JULY 2013 ISSUE 192
Contents
Editorial
New members
The Tesco Affair
Chairman’s remarks
Recent planning matters
‘Future High Street X-Fund’
Restoring the historic wharf names
Cowells, printers
AGM talk by John Field
Snippets (1)
New buildings in Park Road
Legal London outing
Civic Voice membership benefits
Evening with Sir Michael Hopkins
Celebrating Admiral Broke
Two forthcoming events
Royal Gunpowder Mills outing
Toxic Ipswich
Snippets (2)
Call for members’ email addresses
O Brave New Ipswich
The Society’s photographic archive
Letters to the editor
Committee & representatives
Diary dates
Ipswich: Bin Nirvana
Ancient and modern
The Orwell Bridge, St Nicholas Church, St Mary-At-Stoke
Church from the roof garden at the top of the Willis building.
Editorial
“Into print with rod and gun”
“It is with some trepidation” would be an appropriate phrase with which to start this, my first
Ipswich Society Newsletter Editorial. Then something along the lines of “a hard act to follow”
applied to my distinguished predecessor, Neil Salmon, who edited (wrote articles, took
photographs and a lot more besides) “more issues than you could shake a stick at”. Indeed he
established the present look and feel of the Newsletter: its classic masthead bearing the
Bernard Reynolds Society emblem, the Times New Roman text, its frequent use of
photographs and its welcoming “user friendly” layout. This makes no mention of the quality of
the Newsletter’s contents over the many years during which Neil has “been at the helm”. In
preparing to “get match fit” for this task, I am struck by the various and always positive
reactions to the Newsletter which I hear from readers – both members and non-members.
Everyone seems to look forward to the package dropping onto their door mat: some make a
point of reading it in one sitting, others read it when they have a spare moment; many, I
suspect, keep all their back issues and from time to time look up something which they recall
reading. I certainly fall into this last category. If you think that this opening paragraph is a ham-
fisted way of using a bunch of clichés without appearing to, then “Guilty as charged”.
Robin Gaylard
(N.B. Grateful thanks to all the contributors to this issue.)
New Members
Friend or fowl? This determined bird roosts Ms J Ransome
behind the anti-pigeon spikes on the side of The Mrs A Scobie
Ancient House. Vermin to some, the rock dove is a Mr & Mrs S Smith
close relative of the homing pigeon, decorated war
hero, parachuted behind enemy lines to carry vital Mrs M Stalley
intelligence to the home front. Commemorated on: Mr S Thorn
www.pigeoncenter.org/militarypigeons.html Dr & Mrs A Turner
and at Bletchley Park museum, Hut 8. Mr S Woodroffe
The Tesco Affair
In 1991 the then owners of the Cox Lane car park were granted planning permission to build a
55,000 square metre shopping centre with a 9,250 square metre minimum department store,
space for a 120 stall market, some housing, an 1,100 space car park and a heritage museum
with public open space; three years later, no sod having been turned, they were applying for a
120 stall market place; nothing has come to fruition in the ensuing twenty years.
In 2007 Ipswich Borough Council, realising that their Civic Centre was no longer fit for
purpose and that rehabilitation for a second thirty years would not be cost effective, decided to
move to a lease-hold office block in Russell Road. They sold the building and the site to a
developer (Turnstone). The company demolished it floor by floor and applied to redevelop it as
a shopping centre having an anchor store with a total of 15,248 square metres, together with
eleven houses and an extension to the New Wolsey Theatre. The permission has never been
granted and the site remains empty five years later, presumably because of other retail
developments proposed or opened in the Greater Ipswich district.
At the same time, Tesco applied to build a large store, 12,000 square metres, 60% devoted to
food and 40% to comparison shopping. In addition, there would be two hotels of 255 beds, 116
residential units of various sizes, 25% affordable, a further twelve retail units, a car park for
600+ free spaces. After much opposition from Ipswich Central (the organisation representing
town centre businesses) and The Ipswich Society, permission was granted by the Committee on
the Chairman's casting vote. Various difficulties then arose over land ownership, traffic
management and the depressing economic environment. Tesco's less than satisfactory recent
financial results led to a second application in August 2012 for a 9,422 square metres retail
food store on one floor, two hotels and fourteen four-bedroom terraced houses. Nine months of
procrastination over this second proposal and they have now announced that they will not, after
all, occupy the premises but will develop the site for another retailer to use. However, at the
time of writing (end of May 2013), there has been no planning application hearing or alteration
to the existing proposals. Thus we remain in limbo as to what will happen.
Ipswich now has three large sites, undeveloped, all suitable for large scale town centre
shopping with room for a reasonably large department store; in addition, the town centre – like
the rest of the developed world – is no longer the desired shopping destination. Meanwhile, the
Local Planning Authorities have allowed a large out of town retail park at Crane's, now Futura,
anchored by the UK's most loved retailer, the John Lewis Partnership, and permitted Next and
Marks & Spencer to expand at Martlesham Heath.
So if you're one of the 30% of Ipswich households without a car you can take an X5 bus to
Waitrose or a 66 to the big new Next and M & S. Or you don't and you do it online. No wonder
ten out of twelve of Mary Portas' high streets continue to die.
Mike Cook
Chairman’s remarks
April was a particularly busy month, with both the AGM and the Sir Michael Hopkins lecture
in the same week. I am pleased to report both went well with over a hundred in the audience at
both venues. John Field presented slides of Ipswich old and new after the formal AGM and
despite the difficulties with the audio equipment John was well received.
