Issue 182 Newsletter Jan 2011
Contents:
• Editorial
• New Members
• Winter Lectures
• News & Comment
• Planning News
• The Society's Awards
• The Anniversary Dinner
• Transport for 21st Century
• Waterfront Rights of Way
• Seeing is Believing?
• Hallowe'en, etc
• Some Shorts
• Heritage Open Days 2010
• St Peter's Summer Rota
• In Search of the 'Big Society'
• Modernism at Isaacs
• Building Houses
• Teenager's View of Ipswich
• Signs of the Times
• Air Raid Shelter Museum
• Orwell Park Observatory
• Insulating Historic Buildings
• William Butterfield
• Letters to the Editor
• Committee & Contacts
• Lectures and Outings
Editorial
2010 was a very enjoyab1e year for many of our members as we celebrated our half century. It was
very gratifying that the range of events and venues helped to attract such a good proportion of our
1200 members. Much of the programme was masterminded and run by Tony and Su Marsden who
deserve the Society's warmest thanks.
But it is clear that there will be big new challenges ahead as well as more of the old. As our local
authorities become more squeezed financially there will be consequences for Ipswich. Suffolk
County Council's determination to 'divest' itself of many of its responsibilities will throw up
questions and problems. Radical changes to the planning system brought in by the Government will
also have a noticeable effect. Moreover, the Government's emphasis on a 'Big Society' seems aimed
in part at the multiplicity of charities, of which we are one. Mike Brain's article in this issue begins
to address the implications of the' Big Society' inspired by the conference he attended in Chester.
But I can't help thinking that if the 'Big Society' is to rely on volunteers, they will pick and choose
what they want to do, and some things won't be chosen: whereas local authorities have to cater for
both the rough and the smooth.
A few words about Giles Circus. You will see elsewhere in this issue that the Society gave an Award
of Distinction to this scheme. I know that there are some members who were surprised or disagreed
with this decision. Margaret Hancock's letter on page 22 cogently expresses her disagreement. I
wasn't one of the judges and don't claim to know all their reasons. But can't we agree that Ipswich
with its tight medieval street pattern is very short of public spaces apart from the Cornhill, so Giles
Circus makes a second one? And whether or not you like Giles's Grandma statue, it is surely
unique? So, making a prominent feature of it contributes to Ipswich's uniqueness and makes us less
of a 'clone town', an accusation often levelled at England's towns and cities. In short, Giles Circus
has become a place instead of a mere road junction. However, people are entitled to their opinions
and the Newsletter will continue to reflect our differences as well as the issues on which most of us
agree.
Neil Salmon
Winter Lectures
The remaining two lectures will take place as usual in Museum Street Methodist Church on
Wednesday evenings at 7.30 pm. Once again we would remind members that they are welcome to
bring friends along; there is no charge for anyone, not even for the tea or coffee!
9 February The River Gipping Trust
Lewis Tyler, Secretary of the Trust, will speak about the work which has been done and which is
planned to restore and care for this historic river and valley. The Trust is greatly involved with
improving the river from Stowmarket to West End Bridge, Ipswich, Although that doesn't include
the final stretch of the river through the rest of Ipswich, members of our Society are likely to be
interested in everything to do with our historic waterway.
9 March Suffolk Toll-houses
Patrick Taylor, Conservation Architect, will speak about his work on the turnpike roads of Suffolk,
giving a potted history of the old road repair system, paid for by the taking of tolls, showing how
toll-houses are perhaps the last buildings to display the phenomenon of local distinctiveness and
then describing the many buildings in Suffolk that were toll-houses or are sometimes mistakenly
taken for such.
News & Comment
Bury Road Park & Ride to be buried?
The County Council's Scrutiny Committee has confirmed that the Bury Road P&R is to close. The
various extra car parks in the town, mostly on development sites, are said to provide a disincentive
to use P&R (as described in the October Newsletter). But these are mostly temporary and, once lost,
P&R will also have been lost. Moreover, visitors to the town from elsewhere who are also familiar
with P&R in other towns appreciate the quality of the Ipswich services, and these are some of the
people the town needs to attract in larger numbers. Coming off the A 14, they won't want to find
their way to temporary car parks along unfamiliar streets!
So, we hope Ipswich Buses can find ways to make some modified use of the Bury Road site, which
belongs to mc. There does seem to be a wish by mc to make good the loss which the County is so
blasé about. It's ironical, to use a polite word, that the £25m to be invested in improving transport in
Ipswich is meant to encourage people to use public transport rather more (see page 9). Does the
right hand know what the left hand is doing? Wouldn't a unitary local authority have prevented this
anomaly?
Tesco and CABE
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has acclaimed the
development by Tesco of their Tesco Extra plus 129 flats and other facilities in Commercial Road.
"The design team present a compelling case for a Tesco-led mixed use scheme on this under-used
site on the southern edge of the town centre." The Ipswich Society would draw attention to that
word "edge". Surely this giant Tesco is not in the town centre at all but it is close enough to harm
retailing in the town centre. Yes, the site on the river near the station does need re-development and
if the architecture looks good, as it should do, that's fine. But questions remain about the traffic it
will generate and what it will do to the real town centre.
Planning News
Fore Street and Duke Street junction changes
The Society at local members' requests attended various meetings on these contentious changes.
Suffolk County Councils' Highways Department was granted a large tranche of money from the
Department of Transport if it could design a scheme which reduced traffic flow by 10%. This it did
by preventing traffic from Back Hamlet entering the junction and installing traffic lights. Public
consultation was poor even if barely legal and there was much public dissatisfaction particularly by
local traders who were badly hit and fail to see any improvement for the £350,000 spend. However
these schemes take a little time to settle and that junction may well be a little better. Others will not
fare so well (St Helens Street and Cavendish Street).
Marriott's Site, Handford Road
MacCarthy and Stone's proposals for the site have now been registered after early public
consultation. They propose complete site clearance including the former public house which has not
been licensed for at least 40 years. They wish to build a care of the elderly facility.
I have received different views on the desirability of the scheme and the Society's letter to the
Council will reflect that.
Arclion House, Hadleigh Road
This will be demolished and replaced by 15 affordable housing units designed by Barefoot and
Gilles. This was supported by the Society.
The Waterfront
The primary developers of the four largest sites are now in administration. No building is taking
place now or in the foreseeable future on Cranfield's Mill, Regatta Quay, Shed 8 (currently a car
park, between Neptune Quay and the newest university buildings in Duke Street) and St Peter's Port
(between Star Lane and College Street next to St Peter's Church).
Barton Wood, Stone Lodge Lane, demolition of two houses and replace with 29 dwellings.
Permission was refused. The application did not comply with over 30 different Local Planning
Policies, had no transport assessment on Stone Lodge Lane and there were some 65 different local
objectors. Most importantly it would have meant the loss of two fine early 20th century houses
which are not Listed but are deemed to be of Local Heritage Value.
