Bury St. Edmund

These are some thatched homes on the way to Bury St. Edmund. This first picture is great because it shows a lot of different things. The first thing is the red door; many homes in England have red doors, the second favorite colour for doors is blue. The second thing that is very common is two homes stuck together. In the states we call them townhomes, here they are called semi-detattached homes. They are two seperate homes, one family will own one side and the other family owns the other side. Another common element is the rock and brick construction. That is common around here (I don't think I've seen a home made of all wood construction). The rock they use is flint because it is plentiful around here. Most important of all is the thatchers mark. If you look towards the top of the roof of any thatched home you will see a design. The design is unique to the thatcher and is his "business card", the sign of his trade. You can see it well in this picture. A thatched roof lasts about 35 years. Although you can't see it in any of these pictures, each roof is covered with chicken wire. There are endless amounts of birds in England who would love to make their nests out of these roofs. Bury St. Edmund The cathedral in Bury. Ruins of the Abbey from the 11th century. The market (that's me in the pink shirt and Tarah in the white).