Cotton, Near Stowmarket
Suffolk
Charity Trust No: 801863
OPEN SUNDAYS JUNE TO SEPTEMBER
2.30 - 5.30pm
Adults �5 Children �1
WEEKDAY TOURS BY ARRANGEMENT
FAIR ORGAN ENTHUSIASTS DAY
Sunday 4th October 10am - 5pm
Adults �5 Children �1
Everyone welcome
� Ample FREE parking � Light refreshments
� Toilet facilities � Disabled Toilet
Telephone: (01449) 613876
www.cottonmusic.co.uk
LONG Melford is a striking Suffolk village with
a long history and it boasts two Tudor man-
sions, both worth a visit!
The village has been a successful market
settlement for many centuries and its roots go
back to the prosperity sheep brought to the
area in medieval times.
KENTWELL HALL
KENTWELL Hall is a stunning moated Tudor
manor, built in the early 16th century by the
Clopton family, who became wealthy in the wool
trade.
In 1970, Patrick Phillips bought the hall and
has lovingly brought if back to life over the years.
Kentwell boasts a wonderful open couryard
facing onto a moat stocked with carp, its two
wings reaching almost to the water's edge. The
moat is crossed via a low bridge giving onto the
courtyard, where a Tudor Rose maze has been
recreated.
The interior of Kentwell has been much
restored, including a working Tudor kitchen and
Hall with minstrels gallery.
Kentwell has done much to popularise domes-
tic `living history' re-enactments and these
remain an essential part of its appeal, with the
current focus being on re-creations of everyday
life in Tudor times, also, as Kentwell was requisi-
tioned by the Army for use during the war years,
the World WaE II era.
Visit www.kentwell.co.uk for details of forth-
coming events or call 01787 310207.
MELFORD HALL
MELFORD Hall is seen beyond an imposing
gatehouse and although this lovely turreted man-
sion dates from the 1550s it has remains of an
earlier hall which was in the ownership of the
Benedictine Abbey at nearby Bury St Edmunds.
A huge conservation and redecoration pro-
gramme in the Great Hall, Gallery and boudoir
have been carried out and the results are well
worth seeing. The improvements have also
included upgraded toilet facilities and a new tea
room.
In a room in the hall, Beatrix Potter sketched
and worked and there is a display of memorabilia
about her and her work.
The hall reopens to the public from April 4
between 1.30pm and 5pm. National Trust mem-
bers are admitted free, Adult tickets are �6, chil-
dren �3 and a family ticket is �15. The hall hous-
es procelain, ivories and fine Dutch naval pic-
tures. For more information call and details of
events being held, call the information line on
01787 376395.
THE attractive small town of Clare,
can trace it's origins back to
Roman times and was recorded in
the Domesday Book as a settle-
ment of 600 inhabitants with exten-
sive vineyards. It has much to offer
visitors.
Clare Ancient House, built in
1473, became the town museum in
1976, and is notable for its superb
plasterwork, an example of the
local craft of pargetting which is still
practised today.
Clare Castle Country Park, to the
south of Clare, off Maltings Lane,
has much to offer families who like
to spend time in the open air. It has
25 acres of walks and woodlands
and boasts the remains of a
Norman castle with earthworks and
motte.
Clare Priory, founded 1248, is the
mother house of the Augustinian
Friars in Britain. The Friars returned
in 1953. The religious community of
Friars and lay people provide reli-
gious retreats, both day and resi-
dential and the priory is the parish
centre for local Catholics. The
grounds and ruins are open to the
public.
Sheepgate Lane is the last rem-
nants of an old drovers road adjoin-
ing the North side of the Common
and is now part of the Clare
Circular Walk. An entry for
Sheepgate Lane can be found in
the historic Domesday Book!
ONE of Sudbury's most notable
events during the summer is the
Steam and Electric Boat Festival
and this year's two-day event is
being planned, but no date had
been set at the time of going to
press. There will be boat trips,
railways, steam miniatures and
models, stalls and attractions.
The trust is launching its new
season of boat trips from March
29, In Sudbury the electric
launch, Rosette, is joined by two
other boats, one of which can
accommodate those with limited
mobility and up to two wheel-
chair users.