Christchurch Park
The Parks Department have permission to fell 19 sick trees (some horse chestnuts, weakened by
leaf mosaic and a fungus, are succumbing to chancre) 10 trees because they interfere with views of
the cenotaph and the wetlands and 3 trees because they are in the wrong place. The Friends of
Christchurch Park are in agreement.
Oil storage tanks, Europa Way.
This application mentioned in the October Newsletter has been withdrawn. We have heard, but
there is no confirmation as yet, that the Volpak tank farm on Landseer Road will close. If this is true
then the Tolly Cobbold Cliff Brewery can be redeveloped as residential.
Tesco Extra
It is said work will start in January as they have come to a large financial settlement on the Novotel
roundabout. There have been no public consultations on this by mid-December.
Great Whip Street, to build nearly 400 residential units. The further application for the
development of the Graham's site for higher buildings and more units has been withdrawn.
2 Constitution Hill
This largely invisible and unsatisfactory house built on a garden grab from 77 Henley Road in the
1960s will be almost completely demolished and replaced with a 2½ storey house. The Society
welcomes the proposal but has reservations about the height, and the multiplicity of external
materials. Further consideration needed before permission should be granted.
Ipswich Borough Council Core Strategy for Planning
IBC's Core Strategy has been developed, consulted upon publicly and agreed. It was placed before a
Planning Inspector for its Examination in Public before becoming the town's Official and Legal
Strategic Plan. However, the Secretary of State, Mr Eric Pickles, by scrapping the Regional Spatial
Strategies, altered many of the premises upon which it was based. And so the Planning Inspector
decided to postpone the examination from midsummer to an indeterminate time until the Borough
had had time to reconsider how the Core Strategy would be affected by such edicts. They are, most
importantly, the removal of RSS and its accompanying proposed new house build numbers. These
had particularly irritated many rural councils as they could not see the need for the imposition of
such large numbers of affordable houses in small towns and villages. Hertfordshire would have
been inundated and Suffolk Coastal remains still very far from a solution. (Hence their tacit support
for a large development at Adastral Park.) The Borough officers considered whether to alter it to
accommodate these new edicts or to rewrite the entire Core Strategy which would not only have
been very expensive and time consuming but also have left the town relying on the 1997 plan for its
legal planning base which would have hardly stood up to inquiry 15 years later.
IBC's Executive Committee agreed in early October to recommend a change to Policy CS12
(Affordable Housing) reducing from 40% to 35% of affordable housing in developments of more
than 15 units and a further strengthening of the infrastructure requirement components in Policy
CS10 (Ipswich Northern Fringe) as the appropriate way forward. There will need to be a full
comprehensive strategic plan of the entire Northern Fringe by an independent consultant town
planner. Public consultation is now open through the usual channels and the Society will be
replying before the closing date of 17 January 2011.
Mike Cook
The Society's Awards
The Council Chamber, Town Hall, 10 November 2010
What more suitable place than the centre of town for an Awards Evening in our 50th anniversary
year? The Council Chamber has long since ceased to be the home for Borough Council meetings
but it does still have an air of civic importance.
We were pleased to welcome back Bob Allen as our commentator, partly because he was the first
chairman of the Society in post when the Awards scheme began and because he does this
presentation so well. Although not one of the judging panel himself, his comments and summaries
are made on behalf of the five anonymous judges. What follows here is a selection of his comments
on the nominated schemes.
Isaacs, Wherry Quay, restoration of machine room - this loving restoration brings alive part of the
story and history of this wonderful collection of old buildings; Isaacs has had various other awards.
Salthouse Harbour Hotel, Neptune Quay, new extension - a bold and uncompromising link with the
original building and an interesting addition to the dock scene; not so keen on its rear appearance!
Athena Hall, Duke St, new student block - bold massing and effective articulation, some striking
colour, useful proximity to other DCS buildings. Some judges liked it more than others did.
New garage and stained glass studio, 60 Orford St - beautifully detailed craftsmanship, but
pediment suggests a temple!
New Baptist Church, Colchester Rd/Sidegate Lane West - worth thinking about, but great cross and
windows oddly placed; not sure about' industrial' roof and prominent drain pipes.
New housing scheme (36 housing units) Clumpfield, Cambridge Drive - interesting massing and
nicely pitched roofs; pleasantly curved drive.
New houses, 53-55 Westerfield Road - debatable use of pastiche Edwardian style but they replace a
1950s house and do relate to neighbouring houses; sash windows nicely in scale.
Paving and landscaping Tower Ramparts to Northgate St - paving well done with expensive
materials used well; new signage not too tall.
Ceramic tiling, E of England Co-op store, Queensway - unusual replacement for windows but sad to
see a shop has to look like this.
New housing, Grosvenor Close, The Albany, Tuddenham Road, 7 houses in curved terrace -
fabulous site with trees and good quality materials but odd-looking ‘pavilions'.
Jerwood Dance House, The Mill, Foundry Lane - great asset for the town; inviting interior (includes
a public cafe); but powdered colour on cladding not very stable?
Suffolk One College, Scrivener Dr/London Rd - a big bold statement with many good features
although some detailing doesn't work; difficult to get a good view of the outside.
Enhancement scheme, Giles Circus - an opportunity taken to create a new urban space and make a
better setting for the handsome buildings around it; re-siting Grandma to provide seating; efforts
made to soften the presence of vehicles.
Children's Centre, conversion and new building, Copleston School- a simple re-modelling; effective
frontage but rear side forbidding!
University Campus Suffolk, Block L, new entrance and frontage - quite successful with good
detailing of railings.
After these perceptive but deliberately disguised comments, Bob Allen was able to announce the
various awards, which were as follows:
Award of Distinction for the enhancement of Giles Circus
Client, Design and Contractor - Ipswich Borough Council
Commendation for Salthouse Harbour Hotel extension
Client Gough Hotels, Design by Barefoot & Gilles, Contractor ISG Jackson Ltd
Commendation for Clumpfield new housing scheme, Cambridge Drive
Client Orwell Housing Association, Design by Barefoot & Gilles, Contractor ISG Jackson Ltd
(photo below)
Commendation for 53-55 Westerfield Rd, two new private houses
Client and Contractor Gary Sallows, Design by Last & Tricker Partnership (photo below)
The awards were presented by the Mayor, Councillor Jane Chambers, after which there was plenty
of time for drinks, nibbles and conversation.
