We have recently joined the Round Tower Society, and saw in their publication that our Chairman was to give a talk today on the round towered Church at Ramsholt on the River Deben, near Woodbridge. So although we'd got an engagement for two thirty this afternoon at a welcoming Service for the new Minister at Highdale U.R.C., we decided that we could fit them both in. When we told our friend Hilary about our planned visit to Ramsholt Church, her reaction was interesting:-
"Don't bother about the Church", she said, "But do go the Ramsholt Arms Pub". Now this was so unexpected a suggestion from the widow of a Canon of the Anglican Church that we pulled her leg a little. Hilary is one of those rare people who can laugh at her own foibles, so in the end she amended her suggestion to - "Well, the Church is an interesting little place, so do go and see it, but you really must go and have a drink at the pub. It's a lovely place in a glorious location".
The top picture shows the round towered church, with the River Deben in the background.
The above picture shows a close up of the Church Tower. It is a very unusual round tower with three buttresses. This gives it an odd optical illusion of being an oval towered church (which apparently it is, but only by being a matter of a few inches out of true round).
The inside of the church has a complete set of box pews, with a 'double decker' pulpit to match.
When we walked down to the village, we found that the village was holding a 'Heritage day'. I find that last sentence is a bit misleading, as the village consists of the Church, the Pub, and possibly the odd far flung cottage/farmhouse.
Above is the pub mentioned by Hilary, and we eventually sat in front of the pub, looking across the River Deben, and enjoying a coffee. The food smells coming from the pub kitchen, were so temptingly savoury that we decided we must come back soon and have lunch there (mem.-
must ask Hilary to come with us - she'd love it).
The above sailing barge (Melissa) was tied up to the dock, and offering rides to all and sundry as part of the 'Heritage Day'. A handsome old lady she is, too.
Above is our view as we sat outside the pub with our coffee. Nos Resurgam (we hope). It was a lovely morning and we got back to Highdale just nicely in time for a bite of lunch and this afternoon's beanfeast .
Goodnight to all my readers.
8 comments:
What an unusual tower, I've never seen one quite like it. It was built to last, certainly.
Stunning location - East Anglia is very underrated in my humble (and slightly biased) opinion!
Hello Z. I think it's probably unique in being a buttressed round tower. I'll look it up and let you know. It's a striking looking church, very unusual as you say, and in a stunning location.
Hello Stig. Quite agree. Why do you think we've lived in Suffolk all these years/ By the way, many thanks to you both for your assistance with the crossword. Please pass my thanks on to Mikey. The two of you are an incredibly strong team. Much love to you all; - the present Pa Magna and Granny.
Dear Z. It is not unique. There is one other buttressed round tower church. It too is in Suffolk. It is Beyton Church, about seven miles East of Bury Saint Edmund's.
I've been inside that church; I remember the box pews. It is a splendid location and the pub on the river bank is a lovely spot. It was clearly a lot sunnier at Ramsholt than it was in Ipswich on Saturday.
Hello Liz. We've spent a good deal of our lives in East Suffolk and we'd never been to that church until last Saturday. I think we do sometimes miss the obvious. Still, I suppose it's nice to find there are still surprises around.
Trust you're both well?
I've just popped a few buttressed towers on my blog ~ Carl's Curios ~ including a few pics of Beyton All Saints.
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