Framlingham · Suffolk10 bricks

Ed Sheeran

He kept the toy bricks he played with as a boy in Framlingham. Here his places are bricks too: build the stack, oldest at the bottom, and every brick opens somewhere you can go.

The build · 10 bricks · 10 places

Build it

Among the things he gave to a Suffolk charity auction were the toy bricks he played with as a child. Stack his places the same way, from Hebden Bridge in 1991 to Portman Road in 2021.

The bricks, colours and stack are our game. Each place, and what is said about it, comes from the sources one click away.

0 of 10 bricks down. The baseplate is empty. Pick a brick from the tray.

The tray

Drop a brick and its place comes up here: a photograph, what happened, and how to visit.

Hebden Bridge · Framlingham · 1991–2008

Two towns

The roofs of Hebden Bridge in its valley — Hebden Bridge from the hillside, February 2023. The town, not the house. Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 4.0

1991 · West Yorkshire

Birchcliffe Road

Sheeran was born in Halifax on 17 February 1991; his early childhood home was on Birchcliffe Road in nearby Hebden Bridge.

His father was a curator at Cartwright Hall in Bradford; his mother worked at Manchester City Art Gallery. Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley, eight miles west of Halifax, where Hebden Water meets the Calder.

Named, not mapped. A residential road of private homes: the house is not named or mapped here. The photograph is Hebden Bridge from the hillside, not the road.

Sources

Shops and houses around Market Hill in Framlingham — Market Hill, Framlingham, in March 2022. Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0

1995 · Suffolk

A £3 ticket

In December 1995, aged four, he moved with his family from Hebden Bridge to Framlingham.

He sang in a church choir at four and learned the guitar at eleven.

Among things he later gave to a Suffolk charity auction: toy bricks he played with as a child, and a £3 ticket to his first gig, at the British Legion in Framlingham.

He has given clothes to the St Elizabeth Hospice charity shop in the town, eight bags of them in February 2014.

The town square, with a market on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. The British Legion hall of his first gig is not located, so the square marks the town.

Sources

The Crown Hotel

The Crown Hotel, Framlingham

Market Hill, Framlingham IP13 9AP · See the site

A hotel on Market Hill, Framlingham, a short walk from the castle. Its site shows rates only when you search dates. Pictured: Market Hill.

See rooms

The buildings of Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham — Thomas Mills High School, Framlingham, in August 2021. Martin Dawes · CC BY-SA 2.0

2004 · Saxtead Road

Songs at school

He began writing songs while at Thomas Mills High School.

A 2004 school report called him a natural performer, and classmates voted him the one most likely to be famous. At thirteen, in 2004, he put out his first collection of songs himself, Spinning Man.

In May 2020 he gave the school £170,000, which went on laptops, cameras and a photography darkroom.

A working school: see it from Saxtead Road and don’t go in.

Sources

Church Street · Framlingham · 2017

The castle is real

Castle on the Hill, released on 6 January 2017, is about growing up in Framlingham; the castle is Framlingham Castle.

That January he was invited to perform at the castle. It debuted at number two in the UK the same week Shape of You entered at number one, the first time one artist took the top two places with new songs.

The curtain wall and towers of Framlingham Castle — Framlingham Castle in May 2021. Balon Greyjoy · CC BY-SA 4.0

Showing the curtain wall and its towers.

Roger Bigod built it with no central keep: a curtain wall with thirteen towers guards the centre.

Mary was proclaimed Queen of England here on 19 July 1553.

English Heritage, open daily 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm) when we checked. Walk the wall-top; from 24 September some sections are shut for repairs.

Sources

Ed Sheeran on stage with an acoustic guitar in 2011 — Ed Sheeran at Academy 1, Manchester, during the Dot to Dot Festival, May 2011. Man Alive! · CC BY 2.0

London · 2008–2011

Friends’ couches

He moved to London in 2008 and began playing small venues. In his own words in 2011, he had moved to London, stayed on friends’ couches and played gigs.

Pictured: in Manchester in May 2011, a month after the Barfly night.

