The idea of calling pretty little Mildenhall in north-west Suffolk a
town, seems out of place. It is snug and sleepy and prosperous-looking,
an inviting nook to forget the noise and bustle of a town in the
ordinary sense of the word. May it long continue so, and may the day be
long distant when that terrible invention, the electric tram, is
introduced to spoil the peace and harmony. Mildenhall is one of those
old-world places where one may be pretty sure in entering the snug old
courtyard of its ancient inn, that one will be treated rather as a
friend than a traveller. Facing the "Bell" is the church, remarkable for
the unique tracery of its early-English eastern window, and for its
exceptionally fine open hammer-beam carved oak roof, with bold carved
spandrels and large figures of angels with extended wings, and the
badges of Henry V., the swan and antelope, displayed in the south aisle.
In a corner of the little market-square is a curious hexagonal timber
market-cross of this monarch's time, roofed with slabs of lead set
diagonally, and adding to the picturesque effect. The centre part runs
through the roof to a considerable height, and is surmounted by a
weather-cock. Standing beneath the low-pitched roof, one may get a good
idea of the massiveness of construction of these old Gothic structures;
an object-lesson to the jerry builder of to-day. The oaken supports are
relieved with graceful mouldings.
Within bow-shot of the market-cross is the gabled Jacobean manor-house
of the Bunburys, a weather-worn wing of which abuts upon the street. The
family name recalls associations with the beautiful sisters whom
Goldsmith dubbed "Little Comedy" and the "Jessamy Bride." The original
"Sir Joshua" of these ladies may be seen at Barton Hall, another seat of
the Bunburys a few miles away, where they played good-natured practical
jokes upon their friend the poet. In a room of the Mildenhall mansion
hangs a portrait of a less beautiful woman, but sufficiently attractive
to meet with the approval of a critical connoisseur. When the Merry
Monarch took unto himself a wife, this portrait of the little Portuguese
woman was sent for him to see; and presumably it was flattering, for
when Catherine arrived in person, his Majesty was uncivil enough to
inquire whether they had sent him a bat instead of a woman.
A delightful walk by shady lanes and cornfields, and along the banks of
the river Lark, leads to another fine old house, Wamil Hall, a portion
only of the original structure; but it would be difficult to find a more
pleasing picture than is formed by the remaining wing. It is a typical
manor-house, with ball-surmounted gables, massive mullioned windows, and
a fine Elizabethan gateway in the lofty garden wall, partly ivy-grown,
and with the delicate greys and greens of lichens upon the old stone
masonry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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