I began this ‘christmas’ project unexpectedly with Sam, game to come along. We parked at the Harbour inn, walked over the Baily bridge, and turned right. I don’t think I’d been this way for many a year and was keen to see again the hidden Tinkers cottage.
A single track is good for Kali, now almost blind, meant we walked and did not talk as we walked, Sam ahead still in short trousers (days out of HMP HighPoint and short of winter warderobe), the tide going out revealing mud banks for birds to find fresh grubs in, a seal popped up its head, pewits called, the river meandered as it naturally found its form centuries ago. Human habitation had let this riverscape be, no building hear, until that is, we turned our last corner, and saw Tinkers, unusually exposed. Some change here surely, we thought.
As we got closer, we saw. Evidence of human activity, the trees which once grew out and around it as it became naturally wilded, had been cut down, a mound of chippings their evidence. Ah, what’s the story we wondered? Later from Jamie Mac, I found it.
Tinkers was the home of a Mr James. It caught fire and burn pretty much down. Mr James burnt it down by accident. He was put into a home after that. The top ditches were clear fresh water, he drank and washed in there … I remember Mr James from when I worked in Southwold. He was a well know character around the town. Every Friday he would go into the Post Office to get his pension and have pages and pages of his writings that he would have to read out before he left.he used to leave little notes under stones outside the cottage… I remember being told that this “Mr James” was actually James Crichton-Stuart, a member of the family of the Marquess of Bute. He was regularly given an evening meal by the late film actress, Ann Todd who lived in a delightful house on The Green in Walberswick…. In 1994/95 I would cycle from dunwich to southwold to go to work cutting through the little back road to go over the bailey bridge there was always a man all in black living rough on the marshes , i was told he had a house but perferd to live on the marshes , was that this Mr james.
(Old images here including a piano)
We continued back from the river, a simple pleasure inside of us of having found this story and knowing there was more to it, through the health back over the bridge and into the harbour inn, where in front of a fire we got into conversation with some locals (she ex UN he ex Halesworth).
Kalikellett 