ICKWORTH HOUSE, Suffolk. UK

"I have now got to my centre of rest...Sweet Ickworth"
- John, 1st Earl of Bristol.

Even as you approach Ickworth house it is easy to understand the Earl's comment and obvious passion for the land laid out by Capability Brown. The 1st Earl of Ickworth adapted a modest farmhouse at Ickworth which was known as Ickworth Lodge and remained the family home until 1829.

The 4th Earl-Bishop had very different ideas and, inspired by the monuments of Rome, he began to build what is now known as Ickworth House. The unique central rotunda and curvy wings reveal Frederick's eccentric personality and would provide, not only a family home within the rotunda, but the wings would become a showcase for his treasures collected on his Continental trips of 30 years. The foundations for today's Ickworth were laid in 1795 and the rotunda was virtually finished when the Earl -Bishop passed away in 1803, sadly he would never see his dream complete.

"The house...The house...The house..."
- Frederick, 4th Earl of Bristol, written on his sick bed in Naples in 1796.


It was the Earl-Bishop's Son, 1st Marquess of Bristol who completed the house with the help of architect John Field, adapting his Father's plans to suit his family requirements. The last major alterations were made to the house in 1909-1911 when the 4th Marquess commissioned A.C. Bloomfield to remodel the entrance hall and staircase. The property passed to the National Trust in 1956.



Ickworth had a wonderful feel about it, children played, families laughed and had spread their picnics across the lawn in front of the house. Unrestricting, inviting and decadent. Rich yet homely and bulging with character and interest. I found myself repeating the words 'stunning' and 'beautiful' over and over again, room to room, treasure to treasure.

The Pompeian room was completed in 1879 when the 3rd Marquess employed Penrose & Grace to decorate it. The scheme is based on Roman wall-paintings uncovered in 1777 at the Villa Negroni on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. These had a special connection with the family because the Earl-Bishop had purchased some of the original frescoes while in Italy at the time of their discovery. It's a remarkable room within a remarkable house.

Joan and I stayed at the house, managing to leave just enough time for a coffee in the orangery before closing. The grounds remained open so we ventured towards the church we had seen on the brochure map.

St Mary's church sits just behind Ickworth house, well hidden by one of the large trees that decorate the land. Unfortunately it is now redeemed 'unsafe', the one feature of Ickworth now inaccessible to the public. We took the opportunity to rest a while and sat upon the grass opposite to create what would be our final sketch at Ickworth House.



We made our way back to the car through the tree-lined pathway, squirrels busying around us as Ickworth disappeared behind the foliage. Our drive back was full of conversation and the roads were surprisingly clear for a bank holiday Sunday.

How lucky we are to have seen such wonderful places in the company of such treasured friendship.

CLARICE HOUSE, Suffolk. UK

On the 10th March my Mum and I headed towards Horringer in Suffolk for a weekend stay at Clarice House residential spa. This was our 3rd visit to Clarice, an early Mothers Day celebration for us both.

Clarice House sits comfortably at the end of a tree lined drive, snug amongst the foliage that frames it. The staff offer an informal, friendly yet professional welcome and are warm and attentive. The restaurant caters for all needs and serves aromatic, taste explosions served in 3 courses for both lunch and dinner, each dish is a work of art and everything is cooked fresh on the premises, including the delicious bread rolls. The rooms are varied, luxurious and comfortable, offering modern needs in a historic atmosphere.
I love everything about Clarice and on this visit I planned to capture some of it's character in my new Venezia 9x12" sketchbook. The sketchbook arrived just in time and I plan to use it solely for my sketches of historical houses, halls and castles and there will be many through the summer as these beautiful pieces of history are a passion of mine, and instinctive love that grips you from youth, stops you in your tracks and makes you feel you belong and never want to leave. A longing for times and skills lost to the 20th century.

I had a huge problem trying to find any history on the house, all of my searches brought up past price lists for the spa treatments or residential spa, eventually I gave up and hoped I would be able to discover more on my stay. It was Saturday night while I was sketching the fireplace in the main reception that I overheard a gentleman talking to a couple beside me. Clarice House history poured from his tongue and, hard as I tried, I couldn't write it all down quickly enough so I excused myself and asked if he might jot some dates down for me. Bill Goreham did much more than that, he printed out an A4 from the computer, a piece he had worked on that explained the house history in full. I was thrilled and remain very grateful. (Thank you Bill!)

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House History:

Clarice house, otherwise known as Horringer Court, was originally called The Red House and was thought to be one the Bury monks farms or rest houses. In the 18th century it was used as an overflow for servants of the guests of the Earl of Bristol when they visited Ickworth House. In 1830 it was owned by Mr William Steggles and the brick, chalk and lime works started and by 1837 gravel was already being dug. The 1841 census states that agricultural worker Robert Pearson, his wife and six children lived in the house, taken over by Rev. Robert Stote-Fox in 1869 who planted the grounds with flowers and trees, the quarries now abandoned. In 1892 Rev. Stote-Fox died and his widow rented the property to local J P Edward Hawkins and in 1898 he purchased it. Edward Hawkins made huge changes, gutting the property and rebuilding it almost from scratch in Elizabethan style as well as renaming it "Horringer Court". His and his wife's initials can still be seen in the stained window in the lobby and stairs landing. The building we see today is his conception and it came at high cost, sending him into financial difficulty and his marriage in jeopardy.

In 1904 Mr James Jump owned the house passing the honour to Mr Blagge by 1912. In 1916 it was purchased by the honourable Captain Malcolm Bowes-Lyon, Uncle to the Queen Mother, who reportedly used the grounds to exercise his horses and men. After the war it was sold to fellow officer Captain James Grace who died in 1928 leaving the house empty for two years before Mrs Buxton, relative of the Gurney and Barclays bank family, purchased the property.

In 1947 it passed to local businessman Rowland Todd and in 1950 the chalk caves were found to have the largest and most important roost of rare Brandts bats in eastern England by 1974 they were blocked up with bars to prevent disturbance and became an SSS1. In the mid 60's Todd died his artistic wife following him in 1970, her paintings can still be seen hanging around Clarice House. Their Son John Todd lived in the house alone until finally selling. The house became a home for mentally handicapped adults then as a residential nursing home, during this time some of the house was demolished because of deteriation.

In 2000 Mr Stewart King purchased the property and after extensive renovation, refurbishment and building work he has turned it into the leisure complex we see and admire today.

All of my sketches were created using Staedtler pigment liner, sepia pitt pen, watercolour pencils and Verithin coloured pencils.