Sir Michael Hopkins delivered an interesting and extensive resumé of his career in East Anglia
from his first major project, the Willis Building, to a couple of his classics, the refectory at
Norwich cathedral and the Forum in the same city, finally cumulating with the Ark in Bury St
Edmunds, a Civic Trust Award winner. He managed to tie it all into his routes in Suffolk and
his first renovation project, a house at Cratfield, purchased for £400 for his own use. By all
reports the evening went particularly well and I have thanked Willis for their hospitality.
Sir Michael corrected me on one thing. He was not Project Architect for the Willis building; he
was Norman Foster’s Project Partner. The young Birkin Haward was the Project Architect. Sir
Michael so impressed the Willis directors they retained him for the Greyfriars redevelopment
and from there he secured work at Greene King and his new practice was established.
Planningwise, not much is happening and I have written a separate article giving the likely
reasons why [Toxic Ipswich, p. 18]. The major contractors are having difficulty securing work
and when they do it is without a reasonable margin. Smaller builders, particularly those who
work as subcontractors on major projects, are in greater difficulty. Given that the construction
industry should be 10% of the economy it is difficult to see recovery from this crisis, and when
eventually it comes there will be too few skilled crafts-people about to handle renovations
and restorations.
The Society continues to receive a string of enquiries about the history of the town and
requests from students who are using Ipswich (particularly the Waterfront) as the subject for
their dissertations. However, research carried out for the series of articles currently appearing
in the EADT and Ipswich Star continue to fascinate and intrigue and I am indebted to my
fellow contributors for their help.
By the time you read this we will have marked Civic Day on Wednesday 19 June with The
Ipswich Society’s new gazebo on Cornhill. We talked to members of the passing public about
Ipswich, current issues and its future. We had leaflets to distribute and it was an opportunity to
recruit new members. Thanks to the volunteers who assisted on the day.
A forthcoming event you can be involved in –
Sunday 21 July, 2.30-4.30pm: Brass on the Grass, a summer concert in the Upper Arboretum,
Arts and Crafts shelter, Christchurch Park featuring Stacks of Sax (an event sponsored by The
Ipswich Society). Bring chairs, a blanket, a picnic. Come along and enjoy the concert and
some refreshment.
Have a good summer.
John Norman (Ipswich Society Chairman)
Recent planning matters
The Emperor: Despite the Community Asset Order, it seems that Tesco has agreed a 25 year
lease with Punch which overrides its Community Asset status. Legal opinion is that Judicial
Review wouldn't succeed but a complaint to the Ombudsman might; however, it would only
say that IBC planners didn't handle the case well but would not reverse the decision. I
understand that the contents have been stripped which makes it practically difficult to reopen.
It’s sad that we are powerless to keep open a pub that would be viable as a Community Asset
given a reasonable landlord, which there is, because it is more profitable for a property
company owned by a hedge fund to lease to a global supermarket firm.
Tesco Grafton Way: Postponed yet again. [See The Tesco Affair on page 3.]
Warrington Road: This has been refused on grounds of inappropriate design.
Long Street and Fore Street junction: There is a keen support group (Suffolk Aviation
Heritage Group) for Edith Cook (first supporter: the Society with a blue plaque). They wish to
erect a statue on John Norman's Fourth Plinth. There will be a competition aimed at students in
Ipswich to choose the most appropriate.
73 Berners Street: Many will have noticed a green storage box in the front driveway; one of
the neighbours, a Society member, has had lengthy conversations with me and with the
Conservation Officer. As a result they are seeking retrospective approval of the box which will
be altered, repainted, planted around it and a new wall built. All seems reasonable to me.
The Woolpack: New signage is larger; it will be unlikely to increase trade much. There is also
an application to consider some small changes to the Tuddenham Road exterior in conjunction
with interior alterations. I draw your attention to these because the survival of the pub is under
question.
There were sixty-six applications in recent weeks, one of which was a major.
Mike Cook
X-Fund money for Ipswich
The Government launched a scheme last year to revive High Streets, following the Mary Portas
report. They made £1 million available and towns were invited to bid for a share of the
funding. The ‘Future High Street X-Fund’ judging panel visited Ipswich and heard about the
competition to redesign the Cornhill, transform Blackfriars (Fore Street area) and improve the
Saints (St Nicholas and St Peter’s Streets). They were clearly impressed with the efforts so far.
The Government recognised that Ipswich was trying to revitalise its town centre, against the
impact of the recession and the change in shopping habits and awarded us £168,000 for the
‘Turning Our Town Around’ initiative.
David Ellesmere, leader of the Borough Council, said that “it is towns that are bold about
change which will weather these challenges best.” The national press has been somewhat more
sceptical about the sums involved suggesting that £168,000 is so small it cannot possibly make
any difference. Let’s prove them wrong!
JN
Restoring the historic quay and wharf names of Ipswich
Since its inception in 1982, the Ipswich Maritime Trust has sought to promote interest in the unique
maritime heritage of the town. While welcoming the redevelopment of the old Wet Dock as one of
its principal aims, the Trust has been saddened at some developers’ poor choice of titles for their
particular projects, turning their backs on the once so familiar names of the old quays; and it seems
the various authorities were content to let them.
The Trust published an Occasional Paper to draw attention to this general laissez-faire attitude,
seeking local press support and generally ‘campaigning’ on the issue. It soon became clear that the
bureaucratic path to a new postal address was not easy to uncover, and even less easy to influence!
What was clear was that once a new name had been given publicity, it tended to become stuck in
people’s minds, leading ultimately to its official acceptance. This seems to have been the case with
‘Regatta Quay’ for example, despite it still not being a fully-fledged postal address.
