CLARICE HOUSE, Suffolk, UK

Fireplace in the 'Summerhouse' room

I have just returned from another relaxing and pampered weekend at Clarice House Residential Spa in Bury St. Edmunds. This time I was joined by my Mum and our friend Shelley.
Lots of laughing, lots of nattering, a little champagne and I still managed a few quick sketches.

Mum and I stayed in the Summerhouse room which has a lovely old fireplace with aqua tiles, I have stayed in this room before but haven't yet sketched it...Until this weekend.

Late Sunday morning Shelley and Mum read a little and I took advantage of the situation long enough to make a quick sketch of them both.


Shelley reading

Mum reading

Some of my previous visits to Clarice house can be found HERE.

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.

Pulling into the driveway that leads to Clarice House after our day sketching was a welcome view for Joan and I. Our tummies rumbling, we grabbed our room keys and bundled straight up to our room, 'The Summerhouse' to unload. We both had our clothes and cosmetics packed into tiny holdalls but it was our large art bags that encouraged us to take the lift rather than climb the stairs!



I have had the priviledge of staying at Clarice House a few times now and located just 22 minutes from Long Melford, I knew it would be just what Joan and I needed after a hard day sketching. We dressed for dinner and, this time, took the elegant staircase down to the restaurant, passing a manikin on the landing wearing a designer wedding dress.



The food, as always, was fantastic. Joan had king scallops followed by halibut and I indulged in wild mushroom soup followed by fillet of beef. We ate between conversation and laughter and toasted our friendship with something decidedly alcoholic. We chose the same desert, pavalova dressed with caramelised pears drizzled with raspberry coulis- Delicious!
Like two addicts, we didn't wait long before venturing back to our room to collect our sketchbooks. It isn't very often you have a designer wedding dress modelled by a tireless subject, so we both made good use of the manikin exhibiting the Terry Fox design on the staircase landing.



More chatting and tidying of our daytime sketches back in our room finished the day at approx. 1.30am and, surprisingly, I was ready to sleep for a change...Must have been the schnapps and lemonade!

On Sunday morning the sun shone brightly, kissing the trees in front of the house and creating some sensational shadows for the squirrels to dance among. After breakfast, we strolled around the grounds before changing to dip in the whirlpool. I am sure Clarice has a time magnet built within it's walls, we had just four hours before leaving on Sunday morning and it felt we had gained a whole other day lost in it's charms.

Before lunch we sketched some more and I managed to capture the entrance from one of the sofas in the reception lounge.



Our lunch was both delicious and relaxed, finishing just in time for us to meet the 1pm opening of Ickworth House just four minutes drive away.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, Long Melford, Suffolk. UK.

After leaving Melford Hall Joan and I stopped by The Holy Trinity Church in Long Melford on our way to Clarice House where we had booked a room for the night.

Holy Trinity boasts an abundance of gems and with it's numerous windows resembles a Cathedral more than a simple village church. With so much to browse upon protected within it's walls it was difficult to choose something to concentrate my sketches upon. That was until I read the piece on Sir William Clopton's tomb, such a fascinating story, I felt compelled to log it in my venezia sketchbook. (click on the image to read the story in larger print).

The Clopton chantry exhibited the Lily Crucifix window said to date from 1350 and two poems by John Lydgate, a well known Bury monk, scroll around the top of the chantry walls entitled 'Vine of Life'. The Lady chapel is adjoined to the church and unique in that it is only accessible from the outside entrance.

Artwork by Iain McKillop hang on the walls at the end of each pew, his studies for the altar piece paintings that now decorate Gloucester Cathedral. His work was probably my most exciting find of the day, his figures portrayed such emotion I could hardly wait to get home and research him on the internet. It was during this search that I came across his website and the totally amazing cathedral paintings in his collection, what an unexpected honour I had experienced in viewing his work first hand.

Visiting Holy Trinity had been the only part of our weekend we hadn't planned in advance and I am so grateful for our time there - What a memorable experience!

MELFORD HALL, Suffolk, UK

Sir William Cordell acquired Melford after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and entertained Queen Elizabeth 1 there in 1578, a stained glass window now marks her visit.
Since 1786 Melford Hall has been the home of the Hyde Parkers, a distinguished naval family who fought hard and died for their country. Naval art decorate the walls and spoils of battles fill the house. In 1942 fire struck Melford but recovery was quick and a repaired Melford was transferred to the National Trust in 1960.



In the guide book I purchased during my visit, Sir Richard Hyde Parker speaks of growing up at Melford, with memories dating back as far as 1942, watching the house burning as a child of five years. He speaks so warmly of Melford and one feels a true 'family' atmosphere within his words. I am sorry to say I did not feel this warmth at Melford on my visit, instead the house, despite it's treasures and memories, felt empty and cold. Doorways were roped off forbidding access to the very few rooms on show making it difficult to see anything among the crowds that had all piled in together as the large Tudor doors were opened at 1.30pm. Such a large house with such a wonderful history, I was disappointed to find that the Beatrix Potter room was so small but to be able to look upon many original watercolour works and notebooks in her hand more than supplemented the size of the room.



Beatrix Potter was a cousin of Ethel, Lady Hyde Parker, the Grandmother of the present Baronet. Lady Ulla Hyde Parker refers to her as 'Cousin Beattie' and remembers her drawing some of the Jeremy Fisher illustrations at Melford. Potter's work is so fine I would find it hard to believe she worked with any other size of brush than a 000, such amazing detail and character, perfection gained from a timeless study of nature.

I felt Melford needed more than it could offer, it watched as visitors filled it and still longed for a family to feed it's walls with love.