The strong winds were coming off and on, not allowing us to do our final passage to Chatham. We became bored at Shotley so we motored two hours up the River Orwell into Ipswich. This has proved to be a great decision. Saturday evening we went out for a fine diner at Arlington’s and then on to see Shakespeare’s “As You Like it”, at the New Wolsey Theatre. We saw that there is a Unitarian Society here and so on Sunday morning we went to the Unitarian Meeting House. This is a timber-framed structure built in 1699. Originally it was Presbyterian, becoming increasingly part of the liberal wing, and by the early 1800’s identified as being Unitarian.
We met Linda King, who has been a member since the 1960’s. We felt an instant connection with her. She very graciously led us on a walking tour of some of the older structures in Ipswich. As the day continued she then offered to drive us to Lavenham. This is a town with an intact town center of timber-framed buildings. They have been restored, but some are quite twisted and it is difficult to understand how they are still standing! We really appreciated being able to see this town and to see more of the countryside. The picture is of Linda and Vicki standing in front of a herring-bone building. They used bricks within the timber framing and it is lovely. This building was used in one of the Harry Potter movies.