Sheduled trips will be available
every Sunday and Bank Holiday
Monday between Sudbury,
Ballingdon, Great Cornard and
Great Henny.
The River Stour Trust was
formed in 1968 to protect the
right of navigation on the Stour,
one of the longest and most
beautiful rivers in East Anglia,
and it has its headquarters in The
Granary in Sudbury.
Here the tea room is open from
Easter.
To find out more call 01787
313199 or visit the website:
www.riverstourtrust.org
DISCOVER the musical treasures
on display at the Mechanical
Music Museum and Bygones at
Cotton, near Stowmarket.
From a mighty Wurlitzer the-
atre organ to street pianos and
musical boxes, there is much that
is unusual to see, and also to
hear.
The roof rafters are adorned
with hundreds of old gramo-
phone records and horn gramo-
phones, which earlier this century
brought music into many homes.
On the floor beneath are
housed the organs -- fairground
organs with the names of their
famous makers emblazoned on
them, reed organs, barrel organs,
player organs and the gigantic
cafe organ.
Next to them, the street pianos
produce their characteristic
sound and the pianolas bring
back to life the music of bygone
days.
The smaller instruments, musi-
cal boxes, polyphons and
organettes, are in abundance too.
The Wurlitzer theatre organ
was built and originally installed
by the Rudolph Wurlitzer
Manufacturing Co in the Stilwell
Theatre, Brooklyn, New York,
USA, in 1926. It was later shipped
to England and installed in the
Luxury Theatre -- later the
Leicester Square Theatre -- in
London. It was installed in the
museum at Cotton in the early
1980s.
A special date to note this year
is the Fair Organ Enthusiasts Day
on Sunday, October 4.
GAINSBOROUGH'S House is
the birthplace of one of
England's greatest painters,
Thomas Gainsborough
(1727�88) and it is to be found
in the heart of Sudbury, just off
Market Hill.
It is now an art gallery and the
collection shows visitors the range
of Gainsborough's work. More of
his paintings, drawing and prints
are on display here than anywhere
else in the world.
He was widely admired in his day
for the brilliance of his portraits.
The collection of Gainsborough's
work encompasses the artist's
whole career, from early portraits or
landscapes painted in Suffolk in the
1750s to later works from his
London perior or the 1770s and
80s.
At the bottom of the garden is a
coach house built in 1928 that has
been converted for use as a Print
Workshop.
Two derelict cottages adjoining
the east side of the garden have
been refurbished and now form the
main visitor entrance, Gift Shop and
Coffee Shop, with the Hills Room
Education Centre upstairs.
Gainsborough's House is open
Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm.
Admission is �4.50 adults, conces-
sions �3.60, children 5-18 and stu-
dents �2 or �10 for a family ticket.
For more information about the
exhibitions throughout 2009, call
01787 372958 or visit
www.gainsborough.org
LAVENHAM is a village
which should be high
on the `to visit' list of
visitors to Suffolk. It is
a village renowned for
its superb medieval
buildings and a great
tourist attraction.
The Guildhall of
Corpus Christi over-
looks the Market Place
and is a magnificent
Tudor building which
houses displays of
local history, farming
industry, railways and
the woollen cloth
trade. It has a beautiful
walled garden with a
special dye plant area,
also the village lock-up
and mortuary.
The building is
owned by the National
Trust. It opens on
March 7, Wednesday
to Sunday from 11am
to 4pm, then, from
April 1 to the end of
October it is open
every day, from 11am
to 5pm.
This year will see a
special exhibition trac-
ing the history of
Lavenham through the
ages.
There is a tea shop,
which is open the
same times as the
Guildhall and also a
gift shop. For more
information call 01787
247646.
Take time to wander
among Lavenham's
many beautiful historic
buildings, also see
interesting shops and
fine pubs and restau-
rants.
Treasure trove of
Gainsboroughs
Steam and electric boats
Castle and country park
MUSICAL WONDERS
Lovely Lavenham
Linger awhile in Sudbury.
Double treat!

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