For our first outing in a very long time, members of the History Society were privileged to have a tour of the Elveden Estate and church. Ian Robertson, a retired Farm Manager, was our guide as we drove around the estate on private roads. This is farming on a grand scale and we saw huge fields of potatoes, onions and cereals and the impressive machinery used to work in them. We learned about the vast irrigation pipeworks and the bravest of us climbed over a gate to see the reservoir created to collect the water. As we drove along, Ian reminded us of the history of the families who had lived there and how the land had been managed and changed over the last 100 years.
After lunch in the Courtyard and a look around the shops we headed off to the church where Janet Flack gave us a brief history of this interesting building. Originally, this was the tiny medieval church of St Andrew but when the estate was bought by the Guinness family in 1894, Viscount Iveagh, later the Earl of Iveagh decided it was not big enough for his family and their servants so he had the north wall removed to enlarge the space and dedicated the new part to St Patrick.
We were all very impressed by this beautiful building, approached by an impressive cloister, decorated with wonderful stained glass windows and adorned with memorials to the family and community.
Perfect weather, good company and a chance to see another part of lovely East Anglia!
Our next outing is on 14th July to the remains of the Roman villa at Gestingthorpe.