Widows Homes

Widows Homes – 1887

The Widows Homes were completed in 1887 and provided accommodation for widows of workers on the estate, although there are examples of couples living in them. The Widows Homes comprise six cottages in a terrace.

They are constructed of red brick with tile hung on the first floor. The doors are Tudor-arched plank doors. They are quite compact. The two end cottages are slightly larger than the four in the middle and have windows to the side on both lower and upper floors. In each, there is a sitting room, a kitchen and larder on the ground floor, two bedrooms on the first floor. The bathrooms to the rear are a later addition. The residents shared a wash house along the terrace as well as a WC. The whole row is fronted by iron railings and the gardens neatly divided by the same.

In the centre of the building, there is a plaque with Hugh Berners’ initials, crest and family motto: “Del Fuego io avola”. Note the monkey on the top. The helmet is said to reach back several centuries to the marriage between Mary Robinson and James Berners. Most intriguing, and not mentioned in the Historic England listing, are the monkeys that sit watching over the Park at either end on the roof.

The cottages were renowned for their beautifully kept gardens.

The site of the Widows Homes was formerly a pub, the Ball Inn. This building is shown on the 1840 Tithe map along with a field behind belonging to the Inn. At this time John Garrod was the owner. His wife , Sarah Ann, died in the same year, aged just 30. The 1841 census suggests that John vacated the pub the following year, or even that it had closed, as in the census he is described as a “gardener, Late Inn the Ball”. The Inn was part owned by John Cobbbold, the Ipswich brewer.