Headed to Norfolk today to find Great Cressingham, the birthplace of Austin’s maternal great great grandmother, Elizabeth Alderton. On the way, we visited Thetford Forest, a manmade forest, established in the 1920’s to sustain the UK’s dwindling timber supply post WWII. At 18,730 ha, it is the largest of its kind in England. We made our way into the High Lodge picnic area, which is roughly central to the forest. There we found the Gruffalo and the beginning of a trail for children, at which various other characters from the books could be found.
Many of the tree plantations are of Scots Pine and Corsican Pine but there are also Douglas Fir, Larch, Birch, Oak and Beech. After a nice longish walk to stretch our legs, it was time to head further north.
Great Cressingham is a sleepy little village, which seems to be dominated by The Olde Windmill Inn (dating from 1789) and St Michaels Church and little else. It has no shop and the village school which opened in 1840, was closed in 1992. The census for 2011 notes 421 inhabitants (combined with Little Cressingham) but surprisingly, the Parish of Great Cressingham only had 476 inhabitants in 1845. The Church was the site for at least four generation of Alderton marriages, christenings and burials. Consequently, Austin searched among the tombstones surrounding the church for evidence of his ancestors, and although he found plenty of Aldertons, none could be confidently linked to his ancestors.
St Michaels was founded before 1385 but its nave and tower were built sometime between 1430 and 1460. It almost received some building modifications in 1885 during the Victorian Era. Because of its age, it predates the establishment of Henry VIII’s Anglican Church in England in 1534. As a consequence, some of its fittings date back to Catholicism, including a series of ‘brasses’ set in the floor and some stained glass windows.
On our way back to Suffolk, we found a sign to Melsop Farm Park, a rare-breeds farm, so of course we had to check it out. Rare breeds of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, pigeons, water-fowl and poultry. We were particularly impressed by the Ouessant, one of the smallest breeds of sheep in the world (45-50 cm at the shoulder), originating from the Island of Ouessant, off the coast of Brittany. Also enjoyed the many species of ducks and swan, and in particular the Whooper Swans who kept following us around, swaying their long necks to and fro.