The Anniversary Dinner
Intrepid, determined and brave. Perhaps Society members don't easily recognise themselves as
fitting that description! But the words are (almost) apt considering that of the 133 members who had
booked in for the dinner on 3 December only six cancelled - with not even the number of absentees
you'd expect from head colds, let alone icy roads. The heaviest snowfall of our early winter had
occurred on the previous day, but thoughts of a good meal, good fellowship and perhaps the
unusualness of the event brought people out of the warmth of their homes. Gresham's proved an
ideal venue for such a large gathering. It was originally built by the Guardian Royal Exchange
insurance group (their HQ in Civic Drive is now AXA's) as their sports complex on Tuddenham
Road, outside the built up area but just inside the Borough boundary - which was important for The
Ipswich Society. The main hall was transformed to create a welcoming ambience on a cold night.
here was adequate time for chatting and mixing before our very enjoyable three course meal, after
which our chairman, Jack Chapman, reminded us of our celebratory reasons for being there. I then
introduced our guest of honour and member of the Society, Sir Trevor Nunn, outlining his career
achievements - artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and then the National Theatre,
and perhaps even more widely known as the director of musicals such as Cats and Les Miserables,
and still a very active freelance director in the UK and USA. More specifically for the occasion, I
recalled my first memories of Trevor and the stage - as a hilarious Dogberry in Much Ado About
Nothing at Northgate Grammar School for Boys and his wonderful production of Hamlet at the Art
Gallery in High Street next to the Museum. While still a student and with striking initiative he got
together a cast of students from various schools in Ipswich to mount an impressive full version of
this demanding play. With hindsight we can appreciate that was the start of an illustrious career.
Trevor Nunn's speech was aimed ideally at his Ipswich audience. He re-visited the Ipswich of the
1950s as seen through the eyes of a schoolboy - the Gondolier Coffee Bar, the skiffle group, the
working docks, the Town's promotion from the Third Division South to the Second Division and,
most significantly for him, treading the boards at the old Arts Theatre as a 13-year-old with Paul
Eddington and Wendy Craig. The audience loved it.
The Society is very grateful to Trevor for his continuing interest and his time. And equally grateful
to his wife, the actress Imogen Stubbs, who had to come on a later train from London which,
because of problems on the line, took three hours to get here, so she arrived just after we'd finished
eating. That's being a good trouper - and Imogen's not even an Ipswichian!
Very properly, the evening's 'formalities' were rounded off with a presentation to Su Marsden for
organising such an enjoyable occasion, the culmination of our Golden Year.
Neil Salmon
Transport for 21st Century
To provide background to the Government's £21m-£25 investment in upgrading transport in
Ipswich, here are some actual quotations from the official document. The proposals have already
had a bad press with many motorists lining up to be sceptical or hostile. The Society will consider
the proposals carefully because they contain much of interest.
"Scheme concept.
Ipswich is an important and vibrant county town, performing a wide range of roles for its residents,
hinterland, and business and cultural communities. It has a long and rich history. In recent decades,
it has adapted to the dominance of the car mode. The concept of the 'Ipswich-Transport Fit for the
21st Century' Major Scheme is to implement a coherent and concerted package of measures
covering all aspects of travel in the wider Ipswich area. The objective is to achieve a significant
shift to more sustainable travel- from car to bus and active modes, while responding to the targets
for supporting residential and employment growth. Integral to the Scheme itself are information
components to inform and encourage this shift in travel habits…… “
"Town centre travel
The challenge is to offer safe, attractive and convenient walk and cycle links to minimise cross
town centre traffic ..... “
"Suburban travel
Ipswich has a dense and constrained radial suburban development pattern, both suitable for serving
by bus and unsuitable for the car ..... and there is a challenge to redesign and expand the bus service
capacity to serve the town centre, the new residential developments and the edge of town
concentrations of employment and commerce.”
"Hinterland travel
Ipswich is a county town providing vital employment ... to the surrounding area. The railway
services, the inter-urban bus services and the Park and Ride sites all perform important but limited
roles ... The challenge is to expand these roles in an attractive and cost effective way."
[Please note that word 'expand' - Editor]
Waterfront Rights of Way
Barney Grimshaw, Inspector on behalf of the Secretary of State, held a Public Enquiry at IPCity
Centre in early December 2010 to hear evidence to confirm, or otherwise, the creating of Restricted
Byways and Public Footpaths close to the quays.
Although there is wide agreement that vehicles should be restricted, for example along the northern
quays, this position is not universally held. Businesses point out that it is essential that deliveries
can be made and that this involves vehicles driving along the Waterfront, and this is obviously right
and proper. But what constitutes a delivery - guests arriving at the Salthouse Harbour Hotel for an
overnight stay, residents returning to their flats from a shopping expedition, customers of the
restaurants dropping off members of their party (particularly those with mobility issues)?
Suffolk County Council Rights of Way Committee propose to create three Restricted Byways ˜one
along the northern and eastern quays, one along New Cut East (on the Island site) and one along
Stoke Quays (New Cut West) and two public footpaths - one on the site of the Promenade (which
ran down the Island to the 19th century Umbrella pavilion) and one along Cliff Quay towards Hog
Highland. Various parties objected to the proposals, including ABP and Anglo Norden who were
both represented at the Enquiry.
You may have assumed that some or all of these quays were already Public Rights of Way. However
the majority of the time we spent at the Public Enquiry was to hear debate on their actual status. The
inspector received papers and heard evidence from 1805, amongst the original proposals to improve
the then open river, and the 1837 Act which created the enclosed Wet Dock. There was a string of
various other Acts in the late 19th century, including the creation of the new lock at the southern
end of the dock replacing the old lock which had discharged vessels into the New Cut.
An Act of 1913 gave the Dock Commissioners permission to restrict pubic access to the Island
providing they erected a gate close to Foundry Lane within ten years. The Great War interrupted the
planned changes and a further Act of 1918 made additional provision and extended the timescale.
There is no photographic evidence, maps or plans to indicate that the gate was ever erected and thus
it was argued public access was never totally prevented. There were clearly some restrictions to
public access as correspondents to the local press between the wars complained but users of the
Griffin Ferry and the steamers sailing down river were still able to cross the Island. Considerable
evidence was presented to indicate that the public had reasonably uninterrupted access to the Island
until the late 1990s when requirements for Health & Safety meant that the public were excluded on
an increasing number of occasions until, by the early 21st century, the public were totally excluded.
Suffolk County Council used the maxim "Once a public highway - always a public highway". The
inspector, having heard a range of diverse evidence now needs to decide if a public Right of Way
ever existed, and if it did was it ever extinguished or does the fact that the public have used it
reasonably regularly for 150 years create a Right of Way by default?
Evidence was given by a member and by officers of Suffolk County Council and this was
supplemented by contributions from Ipswich Maritime Trust and Ipswich Society members. The
collective local evidence amounted to the various ways in which people enjoyed unrestricted access
to both the northern quays and the Island site, and in particular were able to cross the swing bridge
of the lock. The Inspector has gone away to make what is almost the Judgment of Solomon. The
key words I hope he takes with him are not what has happened or not happened over the past 150
years but what the people of Ipswich want to happen over the next 150 - the ability to perambulate
around the Waterfront on a Sunday afternoon, to cross the lock and thus the Island, enjoy a coffee or
a pint and watch whatever river traffic is passing at the time.
