Freston Tower
The true origin of this curious building has never come to light, but a charming explanation has been put forward by Richard Cobbold in his book ~Freston Tower~, in which he says it was built by William Latimer in the 16th century, as a place of study for Ellen, the beautiful young heiress to the De Freestons.
Each of the six rooms which form the tower was devoted to a different study and Ellen divided her day between them. Thus she dispensed charity from the ground floor, later going to work on her tapestries on the first floor. After this she would climb to the second floor where she played music, followed by painting on the third floor, literature on the fourth and astronomy on the fifth.
It is also said that Wolsey, Latimer and De Freeston visited her there on one occasion when she led them to the top floor room and they remained to take breakfast with her and tell her of the outside world and the roles they played in it.
Here the river banks are still embroidered with small open paddocks and spinneys . Pond Hall Farm embraces the tidal waters and marshes. A fascinating smugglers ploy was uncovered during alterations to the Hall. A small tunnel leading from a living room to the river bank enabled a lantern to be seen by smugglers coming abreast of it and it guided them safely to welcoming comrades.
Leaving the tower behind we then come to the
© 2009 Orwell River Cruises Limited
updated
January 21, 2009
