May News

It’s been a busy last month –  starting with our first wedding; Becky and Paul were married in April. Everything went smoothly, the sun shone, only a minor hitch, where was our wedding license? With our refurbishment (including old office turned into a staff cloakroom, and Covid clamp down) it hadn’t been seen or required for some while. We kept our heads. All was well; of course it was filed in the right place all along.

We’ve restocked the Pilgrims Bar, our speciality gin bar, in the tiny vaulted room with an open fire where the monks once dispensed alms to the poor. The “piscina” - an arch with a stone basin for holy water, is from the original monastery. It’s been a entertaining, sampling some of the brands, some seriously curious flavours – Parma Violet for one. We like the Juniper with orange peel. My favourite has to be Chase Hedgerow Elderflower with soda and lemon.  Fishers Gin might be pricey but their new “Smoked” brand is delicious especially with ginger ale and lime, savour every mouthful.

Coes of Ipswich did a fashion shoot in the Priory and gardens. Look out for the pictures on their website and on our instagram.

We have a wedding shoot next week. A team of local wedding suppliers have come together to showcase Suffolk’s best talent. Organised by make up artist Victoria Bradfield. Ayshea Goldberg is doing the photography, Videographer Aaron from Avisuals is filming, wedding gowns are from The Bridal Lounge, hair by Lynette Chasmer, flowers by Charlotte Staff (creams, white, lilacs and pinks), stationery (exquisite calligraphy) by Polly Pickel Design,  a sumptuous wedding cake by Luca’s Cakes, Jewellery by Susannah Chenevix (pearls are the theme) and pulled together by wedding planner Louisa May Weddings.

A makeup artist turned up today for a wedding – but wrong venue – panic stations all round. But she made it to the right venue in the nick of time. First guests in the farmhouse went swimmingly, we liked it that they were keen to compost their veggie waste. NB compost area behind the garden shed (bottom of the garden). The tennis court is finally painted (the day that it finally rained after seven dry weeks), two shades of green. Plays like a dream.

The Tudor Room four-poster curtains are completed, Rose fabric lined with pink ticking from The Cloth Shop in the Portobello Road. The white lattice mango wood chest and raspberry coloured floral rug are from Snape Malting, lamps and candy striped pink shades are Pooky Lighting, pretty lime washed table from Marlesford Mill (where we have found many treasures), the recycled plastic carpet (looks like sisal and soft underfoot) is from the Unnatural Flooring Company.

After hours of searching the Internet in lockdown for a beautiful rug finally found one from Oka for the Mary Rose room; subtle soft pinks and beige, and looks perfect. The day beds sourced for the Mary Rose and de Glanville (for extra small, or indeed larger guests) work a treat. The rooms are painted Dulux Ochre White and look fresh and serene – thank you Georgia Mann Interiors.

Kim the stone mason is back repairing a Priory buttress. Wallflowers high up in the ancient flint walls have taken root, rather a shame to dislodge them. Baz is hard at work in the gardens at Butley Abbey farmhouse, repairing the steps down to the summerhouse lawn. Isla is planning the flowers for her wedding in June, our first bride to be using the thatched summer house, with a marquee on the lawn.

We discovered to our excitement David Gillingwater who is creating our smart new signage (green and gold) is a piper! So if you are of Scottish heritage or a bagpipe enthusiast  - book him for your wedding. Scotland the Brave, Amazing Grace, Sky Boat Song and, Mairi’s Wedding are just a few favourites from his repertoire.

Should the heavens open or the bride wish to be driven from the Priory to Butley Church or Butley Abbey Farmhouse, vintage car enthusiasts might like our dark green 1954 Bentley, handsome in white ribbons, or for a more rustic vibe a 1955 Series 1 Land Rover.  However, the latter is in the last stages of restoration (ten years and counting), the radiator is finally sourced, we are ever hopeful we will see it shortly, gleaming and engine ticking over.   

MID APRIL NEWS

MID APRIL NEWS

Our first wedding this year! Becky and Paul tie the knot on Wednesday 21st April with 15 guests. The Priory is looking stunning, painted, primed and as near perfect as possible for a building that is over 700 years old. The bedrooms are ready, the magnificent new curtains hung (thank you Jennie and Jean), the four-poster bed romantically draped, cushions plumped, new carpets, and rugs on the painted wooden floors. The new freestanding baths gleam. We are a little breathless about the kitchen, where is the new range cooker? Will it arrive in time for chef Peter Harrison? 