Sources

Balham

The Bedford

The Bedford is known as a music pub where Ed Sheeran played early gigs, as did U2, The Clash and Paolo Nutini. One of his self-released EPs was a live set recorded here, Live at the Bedford.

The Grade II listed building went up in the 1870s as The Bedford Hotel.

A working pub and music room by Balham station. Go in for a drink or a show.

Sources

The Barfly music pub on Chalk Farm Road in 2010 — The Barfly on Chalk Farm Road, Camden, in June 2010. Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0

Camden · April 2011

Four shows in one night

Three months later he put on a free show here. More than 1,000 fans came, so he played four shows, the last outside on the street after the venue closed.

In January 2011 his No.5 Collaborations Project EP reached number 2 on iTunes with no label behind it. Later that month he signed with Asylum Records.

The room holds 200. It closed in June 2016 and reopened as the Camden Assembly; in December 2025 new owners said the Barfly name would return.

Still a 200-capacity music venue up Chalk Farm Road from Camden Lock. It reopened as the Camden Assembly in 2016; its new owners plan to bring the Barfly name back.

Sources

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St John’s Wood · Divide

RAK Studios

The engineer Joe Rubel describes going back to RAK to record drums for ÷ (Divide).

Mickie Most founded RAK in 1976 in a Victorian building that had been a school and a church hall.

A working studio with no public tours: look from Charlbert Street.

Sources

A full Wembley Stadium during Ed Sheeran’s 2015 show — Wembley Stadium during Ed Sheeran’s show, 12 July 2015. Mark Kent · CC BY-SA 2.0

Ed Sheeran alone on the Wembley Stadium stage in July 2015 — Ed Sheeran on stage at Wembley Stadium on the × tour, July 2015. Mark Kent · CC BY-SA 2.0

Wembley · 10–12 July 2015

Three nights alone

3sold-out nights
90,000seats in the stadium
1man on the stage

On 10, 11 and 12 July 2015 he played three sold-out nights here on the × tour.

The critic Alexis Petridis summed up his early act as one man, a guitar and a loop pedal.

The film of it came out in November 2015 as Jumpers for Goalposts, a nod to Wembley as the home of English football.

The stadium opened in 2007 with 90,000 seats under a 134-metre arch.

Walk up Olympic Way from Wembley Park station. Inside on match or concert days.

Sources

Ipswich · 2019 and 2021

Home

23–26 August 2019

Chantry Park

The ÷ Tour, 260 shows from March 2017, ended here on 26 August 2019 with four homecoming nights.

About 160,000 people came over the four days from 23 August; work to restore the park began on 2 September.

At 124 acres it is the largest park in Ipswich.

Ipswich’s largest park, free and open to walk. The stage stood on the open grass.

Sources

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The stands of Portman Road stadium in Ipswich — Portman Road, Ipswich, in September 2020. Simon Mortimer · CC BY-SA 2.0

2021–22 season

On the shirt

On 6 May 2021 he was named sponsor of the men’s and women’s first-team shirts for 2021–22. The logo carried his album symbols and the word tour.

He supports Ipswich Town, his boyhood club. He said he had enjoyed past visits to Portman Road and would be back when fans were allowed in.

Ipswich Town have played here since 1884; the ground holds 30,056.

Ipswich Town’s ground, a short walk from Ipswich station. In with a ticket for a match.

Sources

Where it is now

The house stands: 9 places to go.

Framlingham’s square, castle and school are within a mile of each other; Ipswich is about 23 km south-west. In London, Balham, Camden, St John’s Wood and Wembley are all on the Tube. Hebden Bridge is a trip of its own.

Where it is now

9 places you can visit, from Market Hill to Wembley. The early home on Birchcliffe Road is a private house, so the road is named, not mapped.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The town square, with a market on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. The British Legion hall of his first gig is not located, so the square marks the town.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. English Heritage, open daily 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm) when we checked. Walk the wall-top; from 24 September some sections are shut for repairs.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working school: see it from Saxtead Road and don’t go in.

