West Lodge, East Bergholt, with a hatchment

This atmospheric upright landscape is one of a group of deeply personal works in which Constable chronicled changes in his native village of East Bergholt, Suffolk. The painting shows West Lodge, one of the village’s principal houses located directly opposite the Constable house on Church Street, which appears in several of the artist's works. What sets this painting apart is the specific event that it commemorates: the death of Sarah Roberts, a close friend and neighbour of the Constable family. In December 1811, Constable’s mother, Ann, wrote to him explaining that ‘Dunthorne has completed his achievement and exceeding well done indeed.’ The aforementioned ‘achievement’ was the armorial hatchment that was set up above the front door of West Lodge following Sarah's passing, painted by local artist John Dunthorne senior. As was custom in the early nineteenth century, the hatchment remained in place for six months following her death; Constable, writing to Maria Bicknell, remarked that it 'gave the house a melancholy aspect'.

Sarah Roberts was a fixture in Constable’s early life, having moved to East Bergholt with her husband Philip in about 1756. She was held in high regard by the community and was evidently a close friend of the Constable family appearing frequently in Ann's letters to her son. In August 1809 Ann reported, ‘Mrs Roberts poorly – she says she always thinks of you, at the setting sun, thro’ her trees.'

Constable famously observed to his friend and patron, John Fisher, ‘I should paint my own places best - painting is but another word for feeling.’ The sentiment is made manifest here; the present work, with its brooding atmosphere and sense of loss, reveals the emotional undercurrents that often animated Constable’s work, and is set within view of the family's own front door. Executed with characteristic fluency, the scene transcends mere observation. Its melancholy is intentional and deeply felt, offering a rare glimpse into Constable's engagement with place and memory.

For the letters cited, see R.B. Beckett, ed., John Constable’s Correspondence, Ipswich, 1964.