We are waiting for the frosts to pass before we plant up the terracotta tubs with wedding-white geraniums. The daffodils and primroses are giving way to bluebells. Our newly planted flowerbeds look good, alas, the Muntjac think so too.

Our holiday lets in The Priory, Butley Abbey Farmhouse and Gate Keepers Cottage in between weddings are filling up fast, but we have a few gaps. Book with us on our website www.butleypriory.co.uk or 07539 744366

GOURMET SUFFOLK

If you are planning a self-catering holiday in one of our beautiful properties, you are spoilt for choice with some wonderful local suppliers, right on the doorstep. Orford is the closest place for shopping, 15 minutes by car or take the foot ferry with your bicycle (roomy panniers essential) across Butley Creek.  Saturday morning is the Farmers Market in the Town Hall; get there early for the lobsters and crab rush, and trestle tables laden with homemade cakes, quiches, local honey, jams and chutney. Its good for preset buying too - pretty knitted baby things and exquisite turned wood salad bowls.

Pinney’s of Orford

www,pinneysoforford.co.uk

Shop 01394 450210 / Restaurant 01394 450277

Pinney’s is an institution in Orford. Four generations of the Pinney family have lived and worked at Butley Creek, harvesting oysters and smoking fish by the ancient river walls that keep the sea at bay. Their quayside shop  (and website) offers a mouth-watering range of seafood delicacies, oysters, succulent brown shrimps, smoked and fresh fish. The family run restaurant the “Butley Orford Oysterage” (angels on horseback and the fish pie highly recommended) is in the village square – booking essential. An exciting venture for this summer is the mobile horsebox, selling oysters and fishy treats, which can also be booked for private parties

Pump Street Bakery, Orford  -

www.pumpstreetchocolate.com / 01394 459829

Family run the Pump Street Bakery is another Orford household name. The smell of fresh baking and coffee alone entices you to join the queue. Sourdough, orange cinnamon swirls, oozing jam doughnuts (got a mention at the Oscars), Eccles cakes - the best in the land - and don’t forget the chocolate (try the sourdough and sea salt). At peak times there is a queue around the block, but always good for a chat with the locals: fishermen and the Sudbourne cricketers queuing up along with the visitors. Good plan to order in advance or use the home delivery service.

Fen Farm Dairy, Bungay 

www,fenfarmdairy.co.uk / 01986 892350

Raw Milk, creamy rich Baron Bigod cheese, velvety Skyr yogurt, deep yellow Bungay butter and tubs of silky mascarpone come from the raw milk of the Montbeliarde girls. This ancient breed comes originally from the Jura Alps; their milk is renown in France for Comte, Vacherin Mont d’Or and Reblochon cheese. The Fen Farm girls graze peacefully in the lush meadows of Waveney River Valley near Bungay.  Three generations of the welcoming Crickmore family run the farm and farm shop (which never seems to close). Orford village shop (sells everything imaginable from dog food to fresh deli stuff) stocks their products or order on the Fen Farm website.

Fishers Gin, Aldeburgh

www,fishersgin.com / 01728 454201

Gin made from “Local herbs and coastal botanics, capturing wild and forgotten flavours of the English coastline” sounds pretty irresistible with a splash of tonic and wedge of lime on a warm summers day. Andrew Heald was inspired by the salt marshland and the meadows where he grew up. He experimented with juniper, cardamom, caraway and fennel seeds, orange and lemon peel, samphire, bog myrtle, spignel and wild angelica, until he came up with the perfect blends, and launched Fishers Original in 2016.  This month ‘Fishers Smoked’ is launched, their third brand in collaboration with Pinney’s. Sacks of botanics have been infused using the smokery at Pinney’s, giving it a very pleasing smoky flavour – and yes a hint of fish, but it really works! Especially when the temperature drops and you are tucked up in front of a log fire.  Try it with ginger ale, a Moscow Mule with a difference. Take a distillery tour around their ultra chic seaside premises, followed by a tasting on the deck, a skip from the North Sea.  Book online or telephone, £30 a person (starting mid-May). 

