At Thomas Gainsborough’s house: exhibitions and coffee

Next year will mark exactly three centuries since the birth of Thomas Gainsborough, the most celebrated and beloved artist of the 18th century. For this landscape painter and, above all, portraitist – whose services were sought after by noble families throughout Britain – the village of Sudbury was always the centre of his bucolic world. This is evident from his half-timbered birthplace, which has been gracefully converted into a museum, recently extended to accommodate a contemporary exhibition space without compromising its original timber structure: the music and book rooms, and the room where he transferred his engravings from aluminium plates onto prints, still convey the culture of this artist, whose paintings are on display in the permanent collection, whilst in the temporary exhibition space, until 4 October, you can also admire the works of his two eminent colleagues, John Constable and William Turner, who, half a century later, would slightly overshadow his fame. Gainsborough also loved trees and planted a splendid mulberry tree in the centre of the garden amongst figs, apple trees and roses. Nowadays, visitors can sit at the tables arranged around the tree trunks to enjoy a coffee with a slice of cheesecake. Afterwards, they can explore the trinket shops situated around the 15th-century church of St Peter’s on Market Hill, now converted into an Art Centre.