Congratulation to Anne & Henry for 5 eggs
Anne & Henry our Trumpeter Swans have just laid 5 eggs. The same number as last year. So it should be a busy and noisy moat this year!!
We still have two of the 'kids' from last year, despite Mum and Dad's aggressive attempts to persuade them to move out and find their own place.
The cherry blossom has arrived!
Progression is swift and all the illegal windows are out! The laths are nearly all installed and the render is just about to go up!! Thank you Hoggs and WP for being so brilliant!
The scaffolding is back
We are just about to finish off the exterior renovation - remove the last 6 modern windows and return the original restored ones, remove the final concrete render and replace with lime and repair the wood frame where necessary.
The scaffolding is going up again! They needed to use a boat!
This is the final elevation to be done. Goodbye horrid, yellow-baby-sick coloured paint - hello lovely white lime wash!!
1610 confirmed
From the recent dendocronology report we can be more certain about the date over our kitchen door.
Any clues or ideas about the other name?
Clearing out the kitchen
We have started carefully removing some very unsympathetic kitchen units and can now enjoy the wonderful north wall of the tudor lodge. It shows the massive corner post that matches the two on the exterior to the south.
Unfortunately the entire house had been painted in a rather disgusting 'pus' colour - someone described it as baby sick. We have got one room left to paint to get rid of it all!
We are extremely proud to be hosting 50 historians
The Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History are undertaking an excursion to Letheringham Lodge. This is what will appear in their next newsletter:
Excursion 3. Saturday 12 July
Letheringham Lodge – a medieval and Tudor wonder ?
This will be limited by ticket to 50 members only – 25 in the morning and 25 in the afternoon.
Excursion leaders: Leigh Alston, Timothy Easton and Edward Martin
Letheringham Lodge, by kind permission of the owners, who have very generously offered to provide lunch for the morning group and afternoon tea for the afternoon group.
An intriguing timber-framed building on the smallest occupied moated site in Suffolk. The original structure was square and jettied on all four sides, with later additions ofc.1610. Decorative panelling in an upstairs gallery (removed c.1920 to Brodick Castle on the Isle of Arran) bears heraldic badges linking them to Sir Anthony Wingfield, KG (d. 1552) of Letheringham Hall, an important figure at the court of King Henry VIII. Recent tree-ring dating of the original structure has led to new thinking about the date and purpose of this exceptional building.
Do sign up to become a member if you fancy coming along at www.suffolkinstitute.org.uk
The spring is coming
Despite the storms and winds, a corner of snowdrops and crocuses have just appeared almost exactly under the rainbow in the photo below.
