Bridge Cottage, Grade II* listed thatched cottage in East Bergholt, England.
Bridge Cottage is a thatched, timber-framed house from the early 18th century in the village of East Bergholt, Suffolk, England. It stands right on the edge of the River Stour and is one of the few surviving examples of rural working-class housing in this part of the county.
The house was built in the early 1700s to shelter working people living near the river. Over the 19th century it was split into two separate dwellings so that two families could occupy it at the same time.
Bridge Cottage sits along the banks of the River Stour, in the stretch of countryside that painter John Constable depicted repeatedly in his work. Visitors walking along the towpath today can see the same willows and watermeadows that appear in his paintings.
The cottage is managed by the National Trust and opens to visitors during certain seasons. Because the rooms are small and the doorways low, the visit can be difficult for people with limited mobility.
In 1890, thirteen people lived here at once: the Clark family with eleven children and a lodger, all sharing this tiny space. The thatched roof visible today is still maintained using traditional methods, with bundles of water reed laid by hand just as they were centuries ago.
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