The countryside that inspired John Constable's paintings.

Situated in the Dedham Vale, this was the countryside that inspired John Constable's
paintings. A footpath leads along the edge of the River Stour to Flatford
Mill and Willy Lott's cottage, the scene of his famous "Haywain". The
village of Dedham has a charm fitting with the mellow countryside.

River Stour, Dedham

The River Stour is a river in East Anglia. It is 76km (47m) long and forms most of the county boundary between Suffolk & Essex. It rises in eastern Cambridgeshire, passes through Haverhill, Cavendish, Sudbury and the Dedham Vale, and joins the North Sea at Harwich.

The Stour Valley has been portrayed as a working river by John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough & Paul Nash.

Castle House, Dedham

Castle House and its collection is a fitting memorial to Alfred Munnings. It was always his wish that his pictures and estate to be left to the Nation and after his death in 1959 Lady Munnings worked towards the setting up of Castle House as an art museum as a memorial to Sir Alfred.

In 1962 the Violet Munnings Trust Fund was formed for the establishment and running of an Art Museum, and in 1965 Castle House Trust was formed whereby Castle House itself, all Sir Alfred Munnings's paintings still in the possession of Lady Munnings, some 40 acres of land surrounding

Castle House and further amounts of money and investments were made over to the Trust. Lady Munnings subsequently retired to her Chelsea home where she died in October 1971.