Willy Lott's Cottage

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Willy Lott's Cottage Willy-Lotts-Cottage.jpg
Willy Lott's Cottage
Willy Lott's Cottage Willy Lott's Cottage.JPG
Willy Lott's Cottage

Willy Lott's Cottage (or Willy Lott's House) is a building in Flatford, East Bergholt, Suffolk, England, which appears in several paintings by John Constable, notably The Hay Wain .

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The property is a Grade I listed building, reflecting its importance "as part of the Flatford Mill group" and "its significance in the work of the artist John Constable". [1]

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 as that is the name Constable used in his paintings. It is owned by the National Trust. [2] The cottage was purchased in 1926 by Thomas Parkington; after his death in 1943, the National Trust purchased it from his estate. [3]

The cottage is located on the bank of the River Stour, just downstream from Flatford Mill in the heart of Dedham Vale, a typically English rural landscape. Flatford Mill, along with neighbouring Valley Farm and Bridge Cottage, are leased to the Field Studies Council, which uses them as locations for arts-based courses such as painting, and as accommodation for science-based courses such as residential ecology trips for students up to A-level.

William Lott

The cottage takes its name from its resident at the time John Constable did his paintings, when the house was known as Gibeons Gate Farm. William Lott (1761–1849), a tenant farmer, lived at Gibeons Farm and spent only four nights away from this house in his life. He is buried at St Mary the Virgin Churchyard in East Bergholt. [4] [ better source needed ] According to a 2020 article, "Willy Lott himself became famous thanks to Constable, but only after his death".[ citation needed ]

The Story of Willy Lott and his Cottage (2023) has been published by Brian Lott, [5] the gt-gt-gt-grandson of Willy's brother John Lott (1758-1827).

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<i>The Hay Wain</i> Painting by John Constable

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Flatford is a small hamlet in the civil parish of East Bergholt, in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is most famous for Flatford Mill, Willy Lott's Cottage and Bridge Cottage, immortalised in the paintings of John Constable.

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<i>Stratford Mill</i> (Constable) 1820 painting by John Constable

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Lott is a surname and given name.

<i>Flatford Mill</i> (painting) Painting by John Constable

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<i>Boat-Building Near Flatford Mill</i> Painting by John Constable

Boat-Building Near Flatford Mill is an 1815 landscape painting by the English artist John Constable. It depicts a scene on the River Stour near to Flatford Mill on the Essex-Suffolk border. Constable's father owned Flatford Mill and the area around it is now known as Constable Country. Portraying the process of boat building, it has been described as a forerunner of his best-known Six-Foot paintings depicting scenes from the area.

<i>The Church Porch, East Bergholt</i> Painting by John Constable

The Church Porch, East Bergholt is an 1810 landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. It depicts a view of St Mary's Church in the village of East Bergholt in Suffolk. Located close to the border with Essex and in the area now known as Constable Country. Constable was born in East Bergholt where his father owned Flatford Mill.

<i>Willy Lotts House from the Stour</i> Painting by John Constable

Willy Lott's House from the Stour is a c.1818 landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. It depicts a view on the River Stour in Suffolk, close to the border with Essex, an area where the artist grew up and is now frequently known as Constable Country. It is also known by the alternative title The Valley Farm.

References

  1. Historic England. "Willy Lotts Cottage (Grade I) (1033438)". National Heritage List for England .
  2. "Flatford Mill - FSC Flatford Mill". Field-studies-council.org. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  3. "In Focus: The village and cottage featured in Constable's The Hay Wain, the ultimate image of English country life". Country Life. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  4. "William Lott (1761 - 1849) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  5. "Brian Lott OBE Publishes the Story of the Lotts & the Constables". Felsted School . Retrieved 6 January 2025.

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