Thaxted north west Essex England: possibly the most colourful town in the country. July 2017
Sir John Betjeman, poet laureate wrote "There is no town in north Essex – and very few in England – to equal in beauty, compactness and juxtaposition of medieval and Georgian architecture, than the town of Thaxted".
Thaxted is possibly the most colourful town in England, nearly every house or business premises, some with heavy pargeting ( where walls covered with lime motar are heavilly decorated ) many dating back hundreds of years is painted in a different colour, some in subtle colours respecting the ancient history of the town and some in robust more modern colours reflecting the new arrivals.
The English composer Gustav Holst wrote part of the 'The Planets' while living in Thaxted from 1917 onwards. "Thaxted" is a hymn tune by Gustav Holst, based on the stately theme from the middle section of the Jupiter movement of his orchestral suite The Planets and named after Thaxted, the English village where he resided much of his life. He adapted the theme in 1921 to fit the patriotic poem "I Vow to Thee, My Country" by Cecil Spring Rice. It did not appear as a hymn-tune called "Thaxted" until his friend Ralph Vaughan Williams included it in Songs of Praise in 1926.