Sean Smith - Ed Sheeran

While Ed would learn the basics of English, maths and phonics, much of the teaching at the school revolved around being creative. A small river ran through the grounds and the class would be taken down to look at the water and were encouraged to write a little story about it or perhaps draw a picture. Ed particularly liked to sit outside quietly and draw with his crayons.

The teachers liked Edward, as everyone called him at school, because he was such a gentle boy. While he was small for his age, he stood out with his bright ginger hair and big round glasses. ‘He wasn’t the type of boy who liked fuss, though,’ recalls Gillian. ‘He was very much a “Let’s get on with it” type. He wasn’t in need of stroking all the time.’

In the well-known photograph of young Ed in his burgundy-coloured school blazer and grey shorts he is wearing the Heathfield uniform. Throughout his childhood he was fortunate in that his parents were sociable, and popular with other parents and teachers. Gillian observes, ‘They were the type of people that you don’t forget because they were lovely – so genuine and very supportive and caring.’

When it came time for the Sheeran boys to move on because the family were relocating to Suffolk, Imogen presented Gillian Sunderland and form teacher Christine Taylor with a thank-you card – a pencil drawing of her two sons.

Growing up, Ed and Matthew were the subject of many works of art. One important creative decision that Ed’s parents made was to commission paintings, sculpture and lithographs of their children so that there would be a lasting record of their early lives. As a result, there is a superb archive of them, not just sentimental camcorder shots. A further consequence of their foresight is that Ed has always been entirely comfortable posing for camera or paintbrush, and thousands of pictures of him are in circulation. Imogen’s thoughtful gift ensured the boys would not be forgotten at Heathfield. One of the key reasons for their departure was the discovery that Matthew – not Ed – had considerable musical talent. He was showing potential as a treble soloist and there were greater opportunities for a boy soprano in Suffolk, near his grandparents in Aldeburgh and at St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds.

Imogen let slip why they were moving when she showed potential buyers around the house in Birchcliffe Road. Eventually it was bought by a local vet, Clare Wright, who was in awe of the art scattered throughout their home. She recalls, ‘There was wonderful, beautiful artwork everywhere.’ Every inch of wall seemed to have a painting hung on it, making the walls look bare when she moved in just before Christmas in 1995, when the family had left with their artworks. Ed was nearly five.

The Sheerans did, however, leave behind the piano, which also features in the ‘Photograph’ video, with Ed attempting to play it. Pianos are notoriously difficult to move and this was no Steinway, so it stayed put in the front room.

Eventually, Clare decided to give it away and, consequently, Ed Sheeran’s first piano moved ten miles down the Burnley road to the Elland Working Men’s Club. The family would need a new one when they moved into their next home in the Suffolk market town of Framlingham.

One item of furniture that was not on the removal firm’s inventory was a television. The Sheerans didn’t own one. Imogen and John were keen that their two boys should not become little couch potatoes. Theirs was an artistic household and they wanted the children to develop their creative nature in the important early years. It was a policy that would pay off handsomely.

Ed would later moan, tongue in cheek, that when they did eventually get a television, all they were allowed to watch was a box set of David Attenborough’s Life on Earth . They didn’t own a TV licence so it was videos or nothing. Nevertheless, Ed formed a lifelong appreciation of Attenborough and his standing as a true national treasure. ‘I was a massive fan,’ he admitted.

Imogen and John were very strict where TV was concerned. Edward and Matthew were allowed to watch one video each evening before they were directed to more meaningful play. Ed enjoyed Pingu , the long-running animated series about a family of penguins at the South Pole. When he was seven, he liked The Land Before Time , the classic animated feature film about the adventures of a family of dinosaurs.

After their viewing allowance, they were encouraged to draw or paint or, in Ed’s case, build with Lego. He loved it, and those happy hours spent as a child would benefit him later when he needed to apply himself patiently to constructing a song. Even as an adult, Lego was comforting.

His mother and father finally weakened and bought a TV licence when Ed was nine. He wondered what all the fuss was about until he discovered The Simpsons – but it was shown at 6 p.m. and clashed with choir practice on a Friday evening. Ed’s heart wasn’t in that musical activity. One regular churchgoer still smiles when she remembers the two Sheeran boys scampering out of the Sunday service at St Michael’s almost before the organist had played the last notes of the final hymn. Their mother’s continued support for the choir, on the other hand, was much appreciated locally: ‘You can tell when she’s singing,’ observes one member of the congregation.

Ed nagged his parents to let him off singing in the church choir. Eventually, they agreed on the understanding that he joined his school choir instead. He was now a pupil at Brandeston Hall, which was in a beautiful location that could rival that of his first school in Yorkshire. The imposing stately hall is at the heart of the village of Brandeston, about four miles south of Framlingham. From its position next to the River Deben, the views across the water meadows would inspire any painter.

The hall was destroyed by fire in 1847 but was rebuilt as an almost exact replica of the Tudor original. It became the prep school for Framlingham College in 1949, and still has the stopped-in-time quality that J. K. Rowling might have imagined for her Harry Potter stories. At Brandeston Hall, Ed came out of his shell. He made a best friend called James Mee and the two boys would take it in turns to go to each other’s houses after school.

James did not have the same television restrictions and it was at his house that Ed was introduced to The Simpsons . He also tasted meat for the first time. Imogen had been keen to start her sons on a healthy diet so the household was vegetarian for a few years. Ed was somewhat taken aback when he sat down for tea in James’s kitchen and was presented with a hearty plate of bangers and mash. He told his friend’s mum, ‘These are the best sausages I’ve ever eaten’, which was true, as he had never tried them before.

From then on, sausages would become a particular favourite. Imogen’s full English fry-ups were a sought-after breakfast when they had friends or visiting musicians to stay. The Sheerans soon became popular hosts in Framlingham, or ‘Fram’, as it’s known locally. Their sociability and ease in company contributed to their younger son’s cautiously growing confidence.

Everything about the market town of Framlingham was cosy – a picture postcard of old England, steeped in history. It was compact, easy to get around and surrounded by delightful countryside. An added bonus was that it was only fourteen miles to the coast where Imogen’s parents lived in Aldeburgh. The drive to Ipswich station to catch the train to London, a journey Ed would become very familiar with over the years, took forty minutes on a good day.

Just like Hebden Bridge, Framlingham has a strong sense of community, with traditional local pubs, independent shops and higgledy-piggledy streets full of the pink cottages so representative of the heart of Suffolk. On any day in the Market Square, the hub of the place, you are likely to see at least six people you know.