St Catherines

A Memory of Botesdale.

My grandfather, Jim Kenchington, bought St. Catherines in 1961. It is the first house (partial) on the right, next door to Lasts Butchers. It was in a very sorry state when he bought it (for £900!) There was an article in the local newspaper The Journal on April 7, 1961 when he uncovered the original doorway from the 1300s with the dragons carved in the lintel. "Dragons Return to Botesdale" was the headline! Basil Brown, who was the character portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in the recent movie The Dig, was called in to verify the find. My grandparents had a thriving antiques business there for about 10 years before moving to Diss. My family spent many happy Christmases there and for my brother and it was the happiest place of our childhood.