While our campaign received widespread support from those who were aware of it, it has yet to
achieve what may be called ‘action’! However, the Trust has recently been invited by the Borough
Council to suggest new names for the various elements of the large residential development
currently under construction on New Cut West, and for the new street that will afford access to it.
Accordingly we have offered ideas based on the local characters and ships directly associated with
the old St. Peter’s shipyard on nearby Stoke Quay in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
And so it seems we can have an influence after all, but I, for one, shall not be happy until we have
removed the irrelevant ‘Regatta Quay’ paraphernalia from Albion Quay, and have a new name for
‘the Wine Rack’!
Meantime, you might like to boost your sense of pride in the IMT Window Museum display on
Admiral Broke, a name up there with Nelson in the annals of famous naval victories. [See Page 16]
Stuart Grimwade
This page and the next: the Great Whip Street site on 18 April 2013, seen from Bulstrode Road; in
the background from left: flats on Vernon St, R&W Paul silo and the Burton’s block, DanceEast,
Cranfield’s, ‘The Wine Rack’, The Custom House, Ashton KCJ, The Last Anchor, Salthouse Hotel.
Cowells, printers
Anyone interested in the manufacturing achievements associated with Ipswich will be proud to
recall the great engineering firms, especially Ransome Sims & Jefferies and Ransome &
Rapier. But they weren’t the only world-class companies working in Ipswich. This emerged
very strongly from the talk on Cowells given by Alison Morris, the present company’s Sales
Director, as one of the Town Lectures on 14 March. Although not an Ipswich Society event, the
talk was so interesting I think it deserves a mention in our Newsletter.
Mrs Morris briefly sketched the early days of the company from 1818 when it dealt in
groceries, wines and spirits and eventually ran its own furnishing store, but she concentrated on
its celebrated core business of printing. She described the production of colourfully illustrated
children’s books (for Puffin etc.), the top quality art books to satisfy the demanding standards
of, for example, Henry Moore and New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the printing of six
large volumes of American Wild Flowers which took ten years to produce and which American
printers fought shy of, and the vast catalogue of the Royal philatelic collection, for which the
precious stamps were sent to Ipswich by train and kept in a police cell.
In some ways it was a nostalgic occasion, seeing all those photographs of huge rows of presses
of different kinds, but more especially because there must have been thirty or more of Cowells’
former employees in the audience. They took a very active part in the Question and Answer
session at the end. One man confided in us that a penalty for doing something badly was three
month’s work on bingo cards! The present company, now in Lovetofts Drive, is appreciably
smaller but at least it exists and keeps the famous name alive.
Neil Salmon
AGM talk: Conservation in Ipswich
John Field, previous Town Planner and Town Centre Manager for Ipswich presented a series of
eye opening slides to the 2013 Annual General Meeting of the Ipswich Society.
Describing previous schemes by transport consultants to solve Ipswich’s traffic problems John
highlighted the 1960s suggestions of improvements and alterations. These included double-
decker roads by the Waterfront, dual carriageways from Cromwell Square to the College and
the demolition that took place in Queen Street prior to a major highway being constructed
through Giles Circus, the Cornhill and under Lloyds Arch on into Crown Street. This was to be
an important north-south route that was deemed essential to ensure the town didn’t come to a
grinding halt. The buildings in Queen Street were demolished, Ipswich lost some important
history but the road was never built (and nor did the traffic come to a standstill, well at least
not until they smothered the town with roadworks for the £21 million upgrade scheme to make
the town fit for the twenty-first century).
The dual carriageway from St Matthew’s Street along Civic Drive came to an abrupt halt at the
front door of The Galley restaurant in St Nicholas Street. This, and the adjacent buildings were
saved at the last minute and Cromwell Square became a car park with traffic taking an
alternative route down Grey Friars Road to the Novotel and beyond.
Borough and County counsellors have argued ever since on ways to improve the docks
gyratory layout but have failed to reach agreement and, apart from some minor tweaking
nothing has changed since Star Lane was constructed thirty years ago.
Will the latest round of investment be worthwhile? The docks gyratory will still be the same,
traffic will still queue in St Helen’s Street, and the other main routes into town in the morning
rush, and without Tesco in Grafton Way there will be no changes to the Novotel roundabouts.
The subways outside Greyfriars have gone and pedestrians will find it easier to cross the road
but will traffic flow as easily?
Incidentally the same figure of £21 million has just been spent on improvements to the East
Suffolk Line including the Beccles Loop which now allows an hourly service to Lowestoft; ‘tis
just a pity trains no longer stop at
Westerfield.
JN
At the recent AGM the Mayor,
Ms Mary Blake, presents
outgoing Newsletter Editor, Neil
Salmon, with an original painting
of St Pancras Church, Ipswich by
Brian Jepson, in recognition of
his many years as the Ipswich
Society Newsletter Editor.
Snippets (1)
St Mary-at-the-Quay church is a super little Waterfront Church with a superb double hammer
beam roof and probably dates from 1450. The church has been redundant since the 1970s
although it was used by the Boys’ Brigade for a time. However the future of the building is
now looking bright.
Suffolk Mind and the Churches Conservation Trust have been awarded a grant of £3.6m from
the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to restore and rejuvenate the medieval church, into a
Wellbeing Heritage Centre for everyone in the community.
The aim of this innovative collaboration is to create a building that will provide a quiet and
beautiful sanctuary. St Mary-at-the-Quay will be a flexible and welcoming community space
which is open to all. It will offer wellbeing and heritage activities, a centre for local events,
complementary therapy as well as a café. The whole project is likely to cost some
£5.7 million.