John Norman, Vice-Chairman
Seeing is Believing?
Whilst the principle of using thermal imaging to identify houses (or parts thereof) that are leaking
increasingly precious energy out into the world at large is to be praised, its use to sell plastic
windows is perhaps questionable. Looking at the images of my own house, and indeed those of my
neighbours, the shock of glowing thermal radiation seemingly pouring out is almost enough to
make one send for the salesmen.
However, interleaved amongst these horrors, there are images of the even numbered houses on the
other side of the street. These present an almost uniformly dark picture of good buildings letting
little out. On realising that the street runs east-west, that my house faces south and that these' cool'
buildings face north, the true picture emerges. It would appear that the company responsible took
the thermal images on a bright sunny day, which is far from ideal. In such conditions north facing
buildings will appear thermally cool in their perpetual shade, whilst those like mine are in fact
showing the effects of thermal warming. The brickwork is bathing in the sunshine and solar gain
through the windows is creating warm rooms in behind, all leading to the glowing report given in
the pictures.
After such a day of sunsh
ine, simply closing the thick curtains to retain heat is probably far more effective and certainly
cheaper than installing double glazing. In fact if the truth is known, approximately 20% of an
average house's energy is lost through single glazing and upgrading it to double provides a potential
1 0% saving in your energy bills. But considering the cost of double glazing this makes for a very
long payback period.
A cheaper and much more efficient energy saving measure, applicable to many but not all houses, is
a gable warmer, which can save 20% off your bills. All being well, I will present one such as a
pioneering example in the next issue.
Patrick Taylor, Conservation Architect
Hallowe'en, etc.
Retail spending on Hallowe'en costumes and associated items now exceeds Valentine's. A reflection
of the nation's psyche or just a retail driven success? Hallowe'en related retail spending has risen
from £12 million ten years ago to some £300 million last year, 2010. The surge of interest can be
traced back to Wal-Mart's take-over of Asda in 2000, the American retailer being well versed in
using the pagan festival to sell cheap tat at a healthy premium.
I was going to suggest that the people who pretend to be undead for the day clearly don't understand
the significance of All Hallows Eve, but then that's probably true of Dawali, Ramadan or Christmas.
Look out for turkeys and parade costumes at Thanksgiving during the next decade.
John Norman
Some Shorts
Crane's 44 acre derelict site in Nacton Road is perhaps the most depressing sight in Ipswich. The
proposed Crane Park trading estate would re-develop it and provide valuable jobs.
'Bacon Curve' - thank goodness the Government has endorsed the new twin-track 'Ipswich Chord'
allowing freight trains from Felixstowe to head direct to Peterborough and the north, so avoiding
the mainline to London. But it will be 4 years before it opens.
Ipswich Buses - we welcome IBC's decision n6t to sell a stake in the company to Go Ahead. It's
true that very few local authorities own bus companies, but ours is too good to lose.
Retail Head - the Business Improvement District (BID) has worked with mc to create a new post -
someone to attract inward investment to fill vacant shops and widen the range of retail offer. All the
more necessary in the near future as spending money gets tighter.
Northern Fringe - the Government's rejection of Mersea Homes' proposal for 1000+ new houses
between Westerfield Road and Henley Road was expected because a masterplan is needed for the
whole area. With increased local decision making it's hard to anticipate what will happen eventually
but it's surely inescapable that Ipswich needs more houses.
Squirrell honoured - the Society's Blue Plaque commemorating artist Leonard Squirrell at 82
Spring Road was dedicated on 6 October. The artist's daughter, Annette Kenny, spoke eloquently
about her pleasure in seeing this completed.
Hospital's name - Heath Road hospital is now officially 'Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust - a teaching
hospital affiliated to Cambridge, UEA and UCS'. This recognises the hospital's important role in
helping to teach medical students from the three universities.
The press in town - media group Archant producing the Evening Star and the EADT in Lower
Brook Street is to re-develop its site but itself stay on site. The decision in 1966 to stay in the town
was good for the town then, and so is this decision now.
Markets on the Waterfront have taken place on certain Sundays, which helps to attract visitors
and remind them that the Waterfront is indeed an important part of central Ipswich.
Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre is pleased that the Littlewoods's premises, empty for 4 years,
have been taken over by the clothing store, Madhouse. Whether or not it's the store for you, it's a
boost for the town centre and especially for this well situated shopping centre.
St Michael's Church (large Victorian church in Upper Orwell Street, redundant since 1997) and
church hall have been bought by JIMAS, a UK-based Muslim charity. Both buildings will become a
community centre. Re-use, costing the charity perhaps £lm, is welcome.
Irish banks were major financiers of both The Mill (Cranfield's) and Regatta Quay (Paul's) as well
as the sugar beet factory site and SnOasis. No wonder it's in the UK's interest to see Irish banks
stabilised!
The new footbridge at the railway station was installed in mid-November with the lifts to follow. It
will open in the spring. Not before time - as mentioned in the last Newsletter!
Heritage Open Days 2010
Heritage Open Days in 2010 were very successful, and from the feedback I have received there was
an increase in visitors. Yet again, the fine weather that weekend certainly helped. There were 26
buildings participating representing seven centuries in the history of Ipswich.
The Ipswich Transport Museum participated again, supplying a vintage bus to link between some of
the properties. Over 300 people used the bus, and there were visitors from America, Hampshire,
Norfolk, Essex and Yorkshire, who were all delighted and impressed with the variety of buildings to
visit in Ipswich during the weekend.
Isaac Lord's opened their Machine Room for the first time and had over 600 visitors. This was far
more than they were expecting and they had to put on extra tours. St Stephen's Church, the Tourist
Information Centre, were fully booked for their tours and they had 1200 visitors to the Centre. St
Peter's Church, which is now converted into a heritage centre, rehearsal and concert venue, attracted
579 visitors. The Willis building had 1008 visitors and the Custom House 1000.
The Heritage Open Days for 2011 will be as usual the second weekend in September. So those who
missed the 2010 event will have the chance to visit all 26 buildings, a few of which I have
mentioned.
Dianne Hosking
St Peter's Summer Rota
A big 'thank you' to The Ipswich Society for being on our volunteer rota throughout the summer
season. We had a total of 1980 visitors from May to September averaging 18 people per opening
day, 300 more than last year. The Charter Hangings continue to be a big draw and we have received
many favourable comments in the visitors' book.
