Suffolk Pink

The name Suffolk Pink is a term given to many cottages & farmhouses throughout the rural areas of Suffolk, England.  Nowadays this is obviously due to the colour of paint used, but a popular misconception still persists that in bygone times the colour was the result of pigs or ox blood being added to the whitewash or distemper. Whilst blood was indeed added, & undoubtedly enhanced the colour produced, this was used more as a binding agent. The primary source of the colour itself came from the adding of red ochre (derived from iron), or alternately from sloe berries.