Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
The Dedham Vale, Is An Area Of Natural Beauty And Through Its Heart Is The River Stour which is 47 miles long and forms most of the county boundary between Suffolk to the north, and Essex to the south. It rises in eastern Cambridgeshire, passes to the east of Haverhill, through Cavendish, Bures, Sudbury, Dedham and flows through the Dedham Vale an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It becomes tidal just before Manningtree in Essex and joins the North Sea at Harwich.
the name Stour derives from the Celtic word sturr meaning “strong”, the area is also steeped in history
During the Anglo-Saxon era, the river became the boundary between the Kingdom of the East Saxons and the Kingdom of East Anglia. The Life of King Alfred records a naval battle taking place at the mouth of the river in 884, where Alfred the Great defeated a force of 13 Viking ships.
Nearby Manningtree was the home of the witch finder general, and evidence of occupation in the area dates back 5000 years.
The Stour valley has been portrayed as a working river by John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough, Alfred Munnings, John Nash and Cedric Morris. Constable's connection with the area was especially important, evident in such works as The Stour Valley and Dedham Church which was painted in 1815.
We intend to Kayak into the Dedham Vale today and past Flatford Mill, which was portrayed a few times by Constable, in some of his most admired paintings. The area is known as Constable Country.
Interestingly, Dedham was home to my fifth great-grandfather Jasper Rouse, so todays visit is both an adventure and a journey into the past and our family history.
Enjoy the video everyone, as we Kayak The River Stour and deep into constable country.
Flatford Mill has had many owners during its lifetime and interestingly several were called “Constable”.
In 1742 Abram Constable (John Constables great uncle) bought Flatford Mill from Matthew Isaac who had owned it from 1731.
Abram rebuilt the mill in 1753 - During Abram's time, Flatford Mill operated between two floors:
#kayaking #dedhamvale #constablecountry #flatfordmill #riverstour
***
If you enjoy our content why not support our creative process on Patreon, buy us a coffee or use the special thanks button beneath this video.
Yhana and I will mention your support in one of our upcoming videos.
*** 👉 buymeacoffee.com/stephenandyhana
*** 👉 patreon.com/stephenandyhana ***
***
Welcome to Stephen and Yhana History and Adventure Hunters
Stephen and Yhana are a duo of adventure seekers and they record their adventures for YouTube.
THEY - TREASURE HUNT / VISIT HISTORICAL / CULTURAL / FUN LOCATIONS that all the family can enjoy and they write and narrate wonderful stories from history and the world of genealogy.
(Sometimes... even whilst cycling or kayaking.)
They are uncle and niece (Stephen being Yhana's legal guardian and has been since she was three weeks old.) At Home - It is just the two of them and they both share a common interest and that’s exploring and adventure seeking.
Stephen Robert Kuta, is also an author, genealogist, historian, photographer and a keen traveller.
Yhana loves YouTube, Ice cream, theme parks and the Romans.
Our goal is to create content which focuses on history, genealogy and adventure - This includes future published material as well as film creation.
We would love your support,
So please Join our adventure and support our journey by hitting that SUBSCRIBE Button.
*** STAY IN TOUCH !! ***
SUBSCRIBE and follow our journey for more interesting videos.
You can discover lots more about Stephen and Yhana by using the links below -
INSTAGRAM 👉 instagram.com/s.r.kuta
FACEBOOK👉 facebook.com/stephenrobertkuta
GENEALOGY👉 thelivesofmyancestors.com
KUTA FAMILY NAME RESEARCH 👉 houseofkuta.com
DNA RESEARCH 👉 dnaofmyancestors.com
WIKIPEDIA 👉 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Robert_Kuta
Music featured in our videos is licensed by Epidemic Sound
epidemicsound.com/referral/avumwt
The Dedham Vale, Is An Area Of Natural Beauty And Through Its Heart Is The River Stour which is 47 miles long and forms most of the county boundary between Suffolk to the north, and Essex to the south. It rises in eastern Cambridgeshire, passes to the east of Haverhill, through Cavendish, Bures, Sudbury, Dedham and flows through the Dedham Vale an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It becomes tidal just before Manningtree in Essex and joins the North Sea at Harwich.
the name Stour derives from the Celtic word sturr meaning “strong”, the area is also steeped in history
During the Anglo-Saxon era, the river became the boundary between the Kingdom of the East Saxons and the Kingdom of East Anglia. The Life of King Alfred records a naval battle taking place at the mouth of the river in 884, where Alfred the Great defeated a force of 13 Viking ships.
Nearby Manningtree was the home of the witch finder general, and evidence of occupation in the area dates back 5000 years.
The Stour valley has been portrayed as a working river by John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough, Alfred Munnings, John Nash and Cedric Morris. Constable's connection with the area was especially important, evident in such works as The Stour Valley and Dedham Church which was painted in 1815.
We intend to Kayak into the Dedham Vale today and past Flatford Mill, which was portrayed a few times by Constable, in some of his most admired paintings. The area is known as Constable Country.
Interestingly, Dedham was home to my fifth great-grandfather Jasper Rouse, so todays visit is both an adventure and a journey into the past and our family history.
Enjoy the video everyone, as we Kayak The River Stour and deep into constable country.
Flatford Mill has had many owners during its lifetime and interestingly several were called “Constable”.
In 1742 Abram Constable (John Constables great uncle) bought Flatford Mill from Matthew Isaac who had owned it from 1731.
Abram rebuilt the mill in 1753 - During Abram's time, Flatford Mill operated between two floors:
#kayaking #dedhamvale #constablecountry #flatfordmill #riverstour
***
If you enjoy our content why not support our creative process on Patreon, buy us a coffee or use the special thanks button beneath this video.
Yhana and I will mention your support in one of our upcoming videos.
*** 👉 buymeacoffee.com/stephenandyhana
*** 👉 patreon.com/stephenandyhana ***
***
Welcome to Stephen and Yhana History and Adventure Hunters
Stephen and Yhana are a duo of adventure seekers and they record their adventures for YouTube.
THEY - TREASURE HUNT / VISIT HISTORICAL / CULTURAL / FUN LOCATIONS that all the family can enjoy and they write and narrate wonderful stories from history and the world of genealogy.
(Sometimes... even whilst cycling or kayaking.)
They are uncle and niece (Stephen being Yhana's legal guardian and has been since she was three weeks old.) At Home - It is just the two of them and they both share a common interest and that’s exploring and adventure seeking.
Stephen Robert Kuta, is also an author, genealogist, historian, photographer and a keen traveller.
Yhana loves YouTube, Ice cream, theme parks and the Romans.
Our goal is to create content which focuses on history, genealogy and adventure - This includes future published material as well as film creation.
We would love your support,
So please Join our adventure and support our journey by hitting that SUBSCRIBE Button.
*** STAY IN TOUCH !! ***
SUBSCRIBE and follow our journey for more interesting videos.
You can discover lots more about Stephen and Yhana by using the links below -
INSTAGRAM 👉 instagram.com/s.r.kuta
FACEBOOK👉 facebook.com/stephenrobertkuta
GENEALOGY👉 thelivesofmyancestors.com
KUTA FAMILY NAME RESEARCH 👉 houseofkuta.com
DNA RESEARCH 👉 dnaofmyancestors.com
WIKIPEDIA 👉 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Robert_Kuta
Music featured in our videos is licensed by Epidemic Sound
epidemicsound.com/referral/avumwt