St Peter's is used four nights every week and every third Sunday in the month for rehearsal
purposes. This provides us with much valuable core income. I am planning more free Sunday
afternoon concerts and will try to encourage more school parties to use the church and the Charter
Hangings as a resource for educational projects.
I hope to re-open from Mondays to Fridays commencing on Tuesday, 3 May. I should be very
grateful if you could support us again in 2011.
Bernard Westren, Manager of St Peter’s
In Search of 'The Big Society’
The Historic Towns Forum conference on 'Achieving Added Value Through Community
Engagement', held in Chester, 23 September 2010
My article in last October's Newsletter closed with a question: might 'The Big Society' bring
improved outcomes for local democracy where the Local Government Review and the Local
Development Framework appear to have failed? No sooner had that article gone to press than the
HTF announced this conference, which I attended on the Society's behalf to see what lessons there
might be for Ipswich and Suffolk. Trailed as a response to the new coalition Government's agenda
which advocates devolution of power down to neighbourhoods, and promoting a 'Big Society' based
around social responsibility and community action, the conference posed the questions; 'Is there any
evidence that this will work, and are there examples of good practice?’
Chester's response to community engagement has been a resounding 'Yes'. Many significant
successes include the re-development of Chester's Old Port, which integrates heritage buildings
amidst new residential developments in a derelict industrial area, echoing our own Waterfront, and
the Water Tower Gardens in which even the local schoolchildren are now stakeholders. But how
were these successful outcomes achieved? Plainly not through the Big Society since, as most
speakers acknowledged, that remains even to be defined, let alone established. They undoubtedly
demonstrate a great potential for enthusiastic and constructive partnerships between government,
the private sector and communities in designing developments to properly satisfy everyone's
aspirations. But the point was repeatedly emphasised that all three groups have to want to co-
operate, and to achieve proper mutual engagement is not at all straightforward.
For Civic Voice, Tony Burton asserted that 'everyone has the right to live somewhere they can be
proud of', but too often solutions are bulldozed through. Only afterwards are communities asked if
they are happy with the results, and even then the answers are too often not properly listened to.
Engagement is an attitude of mind rather than a methodology, and it is worth the effort. He closed
with a quotation from American anthropologist, Margaret Mead: 'Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’
From English Heritage, Deborah Lamb alluded to the inevitable tensions between local and national
or institutional interests, for instance between community 'knowledge' and architectural 'expertise'.
Architect Tony Barton urged that from the outset every opportunity to overcome such potential for
conflict between interested parties should be taken by engaging them in every available form of
constructive dialogue, while Cllr Mike Jones asserted the important but complementary view that
such dialogue will succeed ONLY if politicians respect the views of communities (even if they
disagree) AND if communities abandon NIMBYism and seek to understand the bigger picture.
These strong messages for the three essential groups encapsulate the significant lessons learnt, but it
was also clear that much of the success had been enabled by the recent creation of the Cheshire
West and Chester unitary authority, whose councillors told me how many significant barriers to
progress under the former two-tier system had simply disappeared. The new unitary system
positively calls for community engagement both for its own sake and to promote better value for
money. This places the local authority at the focal point for creating the necessary partnerships. But
elected representatives and officers alike simply hadn't known how to engage with communities:
they had had to learn new communication skills and attitudes, and likewise, communities had had to
be encouraged to reciprocate. It had been very hard work, but very worthwhile. Could this be what
the Big Society looks like? It is evidently very different from two-tier Ipswich and Suffolk. But if
unitary local government is such a catalyst for success, why has the Secretary of State suspended
the creation of new ones? If it is good for Cheshire West and Chester, a historic town in a largely
rural setting, then why not for Ipswich in Suffolk? Or will the County Council's 'New Strategic
Direction' prove to be a comparably successful alternative for Suffolk?
Mike Brain
Modernism at Isaacs
A lovely bright photo of the De la Warr Pavilion in Bexhill greeted us. This archetypal 193 Os
Modernist building was an ideal introduction to a talk at Isaacs on 13 October by Ken Powell,
former Director of the Twentieth Century Society. And we did indeed go on to look at and be told
about similar monuments of the Modernist Movement - amongst others, Lawn Road flats in
Camden, the Hoover building (its preserved façade now shelters a big Tesco!), Bankside power
station (now Tate Modem), the Daily Express building in Fleet Street and Battersea power station
(Listed by Michael Heseltine but partly demolished and still awaiting conversion for new uses). But
Ken Powell didn't forget that he was in Ipswich and drew our attention to the value of preserving
Broomhill Pool, the Listed 1930s lido, and the unique Modernist private house, 108 Westerfield
Road, built by Birkin Haward for himself.
However the lecture made a case for respecting buildings of different styles and periods if they are
good of their kind and a credit to their context. He instanced the Willis Building with its stimulating
juxtaposition with the Unitarian Meeting House - two Grade I Listed buildings which create a
doubly interesting context. And even more immediately for us, the presence in our town of both
Willis and Isaacs (we were inside the 16th century Sale Room at Isaacs) makes for an enriched
experience. Much more contentious, as he explained, is the continuing existence of a famous
building like the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras, often hated in the middle of the last century
but now seen as 'stupendous' in its way and currently converted into flats, with the rest of it due to
re-open as a hotel after 50-60 years of disuse.
This provided Mr Powell with a cue to speak about changes of taste and the increasing effect of
familiarity, so that it's not always wise to demolish buildings which seem unpopular for a time.
Pevsner thought the Hoover Building was atrocious. Summerson only over time came to appreciate
the St Pancras hotel. Bankside was very unpopular. The National Theatre has had few admirers, but
is it right to re-model it?
Less celebrated buildings which have lost much of their appeal are being appreciated just before
they are lost. Ken Powell cited some of the big inter-war pubs which are becoming rarer and, if not
demolished already, are being ripped apart internally. As he said, these are usually below the level
of High Art but are often examples of well designed vernacular styles. So he is pleased that English
Heritage is Listing some of these.
If there was a portable moral in Mr Powell's talk it was that one shouldn't be for or against the old or
the new. Each case should be considered on its merits, its context and over a period of time. The
Twentieth Century Society itself is helping to save what is good from that century but not always
valued .... yet!
Neil Salmon
Building Houses
Conference held at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge
In a room full of Cambridge academics, with beards and bald heads, rucksacks full of scholarly
papers, conversation full of complaint, we listened intently to a series of interesting speakers, each
with a serious point to put before the audience.
Before its demise the Regional Assembly had set targets for housing in each local authority area. In
Ipswich we were charged with constructing 20,000 housing units by 2021. In June the new
Government decided that housing targets are best set locally, and the previous high figures have
been abandoned (we're all NIMBY s at heart).