Suffolk Retail Park (off London Road)
Suffolk Retail Park has been sold for a reported £18.75 million. The out of town retail centre
which is home of Next, Argos, Halfords and The Range consists of 96,787 sq. ft of retail floor
space generating an annual rental income of almost £1.5 million. If you are aware of the
expected return on an investment of this size you will appreciate that this is a valuable asset
with some prime retailers ensuring heavy footfall. It is just a pity it takes so long to drive out
of the car park!
John Lewis Partnership
Almost 50% of John Lewis ‘click & collect’ is collected from one of the 291 Waitrose Stores,
(there are thirty JLP department stores and a further nine John Lewis At Home stores). JLP are
planning to open twenty new branches of Waitrose during 2013. Annual gross sales should
reach £10 billion this financial year, of which £1 billion is via the web. A Waitrose store within
five minutes drive increases the value of your home by a measurable percentage.
Heritage Open Days: Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September 2013
The weekend of 14/15 September will again see the Ipswich Society organising the hugely
popular Heritage Open Days.
There are approximately twenty-eight buildings in this year's event plus Sailing Boat Victor.
They represent seven centuries in the history of Ipswich, providing a chance to see inside
historical buildings, many of which are normally not accessible to the general public.
There will free guided walks led by Ipswich Tourist Guides.
All information will be in our leaflet available from mid-August at the Tourist Information
Centre, the museums and libraries.
New blue plaque leaflet
The Society has published an attractive colour guide to all the plaques installed throughout
Ipswich commemorating notable (and sometimes forgotten) figures with a local connection. It
is available from the Tourist Information Centre. [More Snippets on page 19
New Buildings in Park Road
How many of you have, like myself, travelled along Park Road and wondered what was
happening to the house adjacent to the old reservoirs in Park Road? It’s been observed in
various stages of what initially appeared to be demolition and, more latterly, partial rebuild.
The house (empty for the last four years or so) is situated right beside one of the two old
reservoirs on the site and I had wondered if the demolition of the closest reservoir had
disturbed the side foundations. Curiosity got the better of me and I visited the site and met with
the site manager.
I was informed that the rebuild was always part of the plan for the site which will ultimately
see six detached houses within a secure site (vehicular access will be through the new entrance
being constructed and additional pedestrian access through the refurbished brick entrance to
one of the reservoirs). The old house will be extended further to the side and rear resulting in
the largest of the houses on site (five bedrooms, no less!).
The house was still in the ownership of Anglian Water along with the two redundant reservoirs.
The site was sold for redevelopment with planning permission granted for residential build.
The two old reservoirs had been redundant for many years. Similar to the main reservoir
refurbished during 2011/12 each reservoir was covered in earth and indeed one area had been
is use as a tennis court. They were both older than the refurbished main reservoir, one being
built c.1890 and the other in the early 1900s.
The demolition has been a long difficult process but has now reached the stage where building
of the new houses has commenced and the project is scheduled for final completion around
May 2014. The floor of one reservoir has been left in situ with footings for the new
construction broken through and provided with 600mm concrete pour. The rear of the reservoir
walls are being left in situ (they provide some support to the main reservoir behind) and will be
earthed up and landscaped.
The site is being developed by a contractor that has previously received an award from the
Ipswich Society for a nearby development so perhaps we can anticipate a nomination in 2014.
I managed to take photographs of the site and others have been provided by the contractors. Do
any readers have more information about the Park Road reservoir site or old photographs?
Graham Smith (May 2013)
Legal London (22 May 2013)
‘The raw afternoon is the rawest, and the dense fog is the densest, and the muddy streets are
the muddiest, near that leaden-headed old obstruction, appropriate ornament for the threshold
of a leaden headed old corporation: Temple Bar. And hard by Temple Bar, in Lincoln’s Inn
Hall, at the very heart of the fog, sits the Lord High Chancellor in his High Court of
Chancery’1
Following in the steps of Charles Dickens and in the very capable hands of our guide, Owen,
Ipswich Society members enjoyed an excellent day exploring Legal London in an intriguing
area around Aldwych, tucked out of everyday sight behind alleys, facades and gates. The day
was not at all as foggy as Dickens describes in this excerpt from Bleak House, but the
complexity of how the Inns of Court and the legal system in general operate was fascinating
learning for us all.
We started with morning coffee at the George on the Strand, founded as a Coffee House in
1763. Beamed and narrow, with arches and steep stairs, we had very friendly service here and
also a first rate lunch later on in the day.
Owen explained that barristers belong to one of the four Inns of Court: Middle Temple, Inner
Temple, Lincoln’s Inn or Gray’s Inn, which all sit on the boundary of the cities of London and
Westminster – looking and serving both ways. They can best be described as similar to
Oxbridge colleges – originally people lived, studied and worked in these establishments; they
have halls for communal dining, libraries, gardens and chapels.
Firstly, we visited Middle Temple, seeing the garden with Fountain Court, standing under the
mulberry tree mentioned in Martin Chuzzlewit, admiring the magnificent plane trees, wisteria,
lawns and peacefulness. Middle and Inner Temples once stretched all the way to the Thames
and Owen was superb at bringing to life the history and characters who walked these ways,
such as Dr Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, Dickens himself and John Mortimer’s Rumpole.
We visited Middle Temple Hall, just being laid for lunch (lunch can be pre-booked here by
anyone – see their website for details). This grand hall, built about 1570, has an impressive
double hammer beam roof and a fine oak screen. Elizabeth I came here in the early 1600s to
see a production of Twelfth Night, a production in which Shakespeare himself was one of the
players. The 29 foot-long high table, made from single oak planks was a gift from her. A
lantern and table top were said to come from the Golden Hind.
