Issue 153 Newsletter Oct 2003
Contents:
• Editorial
• Annual Awards Event
• New Members
• Chairman's Letter
• Broomhill Pool
• Action Plan for Ipswich
• Recent Planning Matters
• Heritage Open Days
• Snippets (1)
• Letters to the Editor
• Parking Problems
• No Enlargement of Ipswich
• Best Foot Forward
• Holywells Park
• In Search of Bishop Salmon
• Woburn Abbey
• Building on Gasworks Site
• Tourist Information Point
• No Geishas Here
• St George's Street, Ipswich
• Snippets (2)
• Lavenham and Hadleigh
• Martlesham Police HQ
• Your Committee & Events
Editorial
I wrote in the July Newsletter, "I've no idea what the summer will be like." Now we know. It's been
the driest warmest summer since 1976 creating various records including the highest ever recorded
temperature in Ipswich on 10 August; 35. 1' C, or, if you prefer, the more impressive sounding 95.2'
F. When you receive this October Newsletter, it may be raining at last, in which case I hope you'll
find plenty of time at home to read it and find much of interest in it.
Best wishes for both park and pool
I should be delighted to see both Christchurch Park and Broornhill Pool restored to their former
glory, And I guess that most members of our Society would agree. Like-minded people everywhere
must have been disappointed to see our local newspaper implying that the Borough Council should
treat this as an "either ... or". It wrote: "Is it right to seek millions to restore Christchurch Park as
Broomhill continues to decay?" This might encourage readers to assume quite wrongly that the
millions from the Lottery could be transferred from one project to another. Surely we should
welcome the news that the bid for Heritage Lottery money for the park, N ears in preparation, is
apparently going well - and that the newly formed Broomhill Pool Trust (see page 4) will be making
similar efforts with the help of local authorities to raise funding?
Wonders of our industrial past
I have been able to borrow a 1932 booklet extolling the range of manufacturing firms in Ipswich
and their even bigger range of products. I have also been introduced to the very impressive Long
Shop Museum in Leiston based on, and at, the former engineering firm of Garretts. Putting these
two experiences together, I wonder whether Ipswich's incredibly rich industrial past can ever be
displayed adequately in the town. We have the admirable Ipswich Transport Museum and the
Ransomes display at the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket, but this is only part of the
story. The "visitor attraction" referred to on page 3 should have many other demands on its space.
Contributions to the next Newsletter are always welcome. The deadline is 20 November.
NEIL SALMON 16 Warrington Road, Ipswich, IPI 3QU.
Annual Awards Event
Wednesday, 12 November, 7.30 pm at Suffolk College
Your Executive Committee has decided to promote the Annual Awards Ceremony to try and
increase the number of ordinary members attending. This is the most important "public" event of
the Society. Once again it will be held at, and this time sponsored by, Suffolk College. The College
Principal, Professor Dave Muller, will introduce the evening. Dr Chris Wiltshire will talk about the
nominations as they are shown on screen, reporting what the judges have said and no doubt adding
stimulating comments of his own. Come and see how the various schemes nominated by members
have fared.
There is plenty of parking and you should be able to enjoy a sophisticated slide presentation in a
comfortable setting. After the main business of the evening there will be an opportunity to discuss
matters with friends and with the architects, owners and builders who have attended to receive their
awards. And there will be an excellent buffet!
Chairman's Letter
Let me start with an update on developments on the Waterfront. Since the spring I have chaired the
Waterfront Steering Committee, taking over from Bob Wales from Tolly Cobbold Brewery on its
take-over by Ridleys. The Society has been a member of the Group since it was formed some seven
years ago. The Group consists of the IBC, SCC, East of England Development Agency, Suffolk
College, Ipswich Port and a broad selection of private developers. Its purpose is to monitor (and
influence as far as this is possible) the development of the Waterfront. As you will know there are
many developments taking place in this area, most of them residential and the skyline is changing
rapidly. It is the concern of the Group that development should be mixed and balanced and we are
encouraging bars, cafes, restaurants and shops, although in the present economic climate all the
commercial pressures are for housing.
The redevelopment of Cranfields mills and the surrounding area (including land across College
Street) is particularly welcome. Planning permission is about to be sought and the scheme looks
interesting and imaginative, including as it does generous accommodation (four studios) for Dance
East which currently is the only regional dance group which does not have its own suitable
accommodation. Housing will also be provided in a carefully placed tower block.
Another major player on the Waterfront is Education. Major activities at Suffolk College and
renewed interest in a university, perhaps backed by UEA and Essex University, throw up exciting
ideas for an educational presence from the present College down to the Waterfront on land already
owned by the College. The removal of SCC from its sites around County hall to the former TXU
building generates another massive site adjacent to the present College.
Perhaps the centre of plans for the Waterfront (in more ways than one) is the Island site, owned by
the Port (ABP). Because it is within one ownership it can be developed as a whole, and ABP are
currently developing their proposals for this important site.
The Waterfront Group has long pressed for a "magnet" on the Waterfront - a public building that
would attract interest from locals and visitors alike. Money was gained from EEDA for a feasibility
study, the first phase of which is about to be presented. The concept of a Visitor Attraction has been
carefully developed, to include our Anglo-Saxon history, Ipswich's connections with America, and
other themes. Work will now proceed on phase 2 which will include a study of potential sites and
details of finances and funding. I do believe that we will see a building on the Waterfront telling the
story of Ipswich and linking it to Sutton Hoo and West Stow.
I was recently contacted by the son of an old Ipswich Society member who has donated a large
selection of papers, cuttings and photographs relating to the work of the Society and going back
many years. This has brought to a head a problem we have. For many years we have kept cuttings
and photographs about the Society but we have never been happy about how they might be used.
The only space we have is in Pykenharn's Gatehouse (which is cramped enough) but of even more
concern is how more use can be made of this material. I suppose we really need a "librarian" to
firstly catalogue what we have, and secondly advise on making it more widely available. For many
years Ruth and Bill Serjeant have acted as our "archivists" and much of our more important material
is in the Suffolk Record Office in Gatacre Road, but more help is needed. If you think you may be
able to help, perhaps you could contact me or any Committee member.
Elsewhere in this Newsletter you will read of John Norman's idea for the Society to have a presence
on the Cornhill during the summer months in order to complement the Town Guides and the Tourist
Information Centre. Your Committee has discussed the matter and approves it, but I want to stress
that it could only go ahead with the active support of ordinary members: it is not something which
the Committee can undertake. So it's up to you!
Finally I want to draw your attention to the Awards Ceremony to be held on 12 November at
Suffolk College. This is the second year we have held the event in the College, and the College has
agreed to sponsor it. (Those who came last year will remember the excellent food and drink.) This
is in many ways the most public of the Society's activities, and I do look for a good audience, so
please make the effort. Car parking is available and the event is held in the Lecture Theatre just off
the main foyer, so access could not be easier. I look forward to welcoming you.
JACK CHAPMAN
Broomhill Pool
The Friends of Broomhill Pool have done terrific work raising public consciousness over the last
year with a Saturday stall on the Cornhill, holding meetings and collecting over 16,000 names for
the petition which was presented by Sir Michael Lord MP to Councillor John Mowles. They have
been supported by numerous letters to the Evening Star and East Anglian Daily Times as well as
appearances on local radio and one on TV.