However by not building new houses we make life difficult for the working population. Broadly
speaking, as the economy contracts, older people choose to stay put rather than move house. On
retirement (or soon after) a fair number of people choose to move to the country, the seaside or to
downsize. But whilst the value of their property is less than it was in the summer of2007, there is a
reluctance to sell; thus the property ladder sticks. This simple premise is compounded by an
increase in the older population (the baby boomer generation are now retiring), more and more
people are separating and living in two separate housing units, and people are living longer. Take
for example the number of people per house:
2001-2.38 2009-2.31 2031-estimated 2.17
Well over 90% of the older population live in mainstream housing, occupying less than the
available number of bedrooms. The demographic shift means that households are getting smaller,
the number of housing units with single occupancy is rising sharply and the available housing stock
is thus reduced.
In 2010 we will build fewer new houses than at any time since the war, and yet we probably need
more. We certainly need new houses to accommodate the working population, to attract new
employees into towns and to house the twenty-something-year-olds who are building a successful
career.
It is interesting to add that the proposed rise in the cost of university courses will exacerbate the
problem. Graduates are likely to accumulate debts of £50,000 after a three year course. Bang goes
the deposit they would have otherwise used to buy a house. When ex -students earn £21,000 per
year they begin to re-pay the student loan (at 9%), an amount that would otherwise fund £45,000 of
borrowing.
Just before the last time the economy collapsed in the late 1980s, the typical age for buying a first
house had gone down from 24 to 21 years old. It is currently for unassisted first-time buyers 38!
The deposit required for a new first-time buyer's house has increased to almost the equivalent of a
first-time buyer's annual salary. No wonder they cannot afford to buy a house until they are in their
30s.
The sting is in the fact that these first-time buyers, irrespective of the age they reach when they sign
their mortgage, need to rent until they do! And this will have serious implications for the UK
property market, moving towards a continental system of residences.
John Norman, Vice-Chairman
[Editor: perhaps the numerous new flats in town will all be occupied - if the rents are right!]
Teenager's View of Ipswich
Reading the last Ipswich Society Newsletter I thought I'd contribute an article from a youth
perspective about the county town of Suffolk we know so well. For my generation, Ipswich shops
are pretty decent. It's no Oxford Street but it still has a lot to offer. People from Colchester and other
towns surrounding us often come to Ipswich as we have a wide range of shops which other towns
may not have and therefore they are attracted to Ipswich.
We are still attracting new shops such as Paperchase and White Stuff which are new faces to
Ipswich and have been warmly welcomed by 10Gals. JD Sports has moved into the old Zavvi
building, leaving yet another vacancy down the Regent end of town. Ipswich is forever changing,
which is a wonderful thing as we don't want to get stuck in our ways!
There is a problem though. Apart from Poundland, there is not a lot to encourage people down the
Regent end of town in comparison to the town centre. As we have lost Woolworths and the Co-op
we are losing interest in that end of town. The way forward purely from my point of view is to
develop the old Odeon into something fantastic in order to draw people from the town centre. This
would encourage new shops, cafes and such. What to do with the old Odeon is however another
article! There were rumours of another cinema, a shopping mall or a bowling rink. I personally
thought the bowling rink would be a brilliant plan as something to do on those cold boring moments
in town.
More things to do in Ipswich seem crucial as at the moment shopping and the cinema are the main
options. Having roller skating or ice skating would be a definite popular attraction. But it's purely a
question of space and funds. Over the Christmas period we do turn the car park opposite the football
ground into an ice rink but this is only for a month or so. A more permanent thing would be best to
entertain locals and tourists.
A couple of months ago, a friend and I went on a tourist route of Ipswich. We visited the Museum,
Christchurch Mansion and had lunch in the park. These things are clearly underestimated by people
of my generation but are a brilliant slot filler for a dull day.
The Ipswich docks have really developed into a lovely place to be on a Sunday morning!
It has a range of cafes and places to eat. Walking around the docks is very peaceful and has an
exotic feel about it, slightly like a Spanish marina. Dance East and the university have brought new
genres of people down to the docks, which is a short walk from the town.
Transport into and around Ipswich is regular and reliable and is frequently used by locals and
people from out of town. Buses are probably the most common form of transport after cars and
therefore having a good bus system is necessary. Ipswich train station is just under a half hour walk
from the town centre and is frequently used by people coming into Ipswich who live a while away.
I think that clearly Ipswich is an underestimated town. I wouldn't want to live here for ever, but I
sure am going to defend it when a boy in my science class says (in not so many words) that it's
awful.
Francesca Smith
Signs of the Times
Have you ever noticed how real people are useless at giving directions? People you ask are either
tourists - or locals. Visitors don't know but don't want to let you down - so they guess. Locals have a
very clear idea of how they would get to your intended destination but they are usually lost in their
own little world: "Left where the post office used to be; right just past my brother's old house."
Distance is always a problem and this is where real people confirm just how useless they really are
at estimation. There are two grades of indistinctness - "not too far", which could be any distance
from 1 00 yards to a few miles; or alternatively "Ooh! It's quite a way" (any distance from 100
yards to a few miles).
Signs aren't much better. Sat Navs can find a route to your front door clearly stating expected time
of arrival, distance and weather en route, but at the other end of the scale are rural signposts,
calibrated using an elastic tape operated by knowledgeable local authority officers who live in the
next county and who have probably never been to this road junction. A finger post is likely to point
in the direction of the last hurricane, or one quarter revolution back from where it was before the
local tractor boy reversed into it.
Ipswich is about to become different however. A new set of master maps and monolith signs
produced by AIG (Applied Information Group) are being erected about the same time as this
Newsletter reaches you. And these are not just ordinary signs. They are integrated with
downloadable apps (applications for your i-phone) so you can take the map with you as you wander
beyond sight of the map. There are also paper maps, town plans that are exactly like the maps on
the signs, so you don't have to translate numerous symbols. The maps on the monolith are orientated
in the direction of travel, so as you approach the sign the top of the map is the way ahead: buildings
on the left of the sign are to your left, and important buildings are drawn in 3D so they are instantly
recognisable.
The Ipswich Society welcomes the installation of these new signs. Clearly they will be of benefit to
tourists but they will also inform locals, highlighting buildings of distinction in the immediate
vicinity.
John Norman, Vice-Chairman
Air Raid Shelter Museum
It was a bright sunny morning, the first Saturday in September, and I was lying in bed listening to
the Today programme on Radio Four. One of the main features was the 70th anniversary of the start
of the Blitz on London. A thought occurred to me. I hadn't been to the Air Raid Shelter Museum for
ages, and as it was the first weekend in the month it would be open that very morning. So I got up,
had a quick breakfast, leapt on to my bicycle (got to keep my carbon footprint low) and pedalled
over to Clifford Road School.
