SPAB Essex Visit to Wingfield College

SPAB Essex Visit to Wingfield College - CANCELLED

A visit to Wingfield College and the nearby town of Eye in Suffolk

Date: 
03/06/2020 - 03/06/2020
Audience: 
SPAB Members and their guests
Location: 
Wingfield College
Church Road,
IP21 5RA, DISS
United Kingdom

Event details

Regretfully, we have decided to cancel this event due to the coronavirus crisis. Anyone registered for the event should have received an email about their booking.

In the meantime, SPAB continues our education and campaigining work. Our technical line will remain open and we will continue to be here to protect old buildings and support those who care for them.

Wingfield College

With a history spanning 650 years, it is named because of  the chantry college founded in 1362 by Sir John de Wingfield. The construction was overseen by his wife Lady Alianor after Sir John's death in 1361 from the plague. It probably consisted of a quadrangle of timber-framed buildings grouped around a hall. A Master and 9 Secular Chaplains were appointed, required to live in and pray for Sir John and  the Black Prince, as well as running a boarding school, choral scholarships for boys  and ministering to the parish. The college was dissolved by Henry Vlll in 1562, and much of it demolished. The remaining wings were remodelled in the 18th  Century in the provincial Palladian style. Careful restoration in 1971 revealed the hidden 14th Century structure that can be seen today.  Listed as Grade 11 * and now a private home, Wingfield College is a most extraordinary house, giving tantalising glimpses of its long history.

The Collegiate Church

This great 14th Century building existed prior to the college, but became an integral part of it. Of note is the enormous tomb monument to Sir John, and others to his successors,  the de la Pole family and (by marriage) the Earls of Suffolk.   
More information on Wingfield College and the Earls of Suffolk can be found
on line on several sites and in the book Wingfield College and its Patrons.(pub. Boyden and Brewer)

Eye (optional self-guided tour)

This small town is rich in pleasant architecture and history. There are many places of interest to visit including 95th Bomb Group Hospital Museum, Station 119 Brewery Shop, the ruins of Eye castle which give a marvellous panoramic view, the Museum of East Anglian Life and predominantly,the great parish church.  Dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, it has a 750 year old south door, arcades and tomb recesses dating from the 1300s, and a 101 foot tower with, unusually, fan vaulting beneath. Of particular note is the magnificent rood screen, decorated with 15 painted saints and their emblems, designed to teach the faith to the medieval congregation.    

Programme

Wednesday 3 June 2020

10.30  Optional visit to Eye
12.00  Optional lunch at the Queen's Head, Cross Street, Eye
13.30  Leave Eye for the 8 mile journey to Wingfield village and the College
14.00  Tour and talk on the Collegiate Church and Wingfield College
16.30  Visit will end with tea and cake

The price of the visit is £16 per person, including tea and cake., to be served at the conclusion of the visit.

Members should make their own arrangements for lunch, either with the Queen's Head (booking recommended) or elsewhere.  Detailed instructions for joining the tour including directions and maps, will be made available to registrants a week or so before the event.

Multiple bookings

As long as there is space on the event, we will allow you to book for both yourself and up to three guests. When completing the booking form, you will be asked to select the number of people and put in your own details on the first page, then to put in your second person's details on the next page. The event fee shown on each of these pages is for the individual person - you will be shown the total amount due once you get to the summary page.

About the Essex Regional Group

The SPAB Essex Regional Group was formed in 2000 and has been active ever since. The types of visits are fun, interesting and educational with an annual social event, normally in an historic building. Our participants vary from interested SPAB members wanting to enhance their knowledge of historic buildings to professionals using the visits as part of their continuing professional development programme.

Booking Terms & Conditions

Accessibility: please contact the Group Organiser before booking to discuss any special access requirements.

Getting here