Thomas Paycocke Archives | Martyn Walker | Software Architect

Thomas Paycocke's House, Coggeshall, Essex

Coggeshall is a small town with a bypass, a place that is ignored and just a sign-post on the way to somewhere else. It consists of a small high street with little room for more than a single car in places.

Parking is free on the roadside and plentiful if you are not choosy about position. I parked about 100 yards from Thomas Paycocke’s house, donated to the National Trust in 1924 and only their third property at the time.

Once outside the town and on the footpath ground was soft due to the rain, particularly near the river making walking a little tricky but with care and the proper attire it is possible. The steward at Paycocke’s House said the garden is well worth a revisit in summer when everything is in bloom.

On the way back I stopped for tea at another National Trust property, the Grange Barn, a place once used for collecting tax. I was the only visitor at the time and wondered whether an instinctive aversion to the place kept people away. Two curators were on hand to help and like the steward at Paycocke’s House were very helpful, the tea was most welcome.