The good news is that the full council and the Executive Committee of Ipswich Borough Council
have agreed to set up a Steering Group to oversee the development of options for securing the
future use of Broomhill Pool. The Steering Group's members will be locality councillors of all hues,
representatives of the Trust and local residents, Council officers and Sir Michael Lord. The exact
composition has yet to be decided.
To ensure the continuing support of the community, to improve the cohesion of the organisation and
to start raising funds, the Friends of Broomhill Pool have changed into The Broomhill Pool Trust, a
simple trust that has applied for Charity Commission registration. Clearly the group will have an
enormous task to raise the finance but we feel it is possible. We will then have to grapple with the
problem of how to manage the pool for the next twenty years so that it loses less money. We have a
lot of ideas; it looks as though climate change will be on our side! Over the next few months the
Committee of the Trust will be helping the Steering Group as well as keeping up the publicity.
Suffolk County Council through its Locality Fund has supported us generously so that we can set
off on the next steps. We shall start fund raising soon and we are looking for active supporters who
can help us - any volunteers please get in touch. And we have a web site
www.savebroomhillpool.org and a logo. Visit and sign our petition on-line.
MIKE COOK, Chairman, The Broomhill Pool Trust
Action Plan for Ipswich
(The Action Plan area extends from Ipswich Village to Suffolk College, including the River
Corridor, Cardinal Park, Ipswich Station and the Waterfront.)
The firm of Urban Initiatives was appointed by the East of England Development Agency and
Ipswich Borough Council to advise on future developments in this area. The report will be
presented to Ipswich Borough Council members later this month but will probably include some
interesting suggestions on infrastructure improvements. Foremost amongst these are new bridges
over the river. One is between Great Whip Street and Foundry Lane to create a north-south
pedestrian link from the town centre to Over Stoke and Wherstead Road. Another is possible close
to the weir in West End Road to provide a link between Ipswich Village and Ranelagh Road.
But the most exciting one is between the railway station and Cardinal Park to provide a direct
walking route to the town centre. The approaches to town from the railway station have always
been at best unattractive. This new bridge will give visitors the opportunity to walk into town along
a purpose-built legible pedestrian route. The details of the exact route are still to be established but
in outline as you leave the station, cross Burrell Road east of the Station Hotel and cross the new
footbridge to pass in front of the multiplex cinema and along the recently repaved Cutler Street,
Silent Street to the Butter-market Centre and St Stephen's Lane.
The bridge across the river at St Peter's Wharf has been mooted for some time (it could become part
of National Cycle Route #1 Harwich - Hull, which in turn is part of the great North Sea Cycle
Route). Engineers have been working on various designs with the remit that the bridge should
provide an aesthetic solution rather than a simple engineering one. The various alternatives are due
to be presented to advisory bodies including the Conservation Advisory Panel and the Waterfront
Steering Group (The Ipswich Society is represented on both) in mid-November. I hope to include
the chosen design and a time-scale for construction in the next Newsletter.
JOHN NORMAN, Vice-Chairman
Recent Planning Matters
Planning applications great and small continue to pour into the Borough Council's planning,
department. The number of applications to build new flats or to convert existing buildings into flats
is especially notable. Society members who have lived in the same houses for many years may find
it hard to believe there are so many potential occupiers of all these flats. These development
proposals must indicate a continuing demographic change - namely, lots of youngish singles and
couples with no wish for a garden or a garage, often with no children but with the freedom to go out
for nearby entertainment, and meals or take-aways.
These are some of the recent applications which the Society has commented on - a very interesting
range, as you'll probably find as you look through them. In many cases IBC's response was not yet
known when this was compiled in early September. We hope to indicate in later Newsletters
whether these applications were successful or not.
12-14 Princes Street : conversion of part of first floor and second floor from office use to 6
flats, erection of third floor to provide 2 additional flats
"The Society supports the change of use of the upper floors of this office building to apartments and
the addition of an extra floor. However the new entrance from Princes Street is a completely
unacceptable design in a Conservation Area..." [IBC granted permission subject to agreement on
new entrance canopy on Princes Street, etc.]
2 St Peter's Street (The Sailors' Rest) : conversion of offices into 3 self- contained flats
"The Society having had a major part in the rescue of this fine Grade I Georgian building is well
aware that it is only a facade. However it is vital that the developers are seen to keep to their word
on the application that these alterations will not affect in any way at all the Listed portion of the
building." [Permission granted by IBC with necessary provisos.]
Town Hall forecourt, Cornhill : continued use of land for siting of market stalls
"We have always believed and supported the view that the town needs and can support a market.
We believe that Lloyds Avenue, the Cornhill, Giles'Circus and Princes Street should be used in the
short term. There are considerable concerns about the surrounding historic core of Ipswich, the
unavailability of the only open space in the centre and the intrusion into the exterior space of shops,
cafes and businesses. We therefore support a grant of a further limited time to the market but we
would like to see the Council continue to investigate other sites such as the Mnt Quarter." [IBC
granted further permission until 31 August 2004.]
Rear of 9-11 Waterloo Road, Bramford Lane: erection of 2 semi-detached houses
"The Society is delighted to see another piece of this site being proposed for residential
development which is a "windfall" for this area. We feel sure that the Officers will ensure that the
bricks chosen are sympathetic to its neighbours' red bricks." [IBC refused permission - unattractive
design; insufficient spacing requirements.]
Territorial Army Centre, Yarmouth Road : erection of 123 flats in 4 and 5 storey blocks
"...An earlier application was considered unsuitable for the site. The present proposals appear to be
a great improvement and would blend in with the recent riverside developments further up the river.
It is also understood that, despite the location, there are no great fears about liability to flooding.
However, it appears that access/egress will be to Yarmouth Road - a very busy road, being part of
the original inner by-pass and careful planning and road layout will be needed in these days of ever-
increasing traffic numbers.”
49-53 Fore Street : conversion of offices into dwelling house
"Whilst the Society would support change of use to a dwelling house, we are extremely unhappy
about the plans. Further, external inspection would suggest that some alterations have already been
made. The application should be refused and the appropriate action taken if it is indeed the case that
unauthorised changes have been made to a Grade 11 building." I IBC approved the application
subject to work being done strictly in accordance with all drawings and specifications.
Former Waterside Works, Bath Street : erection of 2-5 storey buildings on raised ground
comprising hotel, 223 houses and apartments, plus retail and offices, dry basin, paved area
and sculpture
"The latest proposals for the Griffin Wharf site have been inspected by several members of the
Executive Committee. We are extremely unhappy with the hotel which is of a most undistinguished
chain design ... The majority of the site is devoted to domestic habitation; it is possibly too formal
around the water feature and the actual units are of a uniform and forbidding appearance. We feel
that this needs reviewing before acceptance. This site is of course of historic manufacturing interest
[former Ransomes & Rapier] at the westerly approach to the waterside area and it is important that
the Committee insists on an extremely high standard of architecture. That the site whilst designated
for employment will be habitations is irresistible in today's economic climate.”