The Hall is a place where experienced lawyers and students meet to discuss points of law over
meals and students have to attend a certain number of dinners in their hall as part of their
training. A would-be barrister, once having got his or her law degree, has to do bar professional
training for a further year, then a year’s pupillage and then get a place in a set of chambers.
Work is allocated by the Chief Clerk of a chamber and the young barrister looks to build a
reputation so that work does come his or her way. The law is not necessarily a highly lucrative
profession – students are often poorly paid and, for example, barristers working in criminal or
human rights fields, can get paid a lot less than those working in tax! Over recent years, women have become much more equal in terms of becoming barristers and having access to
the legal hierarchy.
Other sights seen were Pump Court, the Temple Church (of, amongst other things, Da Vinci
code fame), and Dr. Johnson’s buildings. This was followed by a brief visit to the Royal
Courts of Justice, which hears High Court civil appeals, for example high-profile libel cases,
and family disputes. The Leveson enquiry was also held here. Over lunchtime, we had time to
revisit the Royal Courts and also the RAF church of St Clement Danes.
After lunch, we took a short coach trip around the area to see the Central Criminal Court,
commonly known as the Old Bailey, and various other interesting buildings: former newspaper
offices on Fleet Street, the church of St Dunstan in the West, old pubs and bars, the Stock
Exchange, Smithfield meat market, Gray’s Inn, St Paul’s… the vibrancy of history, ancient and
modern, all around us.
Alighting at Lincoln’s Inn, where Dr John Donne was once chaplain, we stood in the garden
and viewed its buildings, including the huge hall and the stone built garden hut with a
memorial to William Pitt the Younger. Lincoln’s Inn had a reputation for taking in orphans and
legend has it that, were a baby to be left at its gates, the child would be brought up within the
Inn and most likely have the surname of Lincoln. (Owen mentioned that he is careful about
this tale when showing round American visitors!) Almost, then, at the end of our tour, we
passed Ede and Ravenscroft, where barristers’ wigs are sold (still made from horsehair) and
gowns of wool or, for QCs, silk (hence the phrase, ‘taking silk’).
So many interesting stories, explanations and anecdotes from our guide made this such a rich
tour, full of enjoyable and extremely satisfying learning. Together with our driver, Gavin, who
had some difficult London driving to do for us and the superb organisation of the whole day by
Barbara Barker, this was a day to be remembered. Thank you for all of it.
Christine Hayward
Civic Voice Membership
Civic Voice is the national charity for the civic movement in England. It works to make the
places where everyone lives more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive. The organisation speaks
up for civic societies and local communities across England.
Our membership of Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic movement, confers certain
advantages on Ipswich Society members.
A National Trust pass can be obtained by writing to Gill Roxborough, Civic Voice, Unit 101,
82 Wood Street, The Tea Factory, Liverpool L1 4DQ enclosing an SAE with your contact
details, stating that you are a member of THE IPSWICH SOCIETY and requesting the
National Trust pass. This pass is transferable and can be given to friends or family if you are
already a member of the National Trust.
An English Heritage pass is available to download by visiting http://tinyurl.com/
civicenglishoffer. This pass can be used between 1 September 2013 and 31 January 2014
and is not transferable. If you do not have Internet access, follow the instructions for the
National Trust pass above, but requesting an English Heritage pass.
An Evening with Sir Michael Hopkins (26 April)
It was an unforgettable occasion even before the talk began. As we sat on the top floor of the
Willis Building, I looked out over the high level greensward at the sun-lit top half of the so-
called ‘Wine Rack’, seemingly almost next door, as we awaited the lecture by Sir Michael
Hopkins, one of the ‘likely lads’ (his words) who designed the internationally famous Willis
Faber & Dumas building in 1975, now Grade I Listed.
The talk was advertised as ‘Some Suffolk Buildings’ but to our delight we found that this was a
flexible title because ‘Suffolk’ stretched as far as Texas and Tokyo. Sir Michael chose to
describe his work in chronological order and we certainly began in deepest Suffolk at Cratfield,
where he and his wife bought a dilapidated house which they’ve restored and still live in.
The Willis atrium
And so on to Willis itself. To the surprise of Norman Foster’s ‘likely lads’, they “got the job
without putting pen to paper” and started designing without knowing what the extent of the site
would be. They planned the building around the central bank of escalators knowing they could
“snip round the edges” when the site was finalised. He still feels grateful to Planning Officer
Geoffrey Ramsdale and the Borough Council for being brave enough to support the planning
application in the wake of public disapproval of the ‘modernism’ of Greyfriars close by. (Later
on, Sir Michael transformed part of the Greyfriars building for Willis by creating the fabric-
clad tower of the original multi-storey car park.) Still in Suffolk, he designed a new style
storage facility for Greene King at Bury.
Then we were off on his travels. First to Cambridge for the University Research Centre and
a new building at Emmanuel College, and then a cutlery factory he designed near Sheffield.
Designs for other very different purposes followed with the fabric-topped Mound Stand at
Lord’s and Glyndebourne opera house. Our lucky neighbours in Norwich were soon to see
their new library in its Millennium Building, The Forum, (BBC and all) and Parliament
acquired proper office space in the Portcullis Building. Back in East Anglia there followed the
Apex in Bury and the Norwich cathedral Refectory and Hostry.
