Guide to East Bergholt in Constable Country

Looking to discover East Bergholt in Suffolk on a self-catering break?  Find out what this charming village and the surrounding areas have to offer for a holiday in Constable Country. 

East Bergholt, in the Essex/Suffolk borders, apart from being an extremely pretty village, was the birthplace of John Constable (1776-1837) , one of England's most prominent landscape painters. This village is where he spent his early days growing up, and developed his passion for the countryside around him, which later resulted in the  many paintings of the area.

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Why Visit East Bergholt in Constable Country? 

The village of East Bergholt is fairly small with only about two thousand inhabitants.  Associations with Constable can be found in various places around the village.  A plaque commemorating his birthplace (although the house has long gone) can be seen on railings in the high street. 

A building, just along the road near the bakery and village shop bears another plaque reminding visitors that it was formerly  Constable's studio, although Constable always preferred painting out of doors where he could study the effects of light and cloud formations.

Constable is buried in Hampstead, London, but the family graves, including those of  his parents, can be found in the local church yard, near the Boiler House.

William Lott of Willie Lott's cottage in Flatford, is also buried here.  Constable knew him from working at the flour mill, because the cottage was on the other side of the mill pond.

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin is worth visiting simply because it is a handsome church, dating from around the 14th century, and displays many interesting features including East Anglian flintwork.  

One unusual feature of East Bergholt is the number of houses supporting wonderful old Wisterias with their beautiful pendulous flowers and twisted trunks, although you will need to visit in spring to see these bloom in their full glory. Apart from the Constable connection, East Bergholt in Suffolk is a lovely village to visit; the sort of quiet backwater that many of us would like to retire to.  The buildings are neat and cared for, many with delightful English cottage gardens. There are a good number of local pubs for meals, a few essential shops, some fantastic walks and scenery round about, and it's within easy travelling distance of larger towns for shopping and even London.
 

Holiday Cottages in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk

Find lovely self-catering cottages to stay in whilst exploring Constable Country on the Essex and Suffolk border using the menu on the left.