July 2017 Issue 208
Contents
Editorial
Letters to the Editor
26 new members
Ipswich Heritage Symposium
Chairman’s remarks
Suffolk Libraries’ cuts in funding
Planning matters
Plaque for the Basque children
Aerial photography
Bells (and clock) of St Margaret
Corn or carbuncle?
War memorials
Our AGM & Urban Character surveys
Snippets
Barrack Corner to Bobby Robson Bridge
The Norwich Road ‘village'
Ransomes' global reach
The Holi Festival
Wolsey’s Angels come to Ipswich
Society officers & contacts
Tourism: essential to Ipswich
Diary dates
B utterflies
Society WordCloud
Whither the bridge? Snippets p.19
Editorial
I was delighted to hear from Society member, Brian Mateer, shortly after the publication of our
April Newsletter and I am doubly pleased to give him credit for the photograph on the back
page of that issue, which was later bought by Suffolk County Council’s Archaeological Unit.
Brian has provided some fine examples of his aerial photography and the Society’s Executive
Committee are very interested in his extensive collection. See pages 5 and 19 (second snippet).
On May 10 over 90 members attended a meeting, chaired by Tony Marsden, to discuss the
outline plans for scheme 2 of the Cornhill redevelopment, due to go before the IBC Planning
Committee on 31 May. Neither Councillors nor officers of Ipswich Borough Council felt able
to attend owing to the forthcoming General Election.
Society Chairman, John Norman, gave a presentation illustrating past uses of the Cornhill and
a succinct explanation of the current scheme. 28 questions or observations from members
followed; while the scheme was not overwhelmingly supported, there was general agreement
that something needed to be done to renovate the area after 31 years and thereby enhance the
town. Mike Cook summed up succinctly. The Society’s recent successful AGM (see p.7) and
Cornhill event (see pp. 3 and 6) probably showed our 100% voluntary organisation at its best.
New members
Houses built along the top of the town’s earthen defences: Tower Ramparts in the 1930s. Electric House and the Footman Pretty corset factory are in the background. (From the Society’s Image Archive.)
Chairman’s remarks
Normally the editor requires my contribution before the last day of the month, one clear month
before publication. However I delayed this edition’s missive to include reflections of the
Planning Committee’s decision on the Cornhill. Their meeting took place on the 31 May and
on June 1 both the Ipswich Star and the EADT carry a report of the meeting.
I mention these publications only because they emphasised my reference to reconstituted stone
as ‘posh concrete’. Perhaps derogatory but as reconstituted stone is natural aggregates with a
cementitious binder the use of the slang led to a mention of the Society in the Press.
There was widespread concern about the design of the sculptural arches amongst Councillors,
about their impact on the open space of the Cornhill and the possibility of attracting graffiti
once erected. However, they were regarded as an integral constituent of the scheme which
was approved.
To redress the balance, the Society’s Ipswich Icons made a double centre pages spread in the
Ipswich Star. The important news, day one of the Suffolk Show was sufficiently important to
warrant an eight page insert (now there’s a challenge!).
Neil Thompson, new to the Society, is working hard putting together the Heritage Open Days
brochure which by the time you read this should be ready to go to press. As last year it will be
accompanied by an A5 flyer which is to be distributed from the beginning of August. If we can
get the flyer into information centres and tourist attractions carrying the message that Heritage
Ipswich is open on the 9 and 10 September it should go some way to attracting 10,000 visitors,
similar to last year.
If you are out and about in mid-August please let the Secretary know and we will furnish you
with some flyers to deliver. We are working on a distribution patch including Colchester,
Sudbury, Bury, Diss and the Suffolk Coast.
We have again secured the Foyer in the University Waterfront building for an exhibition in
October; this year we have delegated the space to Ipswich Maritime Trust and are helping them
put together an interesting history of the Waterfront, mainly in photographs (the IMT
photographic collection is a wonderful and important on-line resource).
To accompany the exhibition, Vice-Chairman Tony Marsden and Newsletter Editor Robin
Gaylard are putting together a 21st century version of the Ipswich Maritime Trail leaflet.