The museum is situated in underground tunnels that formed part of the school's air raid shelters
during the Second World War. Now covered by the black tarmac playground, all you see above
ground is the triangular concrete entrance, some flag bunting and a sign saying 'Museum Open'. I
descended the steep steps down into the shelter, turned the corner and there was Jacqui Gallington
sitting at the reception desk with a big smile on her face. She is the lady, a volunteer, who actually
runs the museum and does most of the hard work. Like all the other volunteer helpers she is dressed
in period costume; in her case a Paisley housecoat, headscarf and a 1940's style cardigan. The
enthusiasm of all the volunteers to recreate the atmosphere of the 1940s really brings the shelter to
life, concentrating as it does on the experience of people on the home front during the war.
Jacqui told me that the shelter museum was doing very well. The slow but constant trickle of
donations of 1940's bits and pieces from members of the public, quite often after they have visited
the museum, has enabled Jacqui to constantly evolve the themed displays of wartime memorabilia.
For example, a newly developed feature displays a number of wartime newspapers. Whilst we were
chatting there were regular arrivals of paying customers. There is a small entry charge to help with
running costs.
Having left Jacqui I had a quick look round and then before I left I couldn't resist taking another
'journey' on the Underground 'train' (made from bits of a genuine 1938 London Underground
carriage). "Mind the doors!" calls out Reg, looking very smart in his railway uniform, before he
starts the sound and light effects. It's funny how something so simple can fire the imagination of
visiting school children. The 'journey' over, I made my farewells, left the 1940s and ascended the
stairs back into the sunlight.
Louis Musgrove
Orwell Park Observatory
We have driven past the observatory at Orwell Park School countless times and always glanced
wistfully at the observatory wondering what it was like inside. Thanks to the Ipswich Society
evening meeting on Thursday, 30 September, we now know. And we were certainly not
disappointed!
The meeting was hosted by Peter and Nicky Richards and two other members of the Orwell
Astronomical Society with 25 Ipswich Society members present. Peter first gave an account of
Colonel Tomline (who owned the Orwell Park estate and built the observatory) in the Belvedere
Room and showed some of the amateur telescopes, including one made by members of the Society.
He then led us up to the main observatory floor to see the telescope itself, and gave us an account of
its construction and operation. Built in 1875, it was at that time' state of the art', with Ransomes
building the equatorial mount. Originally powered by clockwork, tracking is now done by electric
motor - this and a camera mount are the only concessions to more modern times. Otherwise the
telescope is still in its original state. Amazing fact: the light collected by the telescope makes
objects appear c.2,000 times brighter than they do to the naked eye! The dome was no less
impressive, with the interior lining of mahogany, possibly fitted out by a local ship builder. The
dome is rotated manually and the viewing aperture opened by means of pulleys.
The highlight of the evening, despite earlier thin high cloud, was viewing Jupiter and its four
moons, crystal clear and shining bright - the first time we had ever seen the moons. Jupiter was the
closest to earth it has been since 1963, about 370 million miles away. Apparently, for demonstration
purposes on cloudy nights, the telescope is focussed on to the Butt and Oyster pub at Pin Mill!
The Society must be congratulated on all the restoration work done since it started using the
premises - a major contribution to historical astronomy. Unhappily, structural repairs to the building
need to be undertaken, and we do hope the talks in partnership with the school are satisfactorily
concluded.
Peter started astronomy at an early age, saving from his paper round to buy his first telescope, and
has been active at Orwell Park for some 25 years. He was an eloquent, stimulating and most
knowledgeable speaker and guide - and this was a fascinating meeting. He certainly deserved his
round of applause at the end.
Roger Dixon and Rosemary Gwyn-Thomas
Insulating Historic Buildings
Environmentalism is not about saving the planet. It's about saving mankind. This planet will do very
well without us!
The Historic Towns Forum in Oxford held in October explored the rationale and methodology of
insulating historic buildings to meet modem ecological requirements - or not, as the case may be.
Conference started with a basic premise - half the world doesn't believe in global warming, half the
world doesn't understand it and at least half don't listen! And even those who do are not yet
prepared to give up their comfortable life styles to adopt green technologies. Almost all sane
thinking scientists and politicians now believe that we have to create a low carbon economy or we
won't have an economy, an environment or a planet fit to live on.
A second premise is that a considerable number of historic buildings are inherently thermally
efficient, a premise endorsed by Prince Charles who sent the opening message to the conference -
"Historic buildings have thick walls and small windows built by local craftsmen, true vernacular".
N.B. This is obviously a Cotswold point of view (stone walls) rather than the half timbered Suffolk
cottage with nothing but fresh air between the studs.
The UK has set a target to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. While there is a zero-carbon
target for new buildings there is no such target for existing building stock, yet over 70% of the
building stock of the future already exists today.
But many historic buildings are not inherently energy-efficient in day-to-day use. However, as the
Prince of Wales' Regeneration Trust's 'Green Guide for Historic Buildings' demonstrates, they can
be sensitively adapted to reduce energy consumption whilst still retaining their special historic
character. Those with thicker walls have thermal mass which helps to even out changes in
temperature and if the floor and roof are well insulated, the windows and doors fit properly, and the
walls are pointed or lime-rendered sufficient enough to resist driving wind and weather, the building
will stay warm and dry without unnecessarily high energy usage.
(to be continued)
John Norman
William Butterfield
I would expect most Society members will be aware of which buildings in the town are of Listed
status. However, in talking with visitors to St Mary at Stoke Church, few are aware that it is a Grade
I Listed building - one of the only two Anglican churches in the town to have this distinction. It is
not so Listed because of its rare beauty but because of its architectural and historical importance -
what antiques collectors might call ‘provenance'.
Up to the middle of the 19th century it was a small typically Suffolk village church with seating for
a hundred or so congregation in box pews. A painting by F Davy in 1854 clearly demonstrates this.
But in around 1844 the railway arrived in Ipswich - in Stoke - and the population of Stoke village
rose ten-fold within two decades and the served population of the parish increased to over 3000.
In 1863 at the expense of the Gwydyr family of Stoke Park, Charles Foote Gower and the Rector,
the Revd Stephen Croft, a major repair and alteration was carried out, with all the furniture and
fittings being replaced and a north transept being added, providing a significant increase in capacity.
But within only seven years, it was obvious that more had to be done and it was determined that the
building was still not large enough given the local population growth. After a search for a suitable
architect, William Butterfield was commissioned to design and build an extension which would
push the seating capacity to over 500.
Butterfield - who trained in London and set up business there in 1840 - quickly attracted some
important commissions, being awarded the Royal Institute Gold Medal in 1844. Despite a
nonconformist upbringing, he favoured a rather High Church approach to his designs during the
Gothic Revival period. Over the next 25 years or so, he designed and built all or part of several
important colleges - two in Oxford - and scores of notable public buildings right across the country.