High House Farm, Iken

www.highhousefarm.co.uk / 01394 450263;

Overlooking the marshes and sea tucked away between Subourne and Iken, Suvi and Piers Pool own this lovely fruit farm, which has been in the family since 1958.  ‘Pick your own’, or for lazy or in-a-hurry customers, there is of course a farm shop. The spring season starts with rhubarb and asparagus, followed by the soft fruits; gooseberries, raspberries, loganberries and currants, then as summer heats up, the cherries and plums ripen. Autumn brings the apples: Cox, Russet, James Grieve, Worcester, Ribston Pickle, Blenheim Orange to name a few.  If you are picking, best to call on the day to see what’s available. The shop sells, fruit (and frozen), four varieties of their own apple juice, scrumptious jams, local honey and Suffolk’s sensational B Chocolates.

B Chocolates

www,bchocolates.co.uk

Made at High House Farm, award-wining confectionnaire Anna McCreadie (Suvi’s sister) makes chocolate by hand using local raw honey from coastal beekeepers. Much in demand with the local shops, Anna also sells directly on her website.  Everyone’s favourite is the Honey & Sea Salt Caramels, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg:  dark truffle honey, honey and gingerbread truffles, honey and saffron caramels and delicious honeycomb thins. All packaged in beautiful pale brown boxes tied with twine. Anna also makes bespoke selections for wedding favours.

Wild Meat Company, Lime Tree Farm, Blaxhall

www,wildmeat.co.uk / 01728 687627

There’s a treat in store for carnivores near Blaxhall. Local organic meat and game, including, free range Sutton Hoo chicken, pheasant, hare, venison, pigeon, duck, partridge, game pie mix and it has to be said, the occasional squirrel. Succulent sausage rolls too. Their website supplies mouth-watering recipes. Try slow-cooked lamb infused with Earl Grey tea, rosemary, thyme and honey, roast partridge cooked on a bed of carrot, parsnip, and rhubarb, Papparedell (wide pasta) with a very slow cooked ragout of hare, marinated in red wine, rosemary, celery, juniper berries, or pan-fried pheasant with harissa, chicory and orange which gives a smoky Moroccan flavour. Buy online, next day delivery, or collect your order (NB. almost impossible to find). A helpful clue: it’s not far from one of our favourite pubs The Ship.

Adnams

www,adnams.co.uk

No introduction is required for the award-winning brewers Adnams, another Suffolk institution. Copper House in Southold is HQ where, vodka, gin and whisky are produced in their sustainable, state of art distillery (tours available). An array of lagers, ale and alcohol free beers with dazzling names such as Ghost Ship, Lighthouse, Wild Wave, Kobold and Wild hop.  We love their cider, iced cold for a summer days or spiced up and warmed through for a chilly night.  And their Prosecco and the Pinot Grigio Blush, rose, are also dreamy sundowners on our warm Suffolk nights.  Closest Adnams shops are Woodbridge and Aldeburgh, who also deliver website orders.

Maple Farm, Kelsale, IP17 2PJ

01728 652000

For twenty years the Kendall’s at Maple Farm have been thoroughly organic. Contented Sheep, cows and chickens roam the meadows, and organic vegetables grow the year round. The farm shop sells their meat, fruit and vegetables, brown eggs with rich yellow yolks, Sophie’s Honey, Fen Farm Dairy products, oils and vinegar, “unusual” coffee (you will have to visit to find out why), jellies and jams made in the kitchen. LABrewery Kombucha (brilliant for the gut) brewed locally at Bentwaters by the Kendalls is available in several tasty and restorative flavours. Most thrilling is their very own home grown and produced, organic milled flour:  wholegrain, spelt, rye. Open every day 9 to 5pm.

Alice Norman – Pinch Meal Kits

Instagram @pinch.suffolk

Alice trained at Ballymaloe in Ireland, and then wandered the world cooking in Amsterdam, Asia and India. She has worked in London’s coolest restaurants Kricket, Clipstone, Emelia and Levan. Now working from the kitchen in Maple Farm, Alice is producing ‘Pinch’ meal kits, pasta focused, using Maple Farm’s glorious organic grain and eggs. Collect only from Maple Farm Kelsale.