Originally published for the 1982 Maritime Festival the new version will be in a similar format
to the Heritage Open Days brochure (a 16 page booklet). It should be on sale during the
Heritage Open Days weekend and, of course it will be available at the University exhibition
2-11 October 2017.
Right now I’m off to Copenhagen to inspect the work of Hall McKnight, architects of the Ipswich Cornhill scheme; they also designed the public realm and street furniture for the Town Hall square in the centre of the Danish capital.
John Norman
Planning matters
Victoria Nursery, Westerfield Road. Temporary extension granted to 31 December 2017 to
“allow orderly winding down of business”. The site is zoned for housing.
300 Old Foundry Road (& 4-10 St Margarets Plain). Proposed conversion of The Bar
Fontaine by a new developer to 12 apartments. These very small apartments are just within the
regulations. Three new dormers on second floor are adequate. The ventilation of rooms
overlooking St Margarets Plain which is heavily polluted by both air and noise is problematic.
We must hope this development goes ahead; the building is frequently identified in complaints
lists as the worst eye-sore in the town.
49 Foxhall Road. Retrospective permission for various changes to what is now a four-chair
dental surgery. The Chairman objected at Planning Committee to the industrial style disabled
access ramp on the street side and the unacceptable shutters. However, permission was granted.
Great White Horse Hotel. A full application by a Norwich developer to renovate the first floor Trafalgar Room as an upstairs extension of the existing tenant's coffee shop, with a new staircase cut through. The relatively modern 4-storey rear block will be converted to 6 one- bedroom flats. The remainder of the hotel will be changed to a new business centre with individual business suites but a central kitchen and meeting rooms. There will be no work to the existing downstairs retail units. This would appear to be the only way the building can be brought back to economic viability. The only contentious part of the proposals is the staircase which will alter the important Trafalgar Room
but it will allow it to come back into public access and use. On balance, with close control of the detailing of the staircase, this is acceptable. It has been granted consent.
66 Orford Street. Replacement of wooden windows with uPVC in a house in a Conservation
Area subject to Article 4 development rights, this will surely be refused by the Conservation
Officer. Additionally, there have been many local objections.
22-28 Crown Street. Probably built as a garage, it has been an Indian restaurant and a
cannabis factory. It has planning permission for change of use to four apartments on the ground
floor and three on the first. This application seeks consent for an extra flat on the first floor and
the construction of a steel framed second floor with four flats.
Erection of 28 dwellings on redundant hockey pitch, Ipswich Sports Club. The hockey
pitch has been refused floodlighting several times and on appeal; thus it has been replaced by a
new one at Tuddenham Road. Further, the club wishes to build a 25 metre pool and needs to
finance it. The site is zoned for housing in the current Ipswich plan. It would lead to increased
traffic in rush hours on Henley Road; this, in our view, is not grounds for refusal but yet
another reason for improving traffic flow in the area. The current proposal is for 9 four-
bedroom houses, 4 three-bedroom semis, 7 two-bedroom semis, 2 three-bedroom detached and
six one-bedroom flats, in two and three storey buildings of contemporary design. The layout of
the terraced houses is noteworthy. Unfortunately, there is no developer as yet so this design
may not be built although it was granted permission.
Mike Cook
Aerial photography
In 1960 I joined the RAF and completed twelve years plus in the photographic trade. Overseas
tours included West Germany, Aden and Berlin. The nature of the work varied greatly from
presentations to aerial photography and to photographing East German military parades in
Berlin and Potsdam.
Following my discharge in 1973 I joined Fisons. Part of the work here involved Fisons Farm
Photo Plan. A Cessna 172 aircraft and pilot was hired from Air Anglia and for about two
months (5 days a week) I photographed farmland. Two cameras were used, one with 35mm
colour infra-red film and the other one with 120 colour negative film. The infra-red film
pinpointed any disease in the crop and the prints showed any faults with the fertiliser spreader.
The cameras were used together on a bracket.
