Plaque to Capt. Orlando Bull • Pentlow

The Dovecot was on voyage from London to China when it disappeared.

In the November of 1842 the Morning Chronicle reported that the brig was sighted on the Straits of Gaspar, but had not been seen since.

The Dovecot was wrecked on Hainan, an island in the South China Sea on around the 16th April, 1842. 

The same publication reported the following year that it was suspected that the crew had been murdered by pirates, who plagued those seas at the time.

The plaque to Captain Bull is inside the church of St Gregory and St George, Pentlow. 

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You can read about some of the other memorials from Pentlow Church in my Substack article HERE

Church of St Gregory and St George • Pentlow

12th Century round-towered church, with later additions and restoration. One of only six round-towered churches in Essex. 

Inside what was once the Chantry chapel, was taken over by the Kempe family in the 1600s. 

There is an impressive effigy to Judge George Kempe, and his son and wife, which features 10 kneeling daughters and 4 kneeling sons.

Read more about the people I discovered at Pentlow Church in my Substack article HERE.  

The Bridge • Pentlow

This bridge was built in 1886, of red brick, and crosses the Suffolk/Essex border, which here is defined by the River Stour.

It is Grade II listed and bears the three seaxes (cutlasses) of the Essex Coat of Arms. 

There has been a crossing here long before this bridge was built, and Speede's map of 1610 shows a bridge in a similar place.

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