Next we were whisked over the Atlantic to see his university buildings at Yale and Princeton
and Houston – and, lest we were bored, suddenly back eastwards to Dubai, Tokyo and the new
cricket stadium in Pune (Poona) before touching down in England again at the Olympic Park
velodrome and St George’s Chapel, Great Yarmouth. Exciting stuff indeed, with a variety of
solutions and styles to suit each project.
Sir Michael presented all these impressive achievements with a pleasing informal ease. The
only surprise was he gave no sense of the size or composition of the teams of architects who
must work for him. The evening was happily completed with refreshments provided by the
Willis cafeteria and, of course, we enjoyed good conversation.
Neil Salmon
Above from left: Sir Michael Hopkins, with his wife and architectural partner Patty, Lady
Hopkins (who operated the presentation laptop) and our Chairman, John Norman.
Ipswich celebrates Broke of Broke Hall
An international Symposium will be held in Ipswich on Saturday 12 October and Sunday
13 October 2013 to celebrate the bicentenary of Broke’s victory in the Shannon and
Chesapeake engagement of 1813. The Symposium, supported by an array of eminent speakers
from the UK, the USA and Canada will be based at University Campus Suffolk, Neptune Quay,
Ipswich IP4 1QT. A concert will be held at St Martin’s Church, Nacton on Sunday 13 October.
Full details are available on www.ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
In conjunction with this event the eighth Window Museum display on Albion Quay, not far
from DanceEast, features some very special artefacts to commemorate the bicentenary – well
worth a visit (see photograph).
Diana Lewis
Brass on the Grass
On Sunday July 21 the Ipswich Society is sponsoring one of the Friends of Christchurch Park
'Brass on the Grass' afternoons. Join us at the Arts and Crafts shelter (Henley Road
entrance) in the Upper Arboretum 2.30 - 4.30pm for a performance by 'Stacks of Sax' - a
saxophone ensemble based in Ipswich.
Pykenham's Gatehouse
On Saturday August 3 Pykenham's Gatehouse is open to the public from 10.30am - 12.30pm.
With Ipswich Society volunteers on duty, this is an excellent opportunity to explore this
fifteenth century building opposite the Library in Northgate Street.
Royal Gunpowder Mills (13 April)
The Royal Gunpowder Mills (RGM) cover an area of 170 acres, including a nature reserve, and
is a site on the European Route of Industrial Heritage and an important part of the SSSI within
the RGM site.
Gunpowder production began at Waltham Abbey in the mid-1660s on the site of a Late
Medieval fulling mill; the Crown acquired the gunpowder mills from private hands in 1787.
From then on, RGM developed into the pre-eminent powder works in Britain and one of the
most important in Europe. Under Crown ownership the site expanded and developed along the
waterways at the south-west of the site. These waterways totalled over five miles in length over
the whole site and linked to the River Lea, which was strategically important, as barges could
reach the Thames and Woolwich Arsenal. This expansion in the mid-1850s was due to the
demands of the Crimean War and the need to ‘rule the waves’ and territories of the British
Empire. Steam power became available and incorporating mills were built. By the end of the
nineteenth century chemical explosives were replacing gunpowder and these mills were
converted to produce cordite; new buildings were constructed. After the Second World War the
site changed again, to a research establishment for non-nuclear explosives and propellants (top
secret and still so after its closure); some of the buildings were converted into laboratories.
I visited the main exhibition building: the short introductory film chronicled the discovery of
gunpowder by the Chinese in c.800AD and its eventual usage in the west (as early as the Battle
of Crécy, I believe). Footage of the two World Wars brought home the violence, horror, carnage
and the sheer noise of shell warfare. Our party of 40+ was split into two groups for the guided
tour. There are many buildings of various ages; a team of volunteers is slowly renovating them
but it will take a long time to complete. Many of the buildings are in the nature reserve which
is rich in wildlife, has a conservation team to look after it and had the largest heronry in Essex.
We saw a remarkable and unique relic of the old days: a Victorian gunpowder press house with
a cast iron waterwheel, probably the only surviving one in England. We passed plantations of
common alder – the best trees for the production of charcoal, one of gunpowder’s ingredients,
the others being saltpetre and sulphur.
The 1940s Gallery features a post office, a kitchen and an air-raid shelter complete with the
sound of a siren. A brisk walk past the incorporating mills to the Wildlife Tower with its views
over the Reserve. I strolled beside a water-less canal; there was a feeling of melancholic decay,
but the narrow-gauge railway lines reminded me that small engines and wagons were once
noisy and busy here. Women made up a large part of the work-force, a fact that was
emphasized in the exhibition. I went round the Rocket Vault – RGM expertise lay behind many
rockets, including the Waxwing Project – and the Mad Lab where ‘Prof. Nitrate’ enthralled
the children.
Gunpowder continued to be produced at RGM up to the end of the First World War. The last
mill was demolished in 1956 and the Ministry of Defence closed the site in 1991. A charitable
foundation was set up to safeguard the site in perpetuity, supported by the Heritage Lottery
Fund and the MoD. People of all ages will be fascinated by a visit; even a non-scientist like me
found much of historic interest. Our thanks to June Peck for her cheerful organisation.
Richard Worman
Toxic Ipswich
I’m sure Ipswich is not unique but it appears, after conversation with a number of developers
and commercial building contractors, that the banks are still reluctant to lend money for
residential development in Ipswich.
