LOVEJOY'S BIT OF POSH: BELCHAMP HALL, SUFFOLK

 The 1980s/1990s series Lovejoy somehow passed me by at the time, but, having since developed an interest in antiques, I decided to catch up on the series thanks to the wonders of modern streaming technology.  Most of the filming of the series takes place in Essex and Suffolk, with one property in Suffolk making a regular appearance.

The roguish antiques dealer Lovejoy (Ian McShane) keeps varied company, often straying on the wrong side of the law, while his line of work also brings him into contact with the upper echelons of society.  One particularly aristocratic friend of his is Lady Jane Felsham (Phyllis Logan), who lives at Felsham Hall.  Although she is married, Lovejoy is an attractive man who has a way with the ladies, and one gets the impression that Lady Jane is a little bit infatuated with him.

The real-life property used as Felsham Hall in the series is Belchamp Hall, a couple of miles west of Sudbury in Suffolk.  Located in the hamlet of Belchamp Walter, the building is a handsome red brick pile of the Queen Anne period, home to the Raymond family since 1611, which forms part of a historic country estate.  Lovejoy fans who are feeling a bit flush can book a variety of accommodation options.  The Hall is also available for corporate functions. 

Belchamp Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1000673. Photo by Keith Evans, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Although the series finished many moons ago, there are still relics of it on view at Belchamp Hall and surrounding area.  Lovejoy’s workshop from the last two seasons remains in the grounds, the Church of St Mary featured in an episode in which Lovejoy was due to get married, and the original ‘Lovejoy Antiques’ sign is also visible.  Lovejoy was a dedicated pub-goer, and the Half Moon Inn in the nearby village of Belchamp St Paul made quite a few appearances in the series. 

'The Half Moon' inn, Belchamp St. Paul, Essex - geograph.org.uk - 225903. Photo by Robert Edwards, via Wikimedia Commons.

Belchamp Hall’s more recent claim to fame is that the grounds of the estate were used in the filming of the ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’ film.

The nearby town of Sudbury is a delightful market town on the River Stour near the border with Essex.

Map of the area.

SUMMONING THE PAST IN SUFFOLK: THE DIG

 There are many interesting places to visit in Suffolk, as we discovered on a long weekend break a few years ago, but one place that particularly stands out in my memory is the site of the archaeological dig at Sutton Hoo and its museum full of replicas of Anglo-Saxon treasures.  The initial finds were made by amateur archaeologist Basil Brown on land owned by widow Edith Pretty.  Brown made the extraordinary discovery of a 7^th century ship burial, but a Cambridge archaeologist took over the excavation on realising its significance and Basil was left somewhat sidelined.  This is the subject of the Netflix film The Dig, starring Carey Mulligan as Edith Pretty and Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown. 

Sutton Hoo ship-burial model. Photo by Steven J. Plunkett, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Suffolk coast, particularly the southern part of it, is characterised by a series of estuaries, and it is the River Deben that runs alongside the Sutton Hoo site.  In the opening scene of the film we see Basil taking his bike on a foot ferry across the River Deben – this was actually filmed on the Butley Foot Ferry on the Butley River near Orford.   Other coastal locations used in the filming include Thorpeness Beach, just up the coast from Aldeburgh, and Shingle Street, a hamlet midway between Orford and Felixstowe (which also featured heavily in Daughters-in-Law by Joanna Trollope, covered elsewhere in this blog). 

 

Butley Ferry - geograph.org.uk - 1303087. Photo by Keith Evans, via Wikimedia Commons.

Two wildlife reserves make an appearance: the Boyton Marsh RSPB site and Snape Marshes, run by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.  Boyton Marsh is where we see the ruined house where Peggy Piggott (Lily James) has a fling with Edith Pretty’s cousin Rory Lomax (Johnny Flynn).  Snape Marshes is used for the scene in which Basil is seen smoking his pipe while sitting on the banks of the River Alde after making his first significant find, and a restored 19^th century sailing barge called the Cygnet is seen appearing before him. 

 

Boyton Marshes - geograph.org.uk - 1298304. Photo by Keith Evans, via Wikimedia Commons.

Pretty’s house, which in real life was part of the Sutton Hoo estate, and is now a museum, was actually in Surrey in the film, represented by a property called Norney Grange near Shackleford, which was used for both interior and exterior scenes.  The scenes of the actual dig were also shot near here.  As for the village scenes, the post office in Diss was played by the village shop in the village of Shackleford, and the hamlet of Hambleden in Buckinghamshire was used for the scenes of the inquest in Sutton.

 

The real-life Sutton Hoo site is run by the National Trust.  The objects on display are replicas; the real items are now housed in the British Museum.  Tranmer House , where Edith Pretty lived, houses a museum telling the story of the discoveries and her role in them.  Norney Grange is not open to the public, but a history of the property can be found on the Shackleford website.

The Butley ferry is currently closed, but is due to reopen on Easter weekend.