NCP car park and land between Woodbridge Road and St Helen's Street, Orchard Street :
erection of 25 town houses and 10 flats
"Although there are no specific recommendations for this area in the Draft Local Plan these
proposals represent a useful rationalisation of several dilapidated plots for small residential units...
but it would appear that in order to achieve a high density the terraces are three or three and a half
storeys which would be out of scale with the surrounding Victorian terraces. The full plans will
need to be viewed carefully when available but in principle the Society supports this
application." [IBC has granted permission for this outline application with conditions such as
archaeological work first, a play area, noise impact assessment before occupation, double glazing
throughout.
Ravenswood, Nacton Road : erection of (a further) 36 houses, 16 flats (private sector) and 27
affordable dwellings
"It is sad that one of the country's largest house builders has so little confidence in modern design
that they propose these sad pastiche houses. The award winning primary school to which many of
the future inhabitants of Ravenswood will be accustomed has not been used as a standard to follow.
In such a large development surely CABE and its local design champion should be able to enhance
these plans. We realise that saleability is vital but in a reasonably buoyant housing market the
Development Committee and the Council Officers ought to be able to persuade the developers that
Ipswich has a keen interest in good quality architecture in all its buildings. This application should
be re-thought before it is granted planning permission.”
11-15 Great Colman Street : partial demolition (front facades to be retained) to facilitate
development for 22 flats
"We are pleased to see these new proposals which retain the existing Edwardian facades to allow
the construction of apartments and car parking”
St Nicholas Church and Churchgate House, Cromwell Square : alterations and extension to
vacant church building to convert into use for Diocesan Resource Centre with meeting rooms,
bookshop and external works to churchyard
"Whilst the Society supports the change of use to a meeting place on an open plan basis whilst
preserving the sanctity of the church, we are disappointed with much of the detailing and the
imprecision as to use of the churchyard for car parking…"
Phones 4U, 25 Westgate Street : replacement shop front
"Since the proposal is for a completely new shop front in what is the platinum quarter mile of
Ipswich shopping, the Development Committee must insist on the highest standards of design. This
does not reach those levels; in particular the shape of the window tops and the dropping of the
square box holding the'4 Uinsignia below the lower horizontal line of the fascia are particularly
unfortunate. They should be asked to think again.”
Heritage Open Days
What a fantastic weekend we had for this ever-popular annual event. Twenty-one buildings
participated including the recently refurbished and re-ordered Museum Street Methodist Church.
I spent the whole weekend visiting most of the properties with Tony Hill, who had agreed to video
record the event. Our idea was to produce an hour long video highlighting interesting features of the
buildings which could then be shown to disabled persons in future years; several of the properties
are quite inaccessible to disabled people. We also hope that the video will be of interest to members
generally.
David Stainer of the Tourist Information Centre was well pleased with the number of visitors over
the weekend, and the two principal attractions of Isaac Lord's and The Old Sun Inn proved as
popular as ever. New at the latter was the opening up of the original frontage where Sheila of
Atfield and Daughter had re-laid cobbles and flints to create a most pleasing open space within the
courtyard. We met historian John Webb there (author of The Great Tooley) who reminded Doug
Atfield that the name "Sun Inn" used in early deeds might only have been the name of the house.
I had never joined one of the Ipswich School tours, which I found quite fascinating. For those who
have missed out, the Ipswich Town Library housed in the Headmaster's study and the four John
Piper windows in the library impress particularly.
Some 180 visitors called in at the Gatehouse, and Roger Wolfe, Jill Freestone and their team had a
continuous flow of visitors at St Peter's, some 450 over the two days, most of them showing great
interest in the details of the church and the historical exhibitions there. The Suffolk Record Office
had more visitors than before for their tours of the Strong Room but were disappointed at the lack of
takers for their bus service using a vintage bus to the Transport Museum.
It was interesting to see the Ipswich Institute's Admiral's House, now fully utilised and including an
attractive restaurant. Upstairs Bob Forster was taking a painting class and there was a general buzz
of activity - as indeed there was at most other places during this enjoyable weekend.
TOM GONDRIS
Snippets (1)
The third P & R for Ipswich
Work on the Martlesham site is visibly proceeding. During September, drivers leaving Ipswich or
Kesgrave may not have been able to glance left at the cleared woodland because they will have
been negotiating the avenue of cones on the A 1214 at its junction with the A 12. The terminal
building will be made of timber with a sedum grass roof. There will be spaces for 550 cars and an
area for cycles. Ipswich Buses will operate the service, as they do at both Copdock and Bury Road.
No home yet
Isabel Clover's spectacular Charter Hangings - probably admired by most of our members - have
been displayed in the cathedral at Bury and in St Mary le Tower. It was indeed welcome that they
were seen in other places, even though they need proper lighting to be fully appreciated. Display in
our "sister" town, Arras, will also be welcome if that can be arranged. It is greatly to be hoped that
Ipswich Arts Association will eventually find willing partners to create an ideal home for what will
continue to be the best single visual advertisement for the history of Ipswich.
New sightlines
Five empty shops in Upper Orwell Street were demolished during the summer. Although a security
hoarding has been put up, it's still possible to see St Pancras Church from this different angle - the
church which the architectural critic, Ian Naim, described as one of the town's finest buildings when
he lectured in Ipswich in 1960 at the time of the founding of our Society.
Historic Town
The Ipswich Society has become an affiliated member of the English Historic Towns Forum, the
aim of which is "prosperity and conservation in historic towns". The Society hopes to gain valuable
ideas from their Newsletter and from the conferences and seminars they hold. The EHTC has
helped to promote Historic Core Zones Projects in Bury St Edmunds, Halifax, Lincoln and
Shrewsbury.
The Society's book
If you haven't bought a copy of Ipswich from the First to the Third Millennium our Secretary, Beryl
Jary, has some of the second impression left. New members might like to know that it consists of
six papers delivered at the Society's Millennium Symposium. They cover the history of Ipswich
from Anglo-Saxon times and look ahead to the possible place of Ipswich in the Greater South East
and in Europe. All the speakers were leading experts in their fields. There are 112 pages with 33
illustrations and 11 charts and maps. The price to members is £6. (Is it too early to mention
Christmas presents?)
Convenience appreciated
A member who didn't wish to write a letter for publication is nevertheless keen to record in the
Newsletter her appreciation of the new public toilets at Major's Comer. She's certainly not alone in
recognising that such facilities with full-time attendants are a civilised feature of the town.
The Gatehouse open
Pykenham's Gatehouse is open to the public on the first Saturday of the month. It used to be until
October, but this year you can visit on I November and 6 December, 10.30 am till noon. Members
of the Richard III Society were interested visitors during the summer. Their Society exists to
counteract what they contend is Tudor historians' (and Shakespeare's) bias against Richard 111. His
short reign, 1483-85, occurred soon after William Pykenham, Archdeacon of Suffolk, built the
Gatehouse in about 1471 as the entrance to his substantial residence. Of course like Wolsey's Gate,
it is only a fragment of the whole but it remains a precious survivor. The Ipswich Society's
Executive Committee holds its regular meetings there, as does the Ipswich Building Preservation
Trust.
Letters to the Editor
TWO BLIGHTS IN OUR TOWN
from Dave Morgan
Fortified and encouraged by you, Mr Editor, in the submission of my first epistle to the July edition,
I venture to draw attention to two blights to our fair town! On both I have complained over recent
times to the Borough Council with little success. Perhaps the Society could "take up the cudgels"
with better results?
