We were very sad to say goodbye to our lovely lovely guests Jan and Geoff who rented The Coach House for a week and then stayed for over 6 years. They felt part of this medieval wonder and their presence is sorely missed. Click here to see some photos of it.
Happy New Year
Dear friends and guests who have stayed with us,
We want to wish you all a fabulous 2021.
All our cottages are full this year and we are not accepting any bookings.
So sad to disappoint but we are living in challenging times.
All the best to all and hope to see you on the other side x
Making Scents of History - Loggique
Could you connect with a bygone era through scent? It’s a question which obsesses me. Why?
Well it all started with the purchase of Letheringham Lodge. As this site explains, it was originally thought to be late Tudor but we uncovered a huge amount of the history and discovered that it was half medieval (built 1472) and half Jacobean (extended in 1610). I tell you this because, as a trained scent-maker, I have been obsessively making scents in the genre of these two centuries.
In 1472, the lodge (or ‘logge’ as it would have been called) was a copy of the french or dutch viewing pavilion used for state banquets and weddings. They are often depicted on European court marriage paintings (as left) and historians think that Letheringham Lodge was probably the first of its kind in England.
So what scents would have been prevalent at this time? The belief that medieval times were dirty and odorous, is true only for England’s very poorest. For the average person, washing and bathing was a hugely popular pastime. Most wealthy people had a bathhouse and every town had one for public use. They consisted of huge scented cauldrons perfumed by attendants and filled large barrels amply able to accommodate two people. Many of the essential oils we use today would have been used for scenting these waters especially appreciated for their medicinal properties; specifically anti-inflammatory and antiseptic.
Bitter oranges had just arrived at the time the logge was built. Citrus fruit was used as the most popular women’s contraception; halved and used as a cap and the juice used as a spermicide. Oils were made by every household for use within medicine, cuisine and fragrance. So the most popular scent palette for medieval times were: basil, citruses, cloves, clary sage, frankincense, rose, rosemary, mint, musk, myrrh, thyme and vetiver. Today this style of scent making is becoming hugely fashionable as we move to natural products and distrust commercial chemicalisation. My most popular scent is based on an organic grapefruit oil and was chosen to be the scent for the in-house candle at Vanil, on Church St in Woodbridge.
What made scents in the Jacobean age?
Civet produced from the urine of the Asian civet cat, had been introduced into the court of Henry VIII and caused a revolution in scent. In fact the perfume created for the King became the de facto accord for over 100 years and included ambergris, tobacco and Peru balsam.
In this way, scent was used as a way of communicating status and identity; relying on the inclusion of exotic florals blended with exclusive imported spices and musks. The richer you were, the more exotic imports you included.
Today, new technology enables us to abstract scents at a molecular level and then recreate them chemically. The scientific has become the new exotic but at the same time, we are wanting to return to a time where naturalness and purity of ingredients is paramount. In some ways these two centuries have merged; we prefer natural ingredients in soaps and cosmetics but delight in the highly sophisticated scientifically produced scents in perfumes.
If you would like to learn how to make scents you are most welcome to visit the logge. To find out more about half-day workshops, simply visit loggique.com.
Working with the best
loggique is delighted to announce that it will be working with one of the top hotels in the UK to offer some uniquely exciting scented candle workshops. On the 19th and 20th February, we will be hosting two events to introduce over 30 people to the joys of making delicious scents with natural waxes that are paraffin free.
If you would like to come on a Scented Candle workshop here at Letheringham Lodge, please send us your contact details and we will organise an open day in the Spring for you.
Landscape and Light l l II
A huge huge thankyou to the 11 artists who came for the 5-day residency here at Letheringham Lodge and produced the most stunning pieces of art on the 26 January. Over 200 people came to the Private View held that night and all said the show was a great success.
Please have a look at the work which was achieved by visiting landscapeandlight.org and if you are interested in becoming one of our artists for the next one, please do get in touch.
A massive thankyou to Letheringham Mill and Butley Priory
We are extremely appreciative to you both for choosing loggique to craft your in-house fragrance for your guests this Christmas. Your orders for over 100 candles officially marked the launch of loggique.
Your journey into making aromatic spaces for your guests has started and it is so wonderful to think that you chose us as your partner.
We're already thinking of new possibilities for your personalised scent!
Bespoke candles and soap for Letheringham Mill to give as gifts for Christmas this year
Many thanks to you both. xxx
loggique - magical scents from a medieval setting
We are proud to announce the launch of a micro start-up business here at Letheringham Lodge.
loggique is a bespoke scent creator working with you to design a scent for a wedding, party or for your special space. We work with you to design a scent which best describes you and then we produce together any of the following:
scented natural candles
SLS free soap with natural oils
and/or blended essential oils for diffusers/evaporators/burners
We work with a carefully selected set of scent and essential oil suppliers to bring you the very best quality fragrances blended to suit your needs.
If it is for a wedding or event, you may want to come here and actually make the candles and soaps yourself. Do have a look at our accommodation to see if you would like to make a little mini-break of the endeavour.
If you are interested, have a look at our website loggique.com and do just call us on 07545 127 264 for a no-obligation visit here to discuss your ideas.
Invitation to View 2017
It was a great delight to once again open our doors for Invitation to View. We hid all the dirty wellies and half eaten dog toys; polished the banisters and warmed the home-made scones.
This year we are doing 8 days and they have booked surprisingly well. If you would like to put your name down for the September dates, please do book early to avoid disappointment as the ad people say (sic)!
For those lovely people, who have just visited, if you would like a copy of the presentation, you are most welcome to take a copy direct from here.
Every year, we discover more and more fascinating facts about the Lodge and this year was no exception. A huge thankyou to all those people who revealed things about the history or the previous owners.
We had stories about:
- an alcoholic past owner nakedly shaking their naked wife over the moat by her ankles to get her to reveal where the cellar key was hidden;
- the developer who put double-glazing in the Lodge from his long lost cousin; and
- modern day Wingfields who are finding connections for all the historic Wingfield buildings.
Philip Aitken from 2016 and his wise and learned History Group