Ickworth House, Suffolk

Ickworth House Rotunda and wing in all its formal Regency splendour...

I first told stories at Ickworth Hall last Halloween and have to say that I wasn't impressed. This was because it was getting dark by the time I got there and because it wasn't built until 1795. I'm not a fan of eighteenth century houses packed full of that very frilly regency furniture. I feel more at home in Medieval and Tudor houses with their solid Oak court cupboards, carved four poster beds and portraits of austere puritan women and gay young gallants in their slashed doublets and unfeasibly large ruffs! But it just goes to show you that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover; Ickworth was great!

I was booked to tell at an Easter 'Bunny' Day set within the gardens of the hall.....

Kimmy amidst the daffodils with Easter bunny day in the distance...

Not the typical sort of job for me, and thinking there would be lots of small children I decided to ditch the historical costume and go for a more colourful, different look. For anyone reading this who is familiar with storytelling or storytellers they will see that its my homage to Taffy Thomas (You can google him)....

The Yarnsmith in his dressing gown and really cool festival trousers...

As it happens there were a good mix of families with children and adults of all ages and lots of activities going on nearby to my tent. Every time I banged my drum I had a ready and willing audience and even though I planned to tell many a simple silly tale I even managed to work in the odd Devilish tale as well!

A good crowd gathering at my storytelling tent...

There was a really good atmosphere to the day, families everywhere wandering thru the daffodils playing, talking and feasting upon fine picnics. It was this that surprised me most, for such a formal house the whole place has a truly informal feel.... I am so used to working at heritage sites where all you see are visitors with their ears are clamped to interpretation devices; being bombarded with facts, but each in their own little world, having little opportunity to share what they have learnt with family or friends or to get their own 'feel' for the place they are visiting...

A tree

It certainly helped that it was a fair and fine day; the sun was shining and the bees were buzzing and the place had a magical air. Every where there are tall twisting trees, like great sculptures and great vistas, looking out onto hazy countryside and the odd church tower... You could argue that it is a totally unnatural, fake landscape, fashioned solely for the enjoyment of the Earls who lived there, but they certainly did a good job and many of the views draw you in just like a good painting can. They made you want to explore except on foot rather than by eye... Looking at all the visitors at Ickworth, many were looking weary by the end of the day and I suspect that many had walked further that Friday than they had for a very long time!

Not the best view, but you get the idea...

Even the formal gardens had something about them. There was the smell of the new mown grass and scent of the magnolia that was quite seductive on such a day as this and all I wanted to do was lie under a tree and gently doze. But just beyond the formal lawns there were little passageways that twisted and turned and led to dead ends; almost like a maze, but not. And every now and then an odd shaped tree..

More trees...

Trees that look like they have come straight out of middle earth and just calling to be climbed on. I'm not sure if that would be allowed, but it didn't stop many visitors from having a go! And there were plenty of girls scooping up armfuls of daffodils. Probably not allowed, but no one seemed to mind this day....

One of the symmetrical wings of Ickworth

And now for Kim's really interesting fact..
My partner Kim often comes away with me and I have set her the challenge of coming up with something interesting about every place we visit. And at Ickworth she came up with two...

Firstly, Ickworth was home to Earls and the like, but is now home to seven or so species of bats, five of which live in the cellars of the west wing..

Entrance to the the bat cellars

Secondly, the West wing of the house was built purely with classical Italianate symmetry in mind. It had more to do with architectural balance than with function and although there was a loose plan to house a tennis court within the wing, it spent much of the nineteenth century being used as a grain store. It just goes to show you that people in the past weren't that different to us; like us they to were fashion victims and often put style before content. Nothing changes!

Well, that's it really except to say that not only was Ickworth itself a great place to work, but also the staff were great too. Kim and I were well looked after (Which is not always the experience of an itinerant storyteller) My tellings were much appreciated and fitted in well with the other activities of the day. And not only were we given tea and coffee, but also sandwiches, apples, and even chocolate cake as well! Many thanks to Lisa and all the other staff and volunteers. Cheers....

Dave