My first "bleat" is about the tatty, sub-standard safety railings, most of which remain in the original
dull grey dip (where they haven't rusted or otherwise discoloured) prominent on virtually every
roundabout and major junction across the town. Actually the ones at St Matthew's Street/ Civic
Drive roundabout were recently painted - just before the Queen last visited us! All is not gloom,
however, for I have noticed outside the Manor Club leading into Woodbridge Road that splendid
black, slightly ornate railings have been erected as part of the improvements to this busy junction.
Perhaps this is the start of a concerted programme for improvement across the town?
The second "bleat" is about the old trolley bus standards (tatty and unpainted) still carrying
overhead lighting and wires evident in a few places in town. For example, have a look in Upper
Orwell Street (The Wash) or that part of St Helen's Street near to McNamara's (Marshall's) empty
garage. Surely it is time they were replaced by modern attractive standards? There are surely
sufficient monies in the Borough Council's annual agency monies for highways from the County
Council? Oh, and while I am still on my hobby horse, when oh when will the promised
development on the car parks behind the Co-op and Woolworths commence? Everything seems to
have gone to sleep on this blight in the eastern town centre - not least at Civic Centre!
A HISTORY OF IPSWICH HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
from Rosemary Rooke
We have just received The Ipswich Society Newsletter and I notice that you have a paragraph on
John Blatchly's History of Ipswich School. I hope you don't mind but this has prompted me to send
you a complimentary copy of the informal history of Ipswich High School for Girls which I wrote
to celebrate our 125th Birthday this year in April.
I am a fairly new member of The Ipswich Society and have an interest in "things historical" but
have never done anything like this before! However, I was fascinated by the history of the School
which in many ways mirrors the changes in the role of women in society, and as time constrictions
dictated a small scale booklet, found that the main problem was not what to put in but what to leave
out.... Although we are no longer based in Ipswich, I feel that this might be of interest as the School
was a small but quite important part of the history of Ipswich. If anyone is interested in obtaining a
copy it is available for £3 from the School Office.
DRINKS AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
from Jennifer Stimpson
I was very surprised to read in the July Newsletter of the "situation" at the AGM - mentioned not
once but twice. Surely intellectual people such as yourselves are aware of the fact that
nonconformist churches do not allow alcohol on their premises? Would it not (if no one was sure)
have been courteous to have enquired beforehand instead of whinging afterwards? When in
Rome ... etc.
The Society has also received a letter from . He refers to Vera Underwood's mention in the July
Newsletter of the Lyceum Theatre which used to exist in Carr Street. He recalls seeing Love on the
Dole performed there in about 1936, when employment was high!
Parking Problems
Illegal Parking in Ipswich
It is becoming apparent that a, significant proportion of motorists do not read the plates restricting
parking, particularly where, for reasons of visual intrusion, yellow lines have not been used. A
typical case is St Peter's Street, recently repaved and an Ipswich Society Award winner but now
subject to almost saturation parking. There are clearly marked parking bays which allow customers
of the local businesses to park for a short time, but cars are frequently parked in any other
convenient space, blocking the road and restricting access for emergency vehicles. Rich picking
here for an astute warden.
The open question is how do we inform motorists of parking restrictions without yellow lines or
other visually intrusive street furniture? The answer is ably demonstrated along the Northern Quays
where a heavy chain keeps cars off the pavement; this is unfortunately not a suitable solution for St
Peter's Street.
Parking on the Pavement
Parking on the pavement is inconsiderate, particularly for pedestrians, and has other consequences
including damaging the surface, which makes the footway unsafe when the vehicle has gone.
However, parking on the pavement has become the norm both in the town centre for delivery
drivers and in the residential suburbs where cars are left on the pavement overnight. Many suburban
streets are now reduced to a single vehicle width (or less) by vehicles parked on both sides and are
subject to local congestion. In London, parking on footpaths is not permitted; however there is no
equivalent Act in force elsewhere.
The Department of Transport is sufficiently concerned to have recently commissioned consultants
to carry out research and recommend possible remedial actions. One possibility is that the
Department might identify ways of helping local authorities to use Traffic Regulation Orders
(TROs) to control pavement parking, but we wouldn't want to see signs and lines having a bigger
visual impact than the parked cars.
Sign o' the Times
Amendments to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions mean that it is no longer
necessary to display no waiting "at any time" signs next to double yellow lines. This should give the
Borough Council the opportunity to take down signs and the grey post on to which they are fixed,
thus removing street clutter and improve the street scene. The posts obstruct the footway, especially
for the visually impaired and for parents with buggies. Nottingham City Council have taken the lead
in this and employ a "clutter buster" to remove these and other redundant traffic signs - a move
which is already making an impact on the conservation areas in the middle of the city.
JOHN NORMAN
No Enlargement of Ipswich
Why the Enlargement of Ipswich Didn't Happen
Peter Odell updates his Millennium Symposium Paper "Ipswich's 20th Century Challenges
and Responses"
After 30 years of statutory secrecy the Government's files on the expansion of Ipswich under the
New Towns Act of 1965 have been opened for public inspection in the National Archives (formerly
known as the Public Record Office). And what a massive collection of letters, minutes of meetings,
reports, comments on proposals, records of dissent and decisions etc they are - emanating from the
Cabinet Off-ice, the Treasury and four or more Departments of State.
In my presentation at the Ipswich Society Symposium (published in the book Ipswich From the
First to the Third Millennium) I argued that the agricultural lobby was responsible for preventing
Ipswich's designation as a New Town; this was robustly challenged. The voluminous files I have
examined show that my arguments were valid in large part, but that another - and more powerful -
force finally inhibited the expansion proposed.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) files include a personal letter from the Chairman
of the Suffolk Agricultural Executive to Mr Fred Peart, the Minister of Agriculture.
"I feel so strongly about the proposals that I think I am justified in drawing your attention to the
matter and in pointing out the extremely serious view which farmers and landowners would take
should the proposals be accepted." (ref. MAF/264/2: 15.10.66)
A few weeks later a Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHLG) official summarised the
situation as follows:
"Ipswich's expansion is accepted by everyone except MAF .... It dislikes the proposals very much
and the NFU and the Country Landowners Association also strongly oppose it." (ref HLG/
115/653 : 19.12.66)
He went on to propose the near-future draft designation of Ipswich New Town, but this was not
effected as it became clear that "the Minister of Agriculture will fight against designation in the
Cabinet...as a test case for avoiding use of good agricultural land." (ref. HLG/1 14/14: 20.7.67)
There then followed another year of in-fighting between the government departments (MAF,
MHLG, Board of Trade, Ministry of Planning, etc) until a draft designation was finally made in
February 1968, prior to a local planning inquiry in June 1968. Much to the consternation of the
MHLG, this produced only a reluctant "go ahead" for an expansion over a much reduced area given
"the weight of the agricultural objection" and in spite of the East Anglian Economic Council's plea
for an approval of the original scheme as "planning policy for the region is based on Ipswich's
expansion." (ref. HLG 115/705: 5.5.69)
By this time four years had passed since the initial proposal and a frustrated N4HLG considered
abandoning the scheme because "agricultural interests are implacably opposed to it and are likely to
cause maximum trouble." (ref: HLG 148/14) The Minister, however, with the backing of the
Minister of Planning insisted that the proposal must go ahead as "a withdrawal at this I lth hour
from amoral commitment requires overwhelming justification." This, he went onto observe, "does
not exist as East Anglia badly needs an injection of this kind." (ref: ibid)
At this late stage, given the resolution of the economic and planning ministries and given that
Ipswich's expansion was now to be limited to a significantly reduced area of agricultural land, the
Minister of Agriculture finally withdrew his objection. Approval for the Ipswich New Town at long
last seemed to be a formality. The delay generated by agricultural interests now, however, proved to
be the critical variable: the project had now been pushed "out of time" by recent events of national
importance, viz. the devaluation of sterling in November 1967 and the consequential problems
facing the country's economy.