Although the cost of building has become very competitive with margins for the contractor
almost non-existent, the return generated by the sale of the completed property does not
currently cover the building cost, or if it does it is only marginally on the positive side of break
even which is insufficient to cover the risks involved. And as we can clearly see on the
Waterfront the risk of non-completion is high and the chance of finding sufficient purchasers to
‘sell’ a complete block of apartments very low. Hence there has been no building activity on
the northern quays since 2009. Across the river on the site previously occupied by Graham’s
Plumbers Merchants; Genesis Housing Association are currently contracted with ISG to build
600 units to add to their own housing stock, taking advantage of both the low cost of building,
and of borrowing in the current climate and the increasing demand for rented accommodation.
Three very tall cranes on this site at least give some indication that not all builders are at
a standstill.
Developments of detached and semi-detached family homes carries less risk in that they are
normally sold ‘off plan’ with the purchaser viewing a show-house rather than the actual
property being purchased. But again there is an almost complete lack of activity. Charles
Church – the quality division of Persimmon – are sitting on their hands at Ravenswood and
although some building has taken place on the site of Hayhill allotments sales are according to
Crest Nicholson ‘slow’.
Landex Living built and sold all four units at Northfields off Valley Road (Ipswich Society
Award winner 2012) and has started on a quality scheme of seven properties on the site of what
was previously Park Road reservoir.
Meanwhile back on the Waterfront a contract to fit out The Mill, the 23 storey tower block
which appears finished but is currently an empty shell, has been out for some time. A
contractor has been selected but the banks are still reluctant to sign the contract; again the cost
of fit-out pushed the boundary of acceptable financial risk.
The ultimate confirmation of the reluctance of banks to lend against building development in
Ipswich came with confirmation that Tesco are pulling out of Grafton Way. Yes, it was a big
scheme with a large store, integral flats and two hotels but if Tesco cannot make it work then
who will? [See The Tesco Affair on page 3.]
Overall, Ipswich is awash with undeveloped sites from the former Tooks bakery in the north
west to County Hall in the east and multiple sites around the Wet Dock and Stoke Bridge.
JN
Snippets (2)
University Campus Suffolk
The 2012 student intake at UCS was some 2,250 students of whom 1600 (70%) were over 21
and 420 from overseas (from 70 different countries including Ireland and Poland). Across all
years the students are split 65% full time and 35% part time, 31% male and 69% female.
Letter to the Chairman
Dear John
I hadn’t seen Sir Michael Hopkins for some time and I wasn’t aware he is circa 78. It was a
privilege to have heard him in his iconic Willis Building. The innovative architecture of the
new (Willis) melds into the old (Unitarian Meeting House) so very sensitively. As Unitarians
we recall the shabby, run down Unitarian Gardens; no great loss given the gain to Ipswich.
Regards, Janice Croucher
Griff Rhys Jones speaks out on behalf of communities
Civic Voice President, Griff Rhys Jones, says localism ignores local opinion.
The importance of community involvement in the planning system was put under the spotlight
on 13th May at a debate of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Civic Societies when MPs
and other interested parties gathered at Portcullis House.
Civic Voice President, Griff Rhys Jones said: “With the localism agenda, what the Government
is essentially saying is, we want you to get involved, decide what you want locally, but, oh, for
the really important decisions we are going to ignore you and do what we want. I am sorry, but
that is just not good enough.”
Planning Minister, Nick Boles MP, who also addressed the meeting said: “When talking about
neighbourhood planning in the early days, maybe a fault of the Government was allowing
people to believe they could do what they want, when in reality it has always been about how
things will be delivered, not what would be delivered. However, I do genuinely believe that in
twenty years’ time, people will look back and say this policy was a real game changer for
getting people involved in their local area”.
Laura Sandys MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Civic Societies said: “I was
grateful that the Planning Minister and Griff Rhys Jones were able to attend this meeting. I
think as a movement we now need to feed back to the Minister our thoughts on how
communities can influence the planning system further.”
Civic Voice is calling on all communities to submit ideas on how you think communities can
have a greater say in the planning system. Send your ideas to info@civicvoice.org.uk.
Have we got your email address?
The Ipswich Society is keen to ensure we can get in touch with our members by email.
It gives us the chance to remind you of winter lecture dates or get early messages to you
regarding events etc. If we have not got your current email address or you are unsure
please send to: enquiry@ipswichsociety.org.uk
Please put ‘Ipswich Society email’ in the Subject field and put your full name and postal
address as the message to ensure that we can identify you.
O Brave New Ipswich
The Greyfriars development 50 years on
Trevor Hart's letter to the editor printed in the April Newsletter contained a reference to a
publicity document Trevor included which was produced by the developer of what was then
seen as the utopian Greyfriars complex (1964-66) until the Government abandoned the planned
expansion of the whole area. Hindsight, of course, is a wonderful thing, but the language used
and attitudes expressed in the document are very striking. They ring very hollow over the
decades and evoke a mid-1960s struggling to leave the grey austerity of post-War Britain and
fling itself towards the white heat of technology proclaimed by Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
Two photographs are juxtaposed captioned 'The Old Look…': a street of Victorian terraced
housing with corner shop in the foreground – 'Players Please' above the door and newspaper
headline boards below the shop window; '… and the New (note roof-top parking)': an
architect's scale model of the Greyfriars development with tiny cars visible on the top deck. A
major feature of the project, we are told, is greatly increased parking for cars which will attract
pleasure-seekers, shoppers and diners to the town to spend money and appeal to "further
organisations to join Shell and Fisons as major users of office space in the area, possibly as
regional headquarters." Most ironic of all is the caption above an elevated view of terraces, two
churches (probably St Nicholas and St Peter) and the distant dockside silos:
'The Ipswich of a bygone age will give way to "a lasting tribute
to the architectural and building skills of the 1960s".'
