19 July 2004

A visit to Kentwell Hall was Love at First Sight

The first time we drove down the long, tree-lined lane to Kentwell Hall in Long Melford, it was love at first sight.

A great storm rolled through the day before, so huge branches were scattered about, and had obviously just been cleared from the lane. It added a sense of real adventure to the place.

At the end of the lane stood the 500-year-old Tudor farm built during the time of Henry the VIII. Beyond the tall, imposing metal gates and in full view as we drove up, stood Kentwell Hall, a huge red brick manor house. This place is grand and imposing and elegant, just as you would hope.

Their Web site (http://www.kentwellhall.co.uk) description says it best, "In 1970 Kentwell stood long neglected. No one wanted it. Patrick Phillips bought it and ever since with his family has sought to bring Kentwell back to life. Kentwell is a rare combination. A long-term restoration project now in its 34th year and a lived-in and much loved family home. It also provides a fascinating insight into the past."

There always seems to be something new and exciting to explore at Kentwell, so we have gone back often. Once we came to see the Suffolk Punch show, a tiny festival that shows off a local breed of horses that almost vanished a few years ago.

The Suffolk Punch is a huge brown workhorse. The people that are dedicated to saving this breed come together once a year to hitch the teams to antique carts or plows and show off the amazing power of their animals.

Of course Cat was much more interested in the farm animals. The piglets were a special delight, leaping in the air, pushing bits of wood or apples around with their tiny snouts. She begged for us to take one of those darling little things home. Of course she promised faithfully to feed it, play with it and let it sleep with her in her bed.

The fact -- as we tried to point out -- that the cute little piglet would soon grow into the same half-ton of bacon like the piglet's mama and that someone would expect to eat her, did not seem to make one bit of difference. Fortunately, the tiny biddies racing past soon took her mind off the piglets.

In the gift shop there are little bags of fish food for sale. At first glance this might seem a bit strange. But after you walk across the bridge that spans the mote that surrounds the house it is clear that the thousands of huge gray carp crowding, climbing over and practically walking on top of each other know exactly why food is sold in the shop: These fish are huge.

One is supposed to weigh 30 pounds!

Their mouths snap shut in a chorus of clicking noises, and when a handful of food is thrown to them it looks like someone has turned on a thousand jet sprays as the water churns and splashes. They say that the carp were kept in the mote as a source of fresh fish over the centuries.

After feeding the fish we ate lunch in the basement cafeteria. The food there includes traditional British things like kidney pie and mashed potatoes. They serve a good cup of tea, and that is helpful on cold and windy days.

In the side garden there is a giant tree sculpture that livens up the area where people can bring a picnic and sit around enjoying the garden. Sitting in the sun, eating a picnic lunch beneath this ancient manor home, peacocks showing off and begging for scraps -- it is hard to imagine there is a better place to be.