Thus, on the advice of the Treasury, the Cabinet decided that the expansion of Ipswich should be
abandoned "in light of the costs of the project to the national exchequer at a time of severe
difficulties in Government finances." (ref. EP 69) Only if the expansion of Swindon, a relatively
recent addition to the proposed New Towns, was curtailed, would the Treasury agree to finance
Ipswich; and this was impossible as the Swindon expansion was already well under way. Ipswich
did, indeed, lose out from the delays engendered by agricultural interests.
On 13 June 1969 the Minister of Housing and Local Government announced the demise of the
Ipswich New Town proposal ; with a final irony, given the advice of the Treasury that the country
could not afford it. His decision emerged, he said, from "the lack of justification for the designation
of so large an area of high quality agricultural land." (ref. ibid) ! A politically less embarrassing
reason, perhaps, than the admission of the parlous state of the Government's finances in a pre-
election period?
PETER R ODELL
Editor: Peter Odell has provided these other references from papers in the National Archives
Ipswich - capital town/city?
A MHLG official, commenting on the expansion of Ipswich, said that the intention was to make
Ipswich the regional capital of East Anglia. (ref. HLG/ 115/7051
Ipswich University?
Thirteen cities and towns attempted to persuade the University Grants Committee that they were
suitable locations for the proposed new universities which the Government had decided to establish.
Ipswich was not numbered amongst them, whilst Norwich "led the pack" in the competition based
on the establishment of a Norwich University Promotion Board in April 1960. Both the East Suffolk
County Council and Ipswich Borough Council offered Norwich an annual contribution to help
finance its efforts! (UGC Memorandum to Dept of Education, March 1960)
Nothing new on the railways
This is a precursor to the contemporary plan to develop expanded railway freight facilities to serve
the Ipswich and Felixstowe ports' traffic on a site between Bramford and Stowmarket: "In August
1967 British Rail wrote to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government re the expansion of
Ipswich to say that its freight traffic centre for the Ipswich area would be moved to a site north of
the disused Bramford station." (ref. HLG/1 16/354: 30.8.67)
Best Foot Forward
Intrepid explorers we were not, and the Ipswich hinterland is hardly uncharted territory, but even so,
the groups of members who assembled to walk the proposed Fonnereau Way on 22 June and
Churchman's Way on 2 July, under the guidance of Roger and Stella Wolfe, were probably
discovering places they had never reached before!
The purpose of these two proposed routes is to provide easily accessible "green corridors" out of
Ipswich into the surrounding countryside, short walks of not more than three miles which can be
started from or terminated at public transport connections. They are intended to form part of the
much wider "Greenways Project" which through the agency of a consortium of the Suffolk County
Council, district, parish and town councils, the Ipswich Borough Council and a range of wildlife
and environmental groups, is putting into place a wide variety of envirornmental preservation and
improvement features in and just beyond the Ipswich borough boundary. Forty-three such features
are listed in the recent annual report of the Project, including for example improvement to heathland
at Belstead Heath, managing a wild flower bank at West End Road and maintaining Grundisburgh's
Millennium Meadow. Most of the work is being done by dedicated volunteer groups.
The Fonnereau Way is intended to provide a route from Christchurch Park to Westerfield, using
public transport at the beginning or end of the trail. We enjoyed an eight minute train ride, Ipswich
to Westerfield. It was said that probably Westerfield had not seen so many passengers alighting at
one time for many a day! Along the walk back into Ipswich, features of the route were pointed out
by James Baker, the Greenways Project Officer, Peter Scotcher, an Ipswich Parks Ranger, and Paul
Jackson, a tree surgeon. The route [photo below] has a varied content - a village footpath in
Westerfield, an ancient hedge and ditch boundary, a railway crossing, hay meadows, and last but not
least all the interesting features in Christchurch Park itself.
The second outing took us along the proposed Churchman's Way, named for Sir Arthur Churchman
(later Lord Woodbridge) who presented Chantry Park and Mansion to Ipswich Borough in 1927.
The route takes in a large portion of the Park. This time the group walked out from Ipswich, starting
first through Gippeswyk Park. This park was given to Ipswich by that other notable benefactor of
our town, Felix Cobbold, giving rise to the off-the-cuff suggestion that an alternative name for this
green corridor should be Cobbled (sorry - Cobbold!) Way.
We progressed to Chantry Park after navigating a rather busy London Road, gaining access by what
was until very recently an "unofficial" entry into the park up a steep roadside bank. This has, under
the Greenways Project, now become an official one with the construction of a very sturdy set of
wooden steps. It was there and then ceremonially opened by the cutting of a tape by our President,
the Mayor of Ipswich, Councillor Penny Breakwell, who had undertaken to walk with the group.
Both she and her husband who accompanied her are keen walkers. As on the previous walk, we had
been joined by James Baker and Peter Scotcher, and as we passed through the park we were kept
informed about the management of all the different environmental areas and concerns within it - the
hay meadows, the wilderness areas, the woodland, the ponds, as well as the more formal gardens
and sport and recreational areas.
After strolling down Church Lane into Sproughton - to the church naturally - the Mayor then
proceeded to perform an unexpected but popular little ceremony, when she presented a medal and
scroll to Roger Wolfe, confirming him as one of Ipswich's "Unsung Heroes", a recognition on
behalf of Ipswich Borough Council of the dedicated work he has undertaken in planning and
walking out these proposed routes as part of the Greenways Project.
From Sproughton, after suitable refreshment, the energetic ones walked back to Ipswich along the
Gipping Path and two defaulters, who are named below, decided to test out the public transport.
Definitely worthwhile!
RUTH and BILL SERJEANT
Holywells Park
After a long-awaited rain the night before, ten dauntless members met Bob Markham at the park
entrance. His enthusiasm for all things wet, muddy and strata-related soon became apparent as he
showed us a plan of the park defined by sand, clay and loam layers.
We wound our way around the upper perimeter along a very clear line between clay and sand,
indicated by change in vegetation and with natural springs erupting at intervals along the line. At
the bottom of the park we stood on an area of ground which for over hundreds of years has been,
and still is, slipping down the hillside. The old "canal" with retaining earth banks is remarkably
close to the industrial estate and Myrtle Road. Various trial holes dug some time ago by Bob
showed the layers of sand and clay.
Climbing up to the Bishops Hill boundary, we saw evidence of this dry summer in the cracking of
the clay surface, with a few springs still visible. The hour-long walk, finishing at Nacton Road end
of the park, found the uppermost springs still flowing strongly into the well known series of ponds
(immortalised in Gainsborough's painting in Christchurch Mansion). This particular area was
somewhat neglected not only being overgrown with shrubs and trees but by invasion of the dreaded
Japanese knotweed. It was a most informative and enjoyable outing. Thank you, Bob.
