FLATFORD MILL AND JOHN CONSTABLE

Flatford Mill

East Bergholt in Suffolk was the inspiration for some of the famous artist, John Constable’s most famous paintings at Flatford Mill. You could have been transported into one of Constable’s works as you wander around, stroll beside the River Stour, and admire some of the delightful historic buildings.

I visited here some summers ago and was enchanted with the peace of the place. I wandered around snapping as I went and now and then am reminded of how lovely it was, and how easily it was to inspire one of the most famous of our painters of his century. The Mill was once owned by John Constable’s father and Constable made the Mill and the surrounding area the subject of many of his works of art, which are now world famous

Thatched Cottage in Flatford

The mill is located just downstream from Bridge Cottage which is a 16th-century thatched cottage owned by the National Trust. There is an exhibition of Constable's work here, and perhaps you could take a course too as the Cottage is leased to the Field Studies Council.

Boats on the River Stour

The Field Studies Council is an environmental education charity committed to helping people understand and be inspired by the natural world. Established in 1943, the FSC has become internationally respected for its national network of 17 education centres.

Front view of the mill

Constable was born on 11 June 1776, Constable was the second son of the six children of Golding Constable and Ann Watts. He was educated at a private school in Lavenham and at the grammar school in Dedham, subsequently joining the family business, of which it was intended he would succeed as manager.

View from the mill

He learned the technique of painting from John Dunthorne (a local plumber and glazier who was an amateur painter), and was encouraged by Sir George Beaumont. Staying with relatives at Edmonton in North London 1796, he met John Cranch, a mediocre artist whose style he imitated, and John Thomas Smith, the antiquarian draftsman, with whom he made drawings of picturesque cottages.

View of the River Stour

In 1799 his father gave him an allowance to enter the Royal Academy Schools, reluctantly consenting in 1802 to his becoming a professional painter.

Rowing boats on the Stour

That same year Constable showed his first landscape at the Academy (where he was to exhibit nearly every year until his death), and acquired a studio opposite the family house. He spent summers in East Bergholt, sketching from nature, until 1817 and became known worldwide as one of the foremost English artists.

John Constable by Daniel Gardner, 1796

To end this little travelogue an English rose flowering then.

Photos: My snaps, artists image courtesy wikipedia.