Some of the attractions planned for the complex (apart from the copious parking) are 'a large
department store, a supermarket [Tesco and their S&H pink stamps] and one other large shop,
and about 30 smaller shops arranged on two levels, a covered market with 75 stalls and an
agricultural showroom below, designed to attract visiting farmers to exhibitions of agricultural
machinery etc. on market days… an auction room suite, exhibition hall, public house – and, on
the top floor, a restaurant. Proposals are also made for a bank [there was a branch of Midland bank], a small "arts" cinema to seat 300 which can also be used for fashion shows and
conferences… a coffee bar, a record shop [remember them?], self-service shop and travel
agency and both ladies' and men's hairdressers.'
In reality, what ensued in the tortured history of the development will be well-remembered by
many Ipswich Society members. The travelator (moving pavement) which never moved in this
writer’s memory, the ramp entrance to the multi-storey car park in New Cardinal Street which
never seemed wide enough for any car climbing up it between those dangerous-looking
concrete edges and tight bends, the wood-grain texture on the poured concrete walls formed by
the timber shuttering used, and left as a ‘natural-looking’ finish. See the article on page 14 for a
note about the way in which the site was eventually rescued and reborn.
RG
Letters to the editor
The Society’s photographic archive is now live on Flickr
It is possible to connect with the photostream, as it is called, via the Society’s website or at the
internet web address below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ipsoc/
There are as yet only about one hundred images from the archive of nearly six thousand slides.
It is expected that the rest of the images will follow soon, although the data connected to them
will be limited as the process of tagging and titling the images is time-consuming. Please view
the slides at the address and give some thought to helping with the task of editing titles and
descriptions. If you could help, then contact us by email (enquiry@ipswichsociety.org.uk) and
permissions and access to Flickr can be granted. Tony Marsden
Letters to the Editor
Back to the High Street from Tony Cheney
With reference to John Norman’s note in the January newsletter “The Demise of the High
Street”, I thought that this little cartoon might make a suitable comment. It is from “Private
Eye”, no. 1335, 8-21 March 2013 (p.12).
With regret, the editor is well aware that Private Eye never gives permission for cartoons to be
reproduced. However, think of an elderly cove leaning on his stick surveying open fields and
trees: “I remember this when it was all just shops”.
Ransomes at M.E.A.L. from David H. Powell
Reading the Chairman’s Remarks in the April 2013 Newsletter regarding the Ransomes
companies’ artefacts held by the Ipswich Transport Museum has prompted me to wonder if
members of the Society appreciate the large numbers of very interesting artefacts, particularly
from Ransome Sims & Jefferies, that may be viewed at the Museum of East Anglian Life at
Stowmarket. The Bone Building, constructed through the generosity of the Bone family,
houses The Ransome Collection. This includes such items as the Hindustani Plough, a Clover
Harvester, Horse Plough (1852-1869), Threshing Machine and an 1881 Traction Engine. Also
on display such items as a Strong Room Door and a printing press.
A wide selection of other RS&J items may also be seen around the site which houses the
largest collection of Ransome Ploughs in East Anglia.
The Society’s raison d’etre from Chris Wiltshire
I am proffering for publication this quote from James Lees-Milne’s autobiography Another self
(pub. John Murray): I think it sums up so well the crucial reason for the Society to exist and
continue to give voice to concerns about the built environment.
"..of all the arts architecture is the only one which cannot be ignored either by the
philistine or the indifferent. It is there. It cannot be avoided and has to be seen.It must
shape the minds and thoughts of all men [sic] whether they dislike it or like it.We cannot
turn our backs on it as we can painting, sculpture, and music, and pretend it does not
concern or influence us-- that we do not notice it. I also realized the terrible fragility of
architecture. It is vulnerable to every insult, whether direct mutilation or indirect neglect,
ignorant improvement, or environmental change."
St Peter’s Church from Beryl Jary
In May 2008, St Peter’s by the Waterfront officially opened as a community based arts and
heritage centre, being the home of our Ipswich Hospital Band. On Saturday 4 May 2013, to
conclude an open weekend, they gave a Fifth Anniversary Concert which clearly demonstrated
what rapid strides have been made in the intervening period. Their programme included
participation by St Peter’s Band, the training band, not to mention a specific Brass Ensemble
and a Wind Ensemble each with their own conductor. Congratulations on the achievements!
St Peter’s is also the base for the Ipswich Youth Steel Band and Suffolk School of Samba.
[Readers will recall the many years during which all three dockland churches were largely
inaccessible; the first Ip-art festival in 2003 was my first chance to go into them and I recall
the rickety wooden block flooring of St Peter’s and the unpromising condition of the interior.
Today it is a fine venue for music and other activities (such as recent Ipswich Society
AGM). -Ed.]
The Ipswich Society
email: enquiry@ipswichsociety.org.uk
Registered Charity no. 263322
This Newsletter is the magazine of Ipswich’s civic amenity society established in 1960
Executive Committee
Dates for your diaries
July 21, 2.30-4.30pm: Brass on the Grass, Upper Arboretum (see page 16).
August 21: Great Dunmow Maltings and Ingatestone Hall outing (in previous newsletter).
September 14/15: Heritage Open Days. A chance to visit Ipswich heritage buildings.
September 16: John Norman's East London outing (see enclosure).
November 20: the Ipswich Society’s Annual Awards Evening.
Above: the neatest set of
commercial wheelie bins
in a public place in Ipswich.
Submit your nominations to the
editor before 31 August 2013.
“Infinite in their variety,
May their lids never sunder
And their toothèd wheels revolve
With ne’er a thunder
‘Til eternity.”
John Dunne