TED JILLINGS
In Search of Bishop Salmon
We were fairly confident that under the able leadership of Charles Tracy our search would be
rewarded, and so it was.
The Bishop emerged as a powerful figure, close to Edward II, and a man of wealth and influence. In
Norwich, by the cathedral, we toured the remains of Bishop Salmon's Camary College, now
incorporated into the buildings of Norwich School, and admired its magnificent chapel (its ossuary
now disappointingly bereft of bones). We were privileged to enter the present bishop's garden and to
explore the surviving but crumbling gateway of his illustrious predecessor's palace. We walked
through the cathedral cloisters, the eastern range of which was Bishop Salmon's work, and zoom
lenses were soon in evidence snapping the intriguing roof-bosses.
We examined St Ethelbert's Gateway (to the cathedral) and then the Arminghall Arch, originally the
entrance to the nearby Carmelite Priory, which following a spell as the doorway to a country house
was again displaced and is now encapsulated within the new Magistrates' Court, the business of
which swirled around us as in leisurely fashion we admired the carving.
From the bustle of urban Norwich we journeyed to the lonely site of the ancient Abbey of St Benet
of Holme where in a wide Broadland landscape under brooding clouds we viewed one of East
Anglia's strangest sights - a fine abbey gateway, richly carved, but now partly and incongruously
incorporated into and supporting the brickwork of a decayed 18th century windmill.
This long-gone abbey has one further claim to fame; it was never formally dissolved by Henry VIII.
Thus since the reign of King Canute there has been an Abbot of St Benet and to this day that title is
held by the Bishop of Norwich.
KEN WILSON
Woburn Abbey
On a brilliantly sunny morning 45 members left Ipswich for Woburn. The journey was swift and
pleasantly uneventful, though as the morning grew hotter it was hard not to envy the cows standing
in the shallows of the flooded workings as we crossed into Bedfordshire. Once on the far side of the
MI our coach soon began to run alongside the brick walls and extensive woodlands of the Woburn
estate and, passing through the spick and span village of Woburn, we came to the gates of the
Abbey.
The approach to the house was intended to impress the visitor and impress it did, as we drove
through Humphrey Repton's park (watched from the shade of the trees by handsomely antlered
deer) up the long curving drive and caught our first sight of the house, its elegance slightly marred
at present by restoration work being carried out in places on the porous stonework.
We took a coffee break in the Flying Duchess Pavilion, named for the 11th Duchess of Bedford
whose many interests included aviation and who lost her life in 1937 when her Gypsy Moth
disappeared over East Anglia. We then split into three groups for a guided tour of the house.
The story of the Russell family's association with Woburn begins with John Russell who served at
the court of Henry VIII and was left the buildings and land in the King's will. It had been a
Cistercian monastery until the Dissolution and remained a fairly modest house until extensive
rebuilding in the 18th century, when the four wings surrounding a huge quadrangle transformed it
into one of the greatest houses in England. Unfortunately its timbers became riddled with decay and
in 1950 the then Duke took the drastic step of demolishing the indoor riding school, the real tennis
court and the whole of the east range of the main house. His successor, however, decided to take
advantage of advances in the treatment of timber and the house was saved from further destruction.
To finance the work, the house was opened to the paying public - one of the first stately homes to
do so.
The treasures of Woburn Abbey are so many that you will simply have to go and see them for
yourselves, but it was good to see - among the Chinese wallpaper, French and German china, and
paintings from the Low Countries and Italy (28 Canalettos!) - that the building and its interior
decoration were largely the work of British architects, designers and craftsmen and that the
wonderful ceilings, mantlepieces, plasterwork and carvings are now in splendid condition.
Perhaps it is the number and quality of the portraits which is most striking. Mainly of family
members - from a 17th century duchess in a gown designed by Inigo Jones to Lord John Russell
holding in his hand a copy of his great Reform Act - all the paintings are unusually lively, whether
they are Van Dycks, Gainsboroughs and Reynolds or by lesser known artists. As an admirer of the
beguiling portrait of Anne of Denmark, wife of James I which hangs in Christchurch Mansion, I
was interested to see a later portrait of her which looks, sadly, rather less vivid.
In the crypt can be seen an astonishing collection of porcelain and silver; the wealth of possessions
owned by the family is illustrated by the fact that an entire Sevres service (the gift of Louis XV) lay
forgotten until it came to light recently still in its original wrappings. The silvery, shelllined Grotto
contains many curiosities, not least the pale green and delicately painted coffin which the 15th
Duchess (still a young woman) has had made - as the caption says "for future use”.
After lunch we had a choice of Woburn's many attractions and I visited the Antiques Centre which
conformed to the general style in being extensive and expensive. Those who visited the Safari Park
sighted animals from all the continents - Canadian bears and wolves to elephants and tigers - but I
gather it was the hippos, enjoying a good wallow, who were most happy in the afternoon's heat. We
left with many of us hoping to return for a second viewing and all feeling grateful to Joyce Peck,
who organised the visit and shepherded us kindly throughout the day.
KATHLEEN DANIEL
Building on Gasworks Site
A few members of the Society's Executive Committee were pleased to accept a private invitation to
visit the former gasworks site in Duke Street being developed by Persimmon Homes. The invitation
arose from my use of a photo on the front cover of the July Newsletter of one of the newly
completed blocks of flats there.
The visit was particularly illuminating at this stage because of the valuable re-use of what must
have been the most contaminated site in Ipswich. The general public - and I suppose most Society
members - are keen to see as much residential building as possible on brownfield sites. And this site
couldn't have been any browner! Cyanide and cadmium were only two of the many dangers there. It
is therefore very gratifying to discover that Persimmon, one of the country's biggest house builders,
should see this as a viable commercial challenge. In fact 90% of their work is on brownfield sites.
From the rooftop of their current site office, it was possible to appreciate the enormous amount of
work that has gone into decontaminating the site. You can get some idea of this still from Patteson
Road alongside the site, although as that side will be the next part to be built on you need to go
soon. When we made our visit in August there were great heaps of cleaned soil being regularly
turned over, as one does a compost heap. When ready, this soil will be spread over the site. Only the
very worst of the polluted material was taken away, although that still necessitated over 4,000 large
lorry movements to remove it to a special dump in Bedfordshire. If the whole site had been cleared
of contaminated materials that would have taken 150,000 lorry journeys.
Much of the decontamination was by bio-remediation: the addition of wood bark enabled
microorganisms to break down some of the pollutants. Further cleaning of the site is still going on
with water under high pressure forced through the soil, the impurities being collected in big sunken
tanks. Much of the concrete on the site has been crushed and will be used to help restore levels.
The environmental benefits of the clean-up are already noticeable in the river. There is no longer a
seeping of black sludge from the site into the river and Wet Dock. Such environmental
improvements used to attract Government financial support - what used to be called "gap funding" .
But that is no longer the case, although there is some tax relief for a developer's expenditure (£3m
for this site). And the Local Authority can relieve the developer of such a big site of his obligation
to contribute to the cost of new or enlarged schools - which Ipswich Borough Council has done.