He designed the Afghan Memorial Episcopal Church in Bombay (Mumbai), of cathedral
proportions, commemorating the 16,000 British and Indian soldiers who died in what were
described as the "three pointless and bloody Afghan Wars" fought there between 1835 and 1843.
Additionally he later designed a number of magnificent churches in London, with two cathedrals in
Scotland, two in Australia and one in Canada.
So it was that in 1870 Butterfield set to work to produce what we still have in Stoke today, the only
church in Ipswich that appears to have benefited from his prolific output. However, he seemed to
have been especially attracted to Suffolk and carried out at least nine other major church restoration
works on buildings across the county, with a hundred or so others elsewhere in the UK.
In addition to many of his trade-mark fixtures and fittings, he obviously loved using Minton
encaustic floor tiles. Those to be found at St Mary's are fairly ordinary and others of the same or
similar design can be seen in his numerous Suffolk projects, with some fine examples in
Sudbury. But he also had consignments shipped across the world to India, Australia and Canada.
Many of the more ornate picture designs produced by Henry Minton can command a high price in
the collectors' market today.
For other local examples of the work of William Butterfield, pay a visit to the churches at Bacton,
Ellough, Great Waldingfield, Lawshall, Ringsfield, Sudbury (two), Trimley St Mary and West Stow.
John Barbrook
Letters to the Editor
Questioning the Society's Awards
From Margaret Hancock
Congratulations to the organisers of the Society's awards presentation evening at the Town Hall and
to Bob Allen for his first class commentary. As usual I found myself agreeing with some of the
judges' decisions and disagreeing with others! However this year I particularly disagree with some
verdicts and I wonder if other members share my views.
First was the decision not to give an award to the excellent renovation of machinery at Isaac Lord's.
A huge number of visitors were impressed by this project during Heritage Open Days and especially
enjoyed the enthusiasm of John Jackaman who, with the help of his son, has spent hours working to
bring this fascinating part of Isaacs' history to life.
Secondly was the Award of Distinction to IBC for the Giles Circus paving scheme. A laudable
enterprise but is it really worthy of the top award? In his commentary Bob seemed to suggest that
no award was given to Isaacs because the building had received a number of previous awards. Does
this not also apply to paving schemes completed by the Borough or is my memory of earlier
occasions inaccurate? Also, the Council is surely simply using funds received from Haven Gateway
on town improvements that we have every right to expect. The work at Isaacs was completed at
private expense and as a labour of love. What a pity that the Society's 50th anniversary year was
spoiled for me by such seemingly unfair decisions.
Living Over the Shop From Ann Petherick
As an Ipswich Society member and founder of the 'Living Over the Shop' project (1989 to 2007)
may I be permitted to correct a statement by David Ireland in his February talk to the Society on
'The Challenge of Empty Homes'? David said, 'There are many empty flats above shops ... ' There
are indeed some in every town but the great majority of vacant space over shops is exactly that-
vacant space. The space is not in the form of habitable flats as it is rarely self-contained, has little in
the way of services and facilities, and doesn't meet current building regulations.
This confusion between empty homes and empty space is highly damaging since the processes
involved in bringing them into use are entirely different, and the continuing myth of thousands of
empty flats over shops is sadly one which has bedevilled and undermined Government policy in
recent years.
He is however absolutely right to say that work on space over shops was pioneered in Ipswich by
Bob Kindred in the 1970s and it was my awareness of this work when I lived in the town which
prompted me to set up the national' LOTS' programme, now sadly defunct.
Scientists and the Climate Debate From M L Chelk
When Mr Brain replied to my letter in the July issue of the Newsletter he referred to the alleged
manipulation of climate data, saying that the University of East Anglia had been vindicated of
wrongdoing and such false impressions are at odds with the evidence. The evidence, however, is not
in dispute. This shows that Professor Jones at UEA asked colleagues to delete emails received from
him, devised means to withhold data that should have been provided under the Freedom of
Information Act and used an unorthodox statistical technique to "hide the decline" in global
temperatures. The Institute of Physics was highly critical of these activities. As governments have
committed so many billions of pounds to schemes based on the hypothesis of global warming
caused by human activity it is not surprising that there was a rapid reaction to deal with the public
disquiet caused by the Professor's actions.
One of the disturbing features of the climate debate is that scientists who maintain the warming
hypothesis regard those who do not share their view as enemies and cast doubt on their motives.
That was the view at UEA and Mr Brain himself suggests there is a "perverse eagerness to find
reason to doubt what is becoming increasingly evident." In The Times on 16 November Professor
Jones claimed that many people "want to be deceived" because they fear having to sacrifice their
high-emission life styles. There is clearly something wrong when scientists attempt to undermine
opposing views not by science but by casting doubt on people's motives. There are many scientists
who do not accept global warming. To my mind climatologists should make their case by
publishing their data and methods so that it can be assessed by their professional peers and
considered on its merits. If they have to fall back on allegations about other people's motives they
should not be surprised if their conclusions are distrusted. Professor Jones also said that his next
report in 2013 will arrive at the same conclusions as before although the evidence for this has still to
be received.
Climatology is not the only area where questions have arisen about scientific practice. In medicine
clinical trials are the basis on which the authorities decide whether pharmaceutical products are
approved for general use and billions of dollars of sales are at stake in their review. Here we have
the case of Dr Scott Reuben, a Massachusetts Professor of Anesiology and Pain Medicine, who has
admitted producing fictitious research on drugs for pharmaceutical companies for thirteen years,
publishing his findings in specialist scientific journals. These included Vioxx which is now known
to cause fatal heart attacks and has been banned. In the USA there is also the practice of employing
PR companies to produce research papers which academics then put their names to. Then there are
the skewed results of research, where 80% of trials funded by manufacturers are favourable
compared with 50% of trials funded by other sources. There are many ways of controlling the
outcomes of trials and many ways of presenting the conclusions drawn. Bias and misconduct in
science and the way the media report on them have now been identified as an area for research at
Edinburgh University where Dr Fanelli has found that 5% of scientists admit falsifying the results
of clinical trials, up to a third have manipulated data to improve results, and another third had
observed misconduct in others. It is clear that scientists are subject to the same pressures and
temptations as everyone else and we cannot assume that every scientist is to be trusted.
Mr Brain offered to send the letter he wrote me, three pages with two enclosures, to anyone
interested but omitted to mention that I had sent him a four page letter with enclosures in reply. This
too is available to anyone who may be interested.
Lectures and Outings
8 Feb Mayor's Parlour, Town Hall at 3 pm.
15 March Olympic Site Tour
16 April Felbrigg Hall
21 May Rye and Great Dixter House
15 June Felixstowe Museum and Landguard Fort (afternoon)
21 July Geology Walk in Christchurch Park (evening)
24 August Down House
15 Sept East Anglian Transport Museum and F1ixton Aviation Museum
4 October Olympic Site Tour