Rodbridge, Sudbury and the Valley Walk

The walk goes alongside the River Stour for several stretches and crosses the river six times. When in the old town centre you are never far from the river as the town is built on high ground in a loop of the river. For a great deal of its length, the Stour forms the county boundary between Suffolk and Essex.

The large Borley Mill has now been converted to a family home, but the under-shot mill wheel can still be seen as you walk past it. Borley Mill is not far from the site of Borley Rectory, which burnt down in 1939. It is supposedly a haunted house and has been the subject of a great deal of psychical research and of several books.

Perhaps the most attractive of the three mills passed on this walk is Brundon Mill. It is a three storey white painted brick mill alongside a row of pink painted weather boarded cottages. The farm track along which you walk passes right in front of the mill.

The 300 year old Sudbury Mill has now been converted into a hotel. in the bar restaurant area, the mill wheel remains an attractive feature. If you want to find out the remarkable story of the mummified cat, go to the reception desk of the hotel and ask for details.

Dotted throughout Sudbury are many terraces of weaver's houses. In the days before the Industrial Revolution, weaving was very much a cottage industry and involved the whole family. These three storey houses have very large first floor windows which gave maximum amount of light to the handloom weavers. Flemish weavers were encouraged to settle here in the reign of Edward III, during the 14th century, and they taught the local people the art of weaving many different types of cloth, including crepe. The father of one of the most famous sons of Sudbury, was a crepe maker called Gainsborough.

Further along and back to the river again, you reach the weir and the Salmon Leap. The fish are able to leap up these long, shallow water covered steps against the flow of the water and eventually return to their original birthplace to breed.

The Bathing Place was built for use in Edwardian times, when river water was doubtless more suitable for bathing in than it is today.

The Croft is an area of open grassland with cool, shady trees sloping down from St Gregory's Church to the river. It was given to the townspeople in 1392. One of Sudbury's three annual fairs was held on the Croft in medieval times. The other two fairs were held over on Market Hill.

St Gregory's Church has a magnificent high ornate font cover. The colourful ceiling in the chancel and some of the nave was beautifully restored in 1966. Simon of Sudbury, born Simon Theobald around 1317, lived with his wealthy parents near St Gregory's on the site of the Walnut Tree Hospital, which lies between the church and the river. He and his brother did much to help restore St Gregory's. In 1375, Simon became Archbishop of Canterbury, and in 1380 he was made Chancellor of England. He was later murdered when Canterbury was seized in the Peasant's Revolt, the rebellion led by Wat Tyler in 1381. Simon's head is preserved in St Gregory's.

Continuing along the route, you come to Stour Street, again towards the river, where there are several historic half timbered houses, including the Cantry and Salter's Hall. These date back to the time when Sudbury was the largest of the Suffolk wool towns.

Gainsborough House is now open to the public. The house has been restored to its original state and contains many of his works. The Georgian facade hides the fact that the house is really two weavers cottages knocked into one dwelling. The typical weavers windows can be seen from the charming garden

In 1913, a bronze statue of Gainsborough, showing him with brush and pallet in hand, was erected on Market Hill outside St Peters Church.

Continuing again down to the River Stour, you reach the Old Quay and Quay Theatre. Sudbury is the largest settlement on the river, which flows from its source about eight miles (12.5 kilometres) south of Newmarket to the sea at Harwich. The river was navigable up to the quay at Sudbury, and from there, lighters were used to transport goods to and from the wharves at Manningtree, particularly the produce of the brickworks in this area. The Old Quay has now been restored and a former granary at the quayside has been cleverly converted into a theatre complex.

To complete the walk, the route leads along a former railway track called the Valley Walk which now forms part of the Stour Valley Path long distance trail. Prior to its closure, the railway continued northwards from Sudbury to a junction at Long Melford, where one line continued to Bury St Edmunds and another went along the Stour Valley to Haverhill.