Because of possible flooding, all the more likely owing to global warming, this site like all the
others around the port will not have residential accommodation at ground level, where car parking
and shops will be located. The buildings themselves ought to be stable since we learned that the
pilings can be as deep as 25 metres where necessary! Another interesting aspect of the development
is the use of factory-made units for some walls and even complete bathrooms. There ought to be
more scope for prefabrication, but it appears there still isn't enough take-up of these possibilities
nationally for industry to develop really profitable production lines. However, the selective use of
prefabricated units must have helped Persimmon to speed up the erection of their first two blocks of
flats which were begun little more than six months ago and now are occupied.
It won't be possible, of course, to judge the appearance of the whole development until it is
complete with its restaurant, its grassy spaces and trees and its bigger blocks of flats on a vast
podium at the waterfront. That will be in about five years time. But thanks to the clear and
enthusiastic explanations of Managing Director, Andrew Jay, we were able to appreciate that this
most difficult site in the town is being put to good use for the future.
NEIL SALMON
Tourist Information Point
Your Executive Committee is working on an idea that will hopefully enhance the visibility and
standing of the Society. It has been suggested that on busy (tourist) days we could have members
(by rota) on the Cornhill offering advice and guidance to visitors, information about the Society to
locals and directions to all who ask. The idea is not to compete with the Tourist Information Centre
- rather to complement their excellent service. It is likely we would be directing perhaps half of the
enquirers to St Stephen's Church. David Stainer and his team there can provide most of the answers
to questions that may be beyond the knowledge of our members. Nor would our service be a history
lesson. Again we would direct visitors to the TIC from where Blue Badge Guides start their
excellent and informative guided walks.
Perhaps by way of experiment we might limit our presence to one day per week during the summer
of 2004 (July and August), we would listen to the questions (and typical answers) and establish
what device we need to mark our presence. In the first instance this could be limited to a sash which
could be easily passed from person to person. Eventually we might need something more
substantial - a sandwich board, banner or stand. Your suggestions would be useful.
Where a similar service operates elsewhere (for example in Cambridge) the volunteer distributes
maps of the town centre from a pad. Ours could be sponsored by the businesses that might benefit
from the trade which a mention on the map could bring. At the end of the day both visitors and
locals should know that Ipswich has a Civic Society, that we care about the town and that we are
willing to share our knowledge of it with others (and maybe we would recruit a few new members).
JOHN NORMAN, Vice-Chairman
No Geishas Here!
Research into a recent enquiry concerning the naming of Tokio Road, which runs between St John's
and Marlborough Roads, turned up what appears to be a possible intervention of moralistic
disapproval at the beginning of the last century.
In February and March 1905, a Mr Arthur Warne was evidently planning to develop land between
these two roads. He submitted layout plans to the relevant Borough Committee - Paving and
Lighting - for three new roads, and proposed for them the names of Weymouth, Tokio and Geisha,
which were agreed to by the Committee. But in May 1908, he asked its approval to a change of
name of "one of his proposed roads" from Geisha to Lansdowne Road. This now forms the
extension of Tokio Road across Marlborough Road.
One can't help but wonder why one of these names of obvious Japanese association should have
been abandoned like this. Surely it couldn't have been that the choice of the name Geisha upset the
sensitivities of some of Mr Warne's Ipswich fellow citizens? Or could it?
RUTH SERJEANT
St George's Street, Ipswich
[Editor: Beryl Savidge, an Ipswich Society member for many years, has sent me an extensive
account of what she knows about the St George's Street area. I have selected these passages which
show her particular interest in the site of the new house, Cawthome, an award winner in the
Society's 2002 awards. Miss Savidge explains at the beginning of her account that her great
grandparents' small farm in Wiltshire had been commandeered in 1915 so that the Porton Down Gas
Research Station could be created - later Porton Down Micro-Biological Research Station.]
I was born on 10 September 1920 in my parents' very large flat at 12a St Matthew's Street, which of
course at that time was single carriageway. The Home & Colonial Stores was underneath our flat,
and at No 10 there was a baby-clothes and knitting wool shop. I remember the Rainbow pub on the
comer of St George's Street where some twenty years later the licensee was murdered in an affray
one night.
Within days of my birth a Mrs Anna Stopher arrived to help my mother - she was to become our
much loved Nanna and remained with our family for the next forty years and a firm family friend
after that until her death at 88. Her husband was a three-colour printer (a highly skilled job in those
days) with the Ipswich Printing Works until their disastrous fire in Princes Street in the early 1950s
- or it may have been Haddock & Baines which caught fire but it gutted the Central Cinema also.
Our Nanna and Bob Stopher lived at 55 St George's Street - these small terrace-type houses were
considered a' cut above" the back-to-back houses in Little Queen Street, Bacon's Buildings and
Salem Street and finally Dyke Street …….
Because of their association with Porton Gas Research Station, my parents were very interested in
the small low building on the site of No 80, Cawthorne. I was always told that this, and an identical
building approached through the brick railway arch off Wherstead Road, were built in 1916 as the
two Gas Decontamination Units for Ipswich, which because of the ease with which German aircraft
and airships could come up following the Orwell and let loose gas canisters, were positioned fairly
close to the docks.
I remember this as a longish brick building with a central door and could see from High Street that
the rear door was not opposite the front door - this was undoubtedly because of the early 1800s
conduit carrying spring water across this site under St George's Street, down beside Civic Centre
(where it caused two firms to go bankrupt when trying to construct the spiral car park there) and
across to Alderman Cut and so into the River Gipping. A very elderly friend of mine told me that
this is why this Gas Decontamination Unit was built on this empty site, and similarly the situation
of the one in Wherstead Road which could be tapped into a stream coming down from higher
ground at Belstead. It was the cutting through this D-shaped conduit which caused so many
problems when dealing with the footings for Cawthome - filled up day by day and by next morning
they were like cement-soup and had to be pumped out.
When Ipswich Civic College - now Suffolk College - decided to use this building for their
Photographic Section, they put on an outside "skin" of breeze blocks, but they left the original low
buttress-type wall intact. This remained until the building was demolished.
Yes, in the Second World War we were, each and every one of us, issued with a gas mask, but I can
truly say I never heard of the slightest suggestion of any gas being used on civilians here in Ipswich
or anywhere else in the UK.
BERYL SAVIDGE, 23 August 2003
STOP PRESS:
Another new step in making the river an interesting feature of the town is the painting of a mural on
a wall near Princes Street bridge and near The Navigator sculpture. The mural by Natalie Toplass
depicts some of the industrial heritage of the river and the town. It has been funded by the Local
Heritage Initiative via a grant to Ipswich Wildlife Group.
Snippets (2)
New underfoot
Two more paving schemes have been completed. The more frequented one is Fore Street where the
new surface enhances this splendid old street which houses the largest number of Listed buildings
in the town (2 Grade I, 5 Grade II*, 77 Grade II). The other is Sir Alf Ramsay Way (formerly
Portman Walk). The football club was responsible for financing the paving as part of the planning
permission for the North Stand, but the work was stopped while the club was in administration.
Again, the paving enhances the building - the shiny new stand with its sturdy lower verticals -
although the overhang should not be a precedent for other planning permissions! Yes, these paving
schemes are an improvement, but without a supply of relatively cheap attractive natural stone in
Britain, our schemes tend to be less beautiful than the best ones in Italy and Spain.
