building is somewhat jarring, but it mostly looks as though the town has moved with the times while preserving its charm. Is there a modern supermarket hidden within the old market complex?

I meant to ask you before: what is the river running past the castle?

[mossie]

Yes that is a small supermarket through the passageway under the sign.

The river is a lake, I think artificial to provide a fishpond for the castle. It is fed from the river Ore which is only a small stream at that point.

Incidentally the Ore gives the town of Orford its name, but it joins up with the River Alde nearer the sea and the combined river mouth is what the tides moves down the coast to form Orfordness..The Alde gives its name to the slightly larger town of Aldeburgh, which I may bore you with one day.

The whole area is strange place all the way up the coast from Ipswich, called the Sandlings. Formed when the Ice Age retreated and the glacier, covering England down to about the London area, melted and formed a prototype Thames which ran into the marshy area which is now the North Sea . Eventually the water level rose so much that it broke through at Dover to form the famous White Cliffs. I hope no geologist is reading this because again, as my wife said "what he doesn't know, he makes up"

[Deleted]

Statistics are always great, too. 87% of people will believe anything you write if you add a fake statistic. That's up from 83% two years ago.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks, Mossie. Great info about the terrain there. I was particularly interested since I come from a state which has often built on what are essentially wetlands. The Google map of The Sandlings, Ipswich shows clearly how very wet that area is. When I was looking that up, I came across this book online. Some may find it dry (ha ha), but it explains at length exactly what you said.

I love how the names of the various towns constitute a sort of verbal map. Yes, please -- do bore us with Aldeburgh!