Map of Sutton Hoo.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW, JOANNA TROLLOPE/THE SUFFOLK COAST

Anyone planning a break on the Suffolk coast will find reading Joanna Trollope’s Daughters-in-Law the perfect scene-setter for their trip.  This story about a mother-in-law’s complex and fraught relationship with her three daughters-in-law is mainly set around the portion of the Suffolk coast between Shingle Street near Orford and RSPB Minsmere, a haven for birdwatchers.  It certainly brought back happy memories of a break my husband and I spent in the area a few years ago.



The most pivotal part of the story, in which one of the daughters-in-law, Petra, meets someone, risking a break-up to her marriage, takes place at the RSPB Minsmere bird reserve, to which Petra, who is keen on drawing birds, escapes for the day when feeling the heat in her relationship.  She takes herself off to commune with the avocets “picking their fastidious way around the Scrape” and observes the ‘other man’, RSPB ranger Steve, moving around among the marram grass and sand dunes and “silhouetted against the shining water”.   

Minsmere - geograph.org.uk - 321676. Photo by Mike Pennington, via Wikimedia Commons

Another location which forms part of the story, also good for observing birdlife, is the hamlet of Shingle Street near Orford, where Petra sets up home with husband Ralph in his cottage “right on the shingle”, before later moving to Aldeburgh.  Later in the story it is revealed that Steve lives in Shingle Street, where he has a whitewashed cottage “sunk deeply into the beach”. 



The other Suffolk coastal location which looms large in the story is the town of Aldeburgh.  The parents-in-law live in a house near there, and Petra and Ralph move from Shingle Street to the town part-way through the story.  We have Petra taking her kids into town to escape from Ralph’s moods, past the cottages with names like Shrimper’s Cottage or Mermaid Cottage.  The famous scallop shell sculpture on the beach, commemorating Benjamin Britten, gets a mention elsewhere in the story, as well as the southern end of town “where the tall seafront terraces petered out into the marshy stretches of mingled river and sea”.

The mouth of the River Alde at sunset

Aldeburgh is a characterful seaside town just north of the mouth of the River Alde, which is at its best at sunset, when the river gleams in the orange glow of the setting sun.  The High Street, as hinted at in the novel, is a pleasant mix of small shops, galleries, restaurants cafes and pubs.  Benjamin Britten lived in Crag House in the town from 1947, hence the aforementioned commemorative sculpture.


RSPB Minsmere hosts a variety of birds in its coastal lagoons, such as the slender avocet, bearded tits and bitterns.  There are also otters present in the reedbed pools.  The reserve is close to the Sizewell nuclear power station, and sadly recent reports suggested that the planned Sizewell C station could threaten the future of the reserve.  This weekend the RSPB is holding a Love Minsmere festival to raise awareness of the concerns.  Shingle Street is another favourite with birdwatchers, and recent sightings have included Western Cattle Egret, American/Pacific Golden Plover and Red-Necked Phalarope. 

Map of Aldeburgh. 

TREASURE HUNTING IN SUFFOLK: DETECTORISTS

Detectorists is a gentle comedy with an unusual theme: metal detecting.  The series follows the exploits of a small group of metal-detecting enthusiasts, including Andy (Mackenzie Crook) and Lance (Toby Jones).  Much of their time is spent scouring the gentle green fields around their neighbourhood, dreaming of the discovery of the next “Staffordshire Hoard”, but more often than not their finds are confined to metal ring-pulls or cheap badges.

The green fields in question are located in Suffolk, chiefly in the area in and around Framlingham – meant to be the fictional town of Daneby in Essex.  The Scout Hall where the detectorists meet up is in Framlingham, better known as St Michaels Rooms.  The most important landmark in the town is the castle, and near the entrance to the castle is the Castle Inn – this appears in the series as the Two Brewers pub, although the interior pub scenes were filmed in The Crown in Great Glemham, a few miles away.   Other pub scenes were filmed in the coastal village of Orford, at the Kings Head.  

Pastel street scene, Framlingham, Suffolk - geograph.org.uk - 1475942. Photo by nick macneill, via Wikimedia Commons

Back in Framlingham, the distinctive red brick facade of Framlingham College features in series two, doubling as a university.  During series two a round-tower church, one of 38 in Suffolk, becomes integral to the storyline.  The church is Aldham St Mary, in the village of Aldham, eight miles west of Ipswich.  Apparently, the landowner there allowed Mackenzie Crook to do some detecting in his spare time while filming was taking place, and he found some interesting items including some musket balls.

St Mary Aldham - geograph.org.uk - 985095. Photo by Keith Evans, via Wikimedia Commons

Framlingham is about 12 miles to the north-east of Ipswich, and its main attraction, the castle, is at the north-east edge of town.  Music fans may be interested to know that Ed Sheeran grew up in Framlingham, and his song “Castle on the Hill” was inspired by Framlingham Castle.  Orford is on the coast to the south of Aldeburgh, and it also has a castle, as well as the rather eerie Orford Ness with its wartime relics, such as a model atomic bombing range.  The site is also a National Nature Reserve run by the National Trust.

Map of Framlingham.