Willy Lott's Cottage is a house in Flatford, East Bergholt,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, England which appears in several paintings by

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

, notably '' The Hay Wain''. The property is Grade I listed to reflect its importance "as part of the Flatford Mill group" and "its significance in the work of the artist John Constable". The earliest part of the building is sixteenth century. It was restored in the 1920s after a revival of interest in Constable's paintings. It has been renamed Willy Lott's House because this is the name Constable used in his paintings. It is owned by

the National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The cottage is located on the bank of the River Stour, just downstream from Flatford Mill in the heart of

Dedham Vale Dedham Vale is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the Essex-Suffolk border in east England. It comprises the area around the River Stour between Manningtree and Smallbridge Farm, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Bures, including the ...

, a typically English rural landscape. Flatford Mill, along with neighbouring Valley Farm and Bridge Cottage, are leased to the

Field Studies Council Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK, which offers opportunities for people to learn about and engage with the outdoors. History It was established as the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in 1943 with the ...

, which uses them as locations for arts-based courses such as

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

, and as accommodation for

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

-based courses such as residential

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

trips for students up to

A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

William Lott

The cottage takes its name from its resident at the time John Constable did his paintings; at that time, the house was known as Gibeons Farm. William Lott (1761–1849), a tenant farmer, resided at Gibeons Farm and spent only four nights away from this house in the whole of his life. He is buried at St Mary the Virgin Churchyard in East Bergholt. According to a 2020 article, "Willy Lott himself became famous thanks to Constable, but only after his death". The cottage was purchased in 1926 by Thomas Parkington; after his death, the National Trust purchased it from his estate. Willy Lott's Cottage by John Constable 1832.jpg, ''Willy Lott's Cottage'' by

, 1832 Willy_Lott's_Cottage_-_Constable.jpg, ''Willy Lott's Cottage'' by

, circa 1820

References

External links

*
National Trust - Willy Lott's House''Constable's England''
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Willy Lott's Cottage {{Babergh Grade I listed buildings in Suffolk Grade I listed houses Houses in Suffolk National Trust properties in Suffolk Timber framed buildings in Suffolk East Bergholt Cottages