Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement The exact spot in Suffolk where John Constable painted one of his most famous works has been identified for the first time in almost 200 years. The location of The Stour Valley and Dedham Village had been difficult to pinpoint due to gradual changes to the landscape since it was painted in 1815. But new research by the National Trust has helped identify the viewpoint. Martin Atkinson, of the Trust, said: "It's great to see where an old master once stood." Mr Atkinson, who is the National Trust property manager for East Suffolk, used features from the painting and historic maps to identify the exact location. Compare how the scene looked 200 years ago with today
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He said: "When I discovered that I had worked out the location where Constable painted this particular masterpiece, I couldn't believe it. All the pieces of the jigsaw finally fitted together." Painted between 1814 and 1815, The Stour Valley And Dedham Village depicts Langham church, Dedham church, Fen Bridge and the bend in the River Stour. Over time, hedge boundaries have moved and trees have become established, blocking out some of the buildings behind. By studying the buildings and river as well as the East Bergholt Enclosure Map of 1817, Mr Atkinson found boundaries in place in 1817 had changed drastically by 1830. He said: "Many had disappeared altogether and new hedges appeared at different angles. By plotting out where the field boundaries would once have been, we were able to pinpoint the exact location from which Constable painted this particular view." Mr Atkinson added: "Most of Constable's landscapes painted in the Dedham Vale are now known, but questions do remain over some. "This one in particular had confused us, but once we were able to identify the changes in the landscape, many of which had been made in Constable's lifetime, we were able to solve the 195-year mystery." The Stour Valley And Dedham Village is now housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, US.
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The place where Constable painted ''The Stour Valley and Dedham Church'' has been found after 195 years. 

The mystery of the location of a viewpoint used by English painter John Constable has been solved, after nearly 200 years.  ''The Stour Valley and Dedham Church'' was painted in Suffolk, England, between 1814 and 1815, but changes to the landscape meant that the spot he chose was not known, despite the best efforts of historians and art experts.

Now the puzzle has been answered. Martin Atkinson, who works for the National Trust as property manager for East Suffolk, used clues from the painting and looked at old maps to track down the viewpoint. Trees had grown, a hedgerow had been planted and boundaries had moved or disappeared, but Atkinson eventually worked out where Constable had stood.  He said, "When I discovered that I had worked out the location where Constable painted this particular masterpiece, I couldn't believe it. All the pieces of the jigsaw finally fitted together."

Atkinson used an 1817 map of East Bergholt, where Constable grew up, as a reference point, but found that the view would have changed not long after the painting was completed.  "The foreground didn't fit at all, it was quite unusual as we know Constable painted it in the open air so he would have been standing in the scene. The hedgerow in his work no longer exists and there's another hedgerow that runs across the scene today which wasn't there. When you stand on the road on which he would have stood, and use the oak tree as a reference point, you see the same view. It's great to see where an old master stood – and be inspired by the same view," he said.

Suffolk, where Constable painted many of his finest paintings, is often called "Constable country". Most, but not all, of the locations that Constable depicted are known.  The picture is now housed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts.