Adkin's Wood Ickworth Park Suffolk

9am 12.2 miles in 1 hour 38 minutes 18 seconds

Week to Date mileage 35

Month to date mileage 110

Average weekly rate 35.1

Average Monthly rate 152

Weather: Cool slight frost

On today's long run I decided to take a new path in Ickworth Park oe which I haven't tried before. As you enter Ickworth Park there is a stile on the immediate left into some woods which has some red and blue markers. The ground wasn't too bad but was sufficiently muddy
and boggy to dissuade and walkers from venturing here. There are one or two stone markers from which I learnt this is known as Adkin's Wood and was planted in 1800 - 1812.

I have had a quick look but have yet to find out anything about Adkins and who he might be.

There was a lovely view of Ickworth House and this ties in fairly well date wise with the wood as the house was started in 1795 but not completed until the 1830's by the eccentric Hervey Family.Have a look at the link it includes a virtual reality image of the house. The gardens were apparently designed by Capability Brown though this would mean the gardens came before this house was built as he died in 1783. This is possible though as it is thought there were at least two previous houses to the current rotunda house. Who was Adkins though? Anyone know of him?

The church is the wonderful St Leonards named after a French saint, Leonard of Limoges (the patron saint of prisoners). It dates from the 14th century and must have some Norman connection . However the Norman period of history in England dates from 1066 through to the 13th century and by the time of the building of this church England in the late medieval period was in the grip of black death. It was estimated that between one third and one tenth of the population died between 1348 and 1350. So why was the church named after a French patron saint of prisoners ? After all England was at war with France in a battle known as the Hundred Years War. This war was very costly and resulted in Richard II introducing a poll tax .

Eventually the peasants revolted against their landlords in 1381 and though this anarchy was put down it was remembered for many years . The local Abbot in Bury Richard de Cambridge was murdered. It is interesting to note that the when the peasants Revolt of 1381 was finally put down a national amnesty was declared but Bury St Edmunds was the only town to be excluded because of the scale of trouble and violence. According to a BBC Website it was during this period that English rather than French became the language of daily use. Some how I just cannot see how folks in this country ever spoke French on mass! Just try and compare it to today most people in this country cannot speak another language - I could try and try to speak French but basically I am too lazy and I would never use it. These were certainly changing times when the average person if he wasn't killed by the black death was starved to death through high taxes. The Church remained extremely powerful in putting down and controlling the peasants. Does the Church of St Leonards have anything to do with the Peasants Revolt? Probably not but running raises lots of questions!