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A tiny village, landmark cathedral and a rain-soaked dayA ticket to time-travelBy Marilyn Loeser
“Legend has it the devil visited the church hundreds of years ago and its claw marks can still be seen on the church’s wooden door,” he told us. My husband Mark and I have a wonderful advantage when we visit the UK. Knowing our love for history, our English-born friends seek out interesting and historic areas for us to explore.
Blythburgh is steeped in Anglo-Saxon history. By 654 the community had a church and, according to tradition, the bodies of the Anglian King Anna and his son Jurmin were brought here after they fell in battle. At the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 Blythburgh was part of the royal estate. It was one of Suffolk's twelve market towns, and its church was especially rich, worth ten times the average for Suffolk, one of the richest counties in England.
Christianity arrived in Suffolk early in the 17th century and the village was one of its most important centers. Church of the Holy Trinity
Just inside an entryway and through a great wooden door stands the font used for christening. High above is the roof, which resembles the curve of a ship bottom, and carved angels. Ornate bench-ends represent the seven deadly sins, the seven works of mercy and the four seasons. There are also angels bearing symbols of the Holy Trinity and the crown. The choir stalls also are fronted by carvings of the 12 apostles, evangelists and royal figures. Looking down the aisle between rows of pews, there are iron rings at the base of some pillars thought to have been used by Olivier Cromwell’s representatives to tether their horses. From the late 1540s, with Protestant dominance and its support of royal law, altars and images were removed from the church, the walls were whitened and ornamental glass destroyed.
In the 17th century William Dowsing visited the church and with puritan zeal smashed crosses and carvings, figures and glass. An archdeacon's visit in 1663 found the church falling into disrepair and disuse. Exploring Blythburgh
The village, with its rich agricultural advantages and location on an important road at the lowest crossing on the river Blyth, continued to prosper through the 12th and 13th centuries, and into the beginning of the 14th century.
Because of the hard economic times, many area residents moved. In 1754 there were only 21 households and a population of 124. By the 18th century, economic development and prosperity passed through Blythburgh. River navigation between Southwold and Halesworth was completed in 1761. The drainage of the adjacent marshes continued and grazing cattle replaced wildfowl. A new turnpike road carved its way through the center of the village in 1785. The site of the old market place between the church and the new road was forgotten. A more forbidding symbol of unemployment and poverty was the opening of Bulcamp House of Industry in 1766. Designed to house 400 paupers from 46 parishes and one township in the Blything Hundred, it became a feared workhouse in the 19th century, with over 550 inmates in the 1820s. Blythburgh's population rose rapidly, peaking in 1851 at 1,118, including the workhouse. Farming in Blythburgh had an excellent reputation. In 1813 Westwood Lodge was described as the finest farm in the county. Through the village’s transformation, the neglected church continued to decay. Many of the church records were destroyed and in 1881, the church was closed. It took a national campaign in the 1880s to repair and reopen the church, supported by a local building committee including prominent artists. In 1879 the Southwold Railway opened giving Blythburgh a station. For the next 50 years the railway provided access to the main line in one direction and the sea in the other. By the start of the 20th century commercial traffic had ceased and the river flooded back over the marshes to recreate a wildlife habitat later designated as a National Nature Reserve. In the 1920s, Blythburgh had, in addition to the White Hart, a Post Office, general store, shoe maker, shoe-repair shop, a dairy, and a carpenter, wheelwright and decorator. Today, only the White Hart remains, together with the Post Office which is housed in the village store. The village hall has been restored and is a focal point for community activities and the onetime workhouse is being converted into private dwellings. But it’s the church that still commands the valley as it and its predecessors have done for more than 1,300 years. If you go:
For accommodations, I can personally recommend Brudenell Hotel, situated on the seafront in nearby Aldeburgh.
When we checked into our room, a glorious bouquet of
flowers had been delivered by a local florist, ordered by our friends. The
florist is Birchwood House Of Flowers, located at 58 High Street in nearby
Leiston. The telephone number is 01728 831381 (from the United States, call
The complementary full-English breakfast was excellent as was our evening meal. The restaurant offers a panoramic view of the sea and specializes in seafood and grills. For more information or to make a reservation call 01728 452071 (from the United States, call 01144 1728 452071) or e-mail info@brudenellhotel.co.uk. The website is brudenellhotel.co.uk. |
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In the pouring rain, our friend Simon Watts sped along
narrow English roads. He said he was headed to Blythburgh, a small village in
northeast Suffolk — just under 100 miles east of London and four miles from the
North Sea.
As the rain slowed, we approached the tiny community with
its tidal river, marsh and moors. The 300 or so inhabitants live in houses
clustered close to the main road and scattered in nearby fields. The surrounding
landscape is rich in archaeological sites dating from Neolithic to Roman times,
but it’s the medieval church that draws many travelers to the valley of the
river Blyth.
In the 12th century, Henry I gave the church to the
Augustinian canons of St Osyth's Priory in Essex.
We
parked and walked toward the church with its massive spires and ornate stone
work. Once inside the Church of the Holy Trinity, known as the Cathedral of the
Marshes, we learned the church in its present form was built more than 500 years
ago. An earlier church also was located here.
The last thing we looked at was the famous door the devil
allegedly scratched with its wicked claws. The legend says the devil haunts the
marshes nearby in the form of a big black dog called Black Shuck. On
After
touring the church and its grounds, we walked along a narrow lane toward the
main road and the White Hart Inn, built in the 6th century. Its fine molded
ceiling survives in the bar although much of the building's timber frame has
gone, replaced at one end by a red brick gable in the 17th century and in the
19th century a new façade facing the road.
In
1327 the community was the 21st richest in Suffolk. The Black Death in 1349 was
a turning point impacting population, and social and economic factors.
Ironically, during these stressed economic times is when the present church was
built. Its size, extensive use of stained glass and its refined furnishings
reflected less the wealth of the community than an expenditure of individuals
who wished to be remembered after their deaths.
For more information on the Church of the Holy Trinity
check the website: 
Our
room looked out over the North Sea, a wild grey torrent of sea and spray in the
winter.
01144 1728 831381) or fax 01728 831381 (from the United States, 01144 1728
831381).