Redundant small brown bins
New legislation from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has banned the
inclusion of kitchen waste in compost recycling schemes. This must be frustrating to officials in
Ipswich and elsewhere and probably makes the schemes less viable with only garden waste
accepted. Does anyone know what the reasons are for the Government's new restrictions? Kitchen
waste used to be (still is?) an important part of similar schemes in Germany where many of the
recycling methods originated and where our bins are made.
If you can't beat them, buy them
A new twist has been given to the peculiarities of railway privatisation. The Greater Anglia
franchise will be operated by only one company, eliminating the present competition (for which
there are pros and cons) between our two local operators, Anglia Railways and First Great Eastern.
After failing at the first bidding stage, Great Eastern's parent company, First Group, has now cleared
the way for a takeover of Anglia Railways'parent company. (National Express and Arriva Trains are
the other competitors still in the bidding process.) Boardroom manoeuvres may benefit shareholders
in the short term but will they be good for passengers in the longer term?
Hospital no more
Christchurch Park Hospital, later Suffolk Nuffield Hospital, is up for sale. Potential developers must
be prepared to excel themselves in sensitive conversions because Fonnereau Road is arguably the
most spectacular residential road in the town.
Lavenham and Hadleigh
What a blessing that the twin brothers Arthur (the Colonel) and Robert Gayer-Anderson decided to
buy the Great House in Lavenham for £600 in the 1920s to house their collection of Egyptian
artefacts. For with the house came another building next door. It was covered in ugly pebbledash,
with metal window frames and was divided into six occupied tenements.
But the twins saw through this rough exterior and realised that they had a medieval house, The
Little Hall. They sold the Great House, gave their Egyptian collection to the Fitzwilliam Museum
and used the money to restore their medieval treasure. It was built originally in the 1390s, and in the
16th century as the woollen industry prospered and Lavenham flourished The Little Hall was
extended. But when the woollen trade moved from cottage industry to the mills and factories in the
18th century Lavenham became a quiet backwater and The Little Hall fell into disrepair. But the
twins had flair and vision. During the 1920s and 1930s as the tenants left they restored the Hall to
its Tudor glory. They replaced the windows with Tudor ones, removed the pebbledash to show the
lovely timbers, reinstated the fireplaces and imported a Tudor door and a Georgian staircase. They
also added many original and personal touches. Drawings of the twins' mother, original bronzes and
a splendid oak dresser are all examples of their own handiwork.
There are few relics of the wool trade left now in The Little Hall, but one visiting Kiwi knelt
unexpectedly on the floor, sniffed the boards and announced, "I can smell lanolin." And he should
know. It was a delightful house, with a beautiful garden where ashes of the remarkable twins are
scattered. Be sure not to miss it next time you visit Lavenham.
In Hadleigh, three of the town's finest buildings face each other across the churchyard. The church
is of locally gathered flint, the Deanery Gateway is in Hadleigh brick and the Guildhall is a timber
frame of (probably) Suffolk oak. [Photo below: Guildhall from Deanery tower]
The red-washed Guildhall houses Hadleigh Town Council, whose modern offices have walls of
oaken studwork raised in the mid-15th century to accommodate Hadleigh Market House. It is a
complicated building, as is its history. Here it has three storeys, there two. One end was dismantled
in 1851 when iron piles were driven through to carry the New Town Hall. The other end was pulled
down after severe storm damage in 1884.
In between are rooms showing superb examples of the joiner's craft. In one room, shortly to house
an exhibition about the wool trade on which medieval Hadleigh's wealth depended, the roof timbers
remain unfinished as until recently they were covered by the original decking. These timbers were
not intended to be seen. But in another room of similar construction the beams and crown posts are
elegantly and richly carved to show off the prosperity of the town.
Downstairs the Council Chamber boasts a tiny minstrels' gallery, but the musicians must have been
agile midgets to climb the ladder. Downstairs again a partition wall has been removed to reveal a
medieval doorway and two shop fronts, from which a hitherto unexplained footpath leads at an
angle across the churchyard. In the cramped archive department we were shown the only surviving
copy of the will of Archdeacon William Pykenham, who built the Gatehouse in Northgate Street
Ipswich where our Society's committee meets. Pykenham's Hadleigh Gateway, however, is a much
grander affair. Its four storeys were raised in 1495 of the finest locally made red brick. Pykenham
intended it to give access to his planned Deanery Palace, but he died before that could be built.
Brick was in those days an innovation. The art of bfickmaking had been lost when the Romans left
Britain. It was reintroduced from Flanders around the 12th century but only on a small scale. It took
the Hampton Court of Wolsey and Henry VIII to bring it into fashion in England. The Gateway
Tower is constructed in English bond - alternate courses of "stretchers" (brick laid end to end) and
"headers" (side by side). Laid with lime mortar, this style gives the building immense strength while
allowing it flexibility to take up any slight movement (it has no foundations) without cracking.
Today the brickwork and the interior timbers are as sound as new and will doubtless survive the odd
bit of damp. No two handmade bricks are identical so the mortar must be laid to maintain the strict
verticals and the spiral pattern.
Inside, a circular staircase leads to the fascinating study of the Dean, not used by the present
incumbent, although a door leads through to the adjoining Deanery. In the opposite comer, a
bookcase moves aside to reveal the medieval en-suite - a garderobe with a chute to the garden
below. We gathered that this is not now used either. Another door leads into the turret housing the
oratory, a diminutive circular chapel with an exquisitely moulded brick vaulted ceiling.
The study has its place in ecclesiastical history. In 1553 the Protestant rector, Dr Rowland Taylor,
was disturbed while working in this room by the sound of the church bells, unsanctioned by him.
Hurrying across into the church he found a Catholic mass in progress, celebrating the accession of
Queen Mary 1. He ejected the offending priest but was himself arrested and imprisoned in the
Guildhall and two years later was burned at the stake. His monument stands beside the Hadleigh by-
pass. In less violent but no less divisive days, another rector, Hugh James-Rose, hosted a meeting in
1833 in this same study to set up the conference that launched the Anglo-Catholic Oxford
Movement, which should perhaps more correctly be called the Hadleigh Movement. We rounded
off the day in which we had been guided through three extraordinarily fascinating buildings with an
excellent cream tea in the gardens behind the Guildhall. Our thanks to our expert guides and to Lois
and Chris Terry for arranging such a successful outing.
PAM and JOHN IRELAND
Martlesham Police HQ
At seven o'clock on the evening of 17 June members of The Ipswich Society assembled at the
Suffolk Police Headquarters, Martlesham, where they were met by Mr Alan Boon and a colleague
from the communications department of Suffolk Police. They proceeded to outline the
communications network used by Suffolk Police, and members were able to observe the police
communication office in action.
The new Airwave system was about to be introduced. This new digital system will have many
advantages over the present system including the ability to cover the whole of the UK and better
communication with the general public, as each handset doubles as a mobile phone enabling
officers to contact members of the public directly while on duty. It also has an emergency button in
case an officer needs assistance.
Members then had a round table discussion with the two representatives of the Police Force about a
number of police-related topics which included: policing - now and then; the use of the police
helicopter; recruitment of officers; policemen on the beat; the continual threat of litigation, and
many more. A most interesting and informative visit.
MEL JOHNSON