Market Hill, Framlingham, in March 2022. Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0
Market Hill, Framlingham, Suffolk
Framlingham
In December 1995, aged four, he moved with his family from Hebden Bridge to Framlingham.
The town square, with a market on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. The British Legion hall of his first gig is not located, so the square marks the town.
Sources
Framlingham Castle in May 2021. Balon Greyjoy · CC BY-SA 4.0
Church Street, Framlingham, IP13 9BP
Framlingham Castle
Castle on the Hill, released on 6 January 2017, is about growing up in Framlingham; the castle is Framlingham Castle.
English Heritage, open daily 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm) when we checked. Walk the wall-top; from 24 September some sections are shut for repairs.
Sources
Thomas Mills High School, Framlingham, in August 2021. Martin Dawes · CC BY-SA 2.0
Saxtead Road, Framlingham
Thomas Mills High School
He began writing songs while at Thomas Mills High School.
A working school: see it from Saxtead Road and don’t go in.
Sources

Stay

A room on Market Hill.

A hotel in Framlingham’s square, a walk from the castle.

The Crown Hotel

The Crown Hotel, Framlingham

Market Hill, Framlingham IP13 9AP · See the site

A hotel on Market Hill, Framlingham, a short walk from the castle. Its site shows rates only when you search dates. Pictured: Market Hill.

See rooms

Go there

Two kinds of day out.

Music walks in London, and days out in Suffolk.

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Suffolk

Live marketplace results for days out in Suffolk. Framlingham is not always on the route: check each itinerary.

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What’s on

Half-term at the castle.

English Heritage’s Halloween week at Framlingham Castle.

Checking current event dates…

Take it home

The first and third records.

+ (2011) and ÷ (2017) on vinyl.

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+

Ed Sheeran · 12-inch LP, Atlantic, 2011

The debut, out on 12 September 2011, a few months after the Barfly night.

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÷

Ed Sheeran · 2 × 12-inch LP, Atlantic, 2017

Divide, with Castle on the Hill and drums from RAK.

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Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The full record

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

Search all places and Moments Current state Sort

10 of 10 places · 14 of 14 Moments

Birchcliffe Road, Hebden Bridge
Birchcliffe Road, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire (the house is private and not identified)
- Halifax and Hebden Bridge
  Born in Halifax; his early childhood home is on Birchcliffe Road in Hebden Bridge.
Framlingham
Market Hill, Framlingham, Suffolk
- To Framlingham
  Aged four, he moves with his family to Framlingham in Suffolk.
- A £3 ticket
  His first gig is at the British Legion in Framlingham; he later gives the ticket to a charity auction.
Framlingham Castle
Church Street, Framlingham, IP13 9BP
- Castle on the Hill
  A song about growing up in Framlingham, with the castle in its title, comes out and he is invited to play there.
Thomas Mills High School
Saxtead Road, Framlingham
- Songs at school
  He starts writing songs at Thomas Mills and puts out Spinning Man himself at thirteen.
- A darkroom for the school
  He gives his old school £170,000.
The Bedford
77 Bedford Hill, Balham, London SW12 9HD
- Friends’ couches
  Moved to London, he stays on friends’ couches and plays small venues.
- Live at the Bedford
  Early gigs at The Bedford in Balham, and a live EP recorded there.
The Barfly
49 Chalk Farm Road, Camden, London (the Camden Assembly since 2016)
- Four shows in one night
  A free show draws more than 1,000 people; he plays four, the last on the street.
Wembley Stadium
Wembley, London HA9
- Three nights alone
  Three sold-out nights at Wembley Stadium on the × tour.
- Jumpers for Goalposts
  The Wembley film comes out, named for the home of English football.
RAK Studios
42–48 Charlbert Street, St John’s Wood, London
- Drums at RAK
  Drums for ÷ (Divide) are recorded at RAK.
Chantry Park
Chantry Park, London Road, Ipswich
- Homecoming
  The 260-show ÷ Tour ends with four nights in Chantry Park.
Portman Road
Portman Road, Ipswich IP1 2DA
- On the shirt
  He becomes Ipswich Town’s shirt sponsor for 2021–22.

Ed Sheeran

Build it

The tray

Two towns