Row Chapel, Hadleigh, Suffolk

Row Chapel, Hadleigh, Suffolk, originally uploaded by CarolinaRen.

The Row Chapel, with its exposed timber framing, dates back to the 15th century. Kerstin says that Hadleigh is a beautiful little market town just 12 miles from her home in Ipswich. it is typical for many former wool towns in the region: in the Middle Ages, when the wool trade was at its height, the town was extremely prosperous and built impressive churches and timber-framed halls and residences. When the trade collapsed in the 17th-18th centuries, Hadleigh and other towns like it became impoverished, unable to replace the old buildings with newer, more fashionable ones. And that's why these places still look medieval today, full of 15th-16th century half-timbered buildings and massive churches far too big for the communities they serve. But modern tourists love them, of course! :)

In my Internet searches, I also discovered this wonderful tidbit, which I thought that you might enjoy as well:

HOW TO TALK SUFFOLK
I saw a notice on a board about a coicle roide,
Oi thought oi'll hev a goo at that
Thass suffin oi int troid
So oi went hoom an' oiled me boike
An oi got a form as well,
Oi picked a quid up 'ere 'n' theer,
From the folks oi hed ter tell,
So orf oi went on Satd'y morn
The sun was shoinin' broiht,
Oi met a decent crowd a folks,
An' oi troid with all me moight,
Theyput me name down on a board,
Oi thought wa'll thass o'roight
The day thet went boy whooly quick
But theer were churches oi coin't foind
Still oi come hoom wholly happy
But oi got a sore behoind.

J.R. King, Hadleigh