The farms to be photographed were plotted on an OS 1.50,000 map from directions sent to me
by the Fisons Rep. The farm was also marked on an AirMap and the pilot used this map to get
the aircraft to the right area.
Having found the farm the seat belt was unbuckled, the window opened and, standing on the
seat, the individual fields were photographed. With the breeze from the open window it was
essential that a fast shutter speed was used. The height the pictures were taken was 500 The town from the Masonic Lodge (bottom)
St Mary-Le-Tower (centre) to Civic Centre (top). feet and 24 pictures were taken Photograph by Brian Mateer
on each camera. The whole lot was finished off with a low level picture of the farmhouse.
Each farm took about 30 minutes.
I have also taken many aerial pictures of Ipswich over the years. One series of pictures was of the Buttermarket site and the archeological picture on the back page of Issue 207. Among my collection I have pictures of the Greyhound Track, building of the Orwell Bridge, Cardinal Park before the cinemas and RAF Bentwaters just after closure and many more too numerous to mention.
My aerial work finished with the closing of Ipswich airport in 1998.
Brian Mateer
(See Snippets on page 19.)
Corn or carbuncle?
A crowded public gallery was present in Grafton House for the meeting of the Planning and
Development Committee on the last day of May. There was a packed agenda and for the first
time under this particular chairman, a split decision (on an infill plot in Rosehill Road).
Most of the public were there for the application by Ipswich Sports Club to build houses on the
old hockey pitch; the developer spoke reminding the committee of the planning directive for
more homes as a priority. Two objectors repeated the same message as had been conveyed in
100 individual letters but the scheme was carried.
The application for improvements to the Cornhill was comprehensively presented by the Chief
Planning Officer. He was followed by John Norman who took the opportunity to point out the
potential pitfalls of the scheme. There were two immediate difficulties with the Society’s
position:-
i) The Ipswich Society support the need for a new surface. After 30 years of traffic the red bricks
are tired, worn and shabby, and here is an opportunity to make something of the Cornhill and of
the buildings in the immediate vicinity, but without the extensive clutter proposed.
ii) Most members who had corresponded were suggesting that a sum over £3 million was
excessive for the work envisaged. However the Planning committee is not the forum for
discussions about Council expenditure. Had the application been by any other developer no-one
would have known the cost of the scheme.
John's main point of contention was the lack of commitment to the scheme by Suffolk County
Council. A letter within the application documents clearly stated that SCC (the Highway
Authority) would not be responsible for the maintenance of the new road surface, for the trees,
street furniture, steps or fountains. A very negative letter considering that SCC are joint partners
in funding the capital cost.
The removal of the two Norwegian Maple trees outside the old Post Office (trees in a
Conservation Area are protected) was unnecessary and would be a sad loss of an important
amenity. John went on to remind the committee that there was nothing in the proposals (as
proposed by Ipswich Vision) that there should be better use of the Town Hall, Corn Exchange
and old Post Office. Perhaps some of the proposed expenditure on street clutter could be better
used to improve access and long term use of those buildings.
The Cornhill, at 0.3 hectares is a very small space for a town square. It was small in the
nineteenth century when the population was under 100,000, even more so today with twice that
number of potential users. A town square where the usable space should not be lost to sculptural
figures, fountains and steps.
As is frequently the case with planning applications, important details are left as reserved
matters, discussion and decision between architect and planning officer. Such is the case here in
respect of the materials to be used as surfacing material: slabs, tiles or setts, the choice of granite
or some other stone, and the prominent colour will clearly have an impact on the ambience of the
finished scheme. John suggested that with such an important decision the scheme should not be
approved until the detail is known.
Speakers at Planning Meetings are limited to five minutes but the Chairman appreciated the
importance of this scheme and the need to clarify the views of a large number of objectors so
held the red light until John had finished. It was to no avail. The committee were keen for the
scheme to progress (it having been five years since Sir Stuart Rose first suggested improvements
and insulted Ipswich) and approved the application.
The 2017 AGM and the Ipswich Urban Character appraisals
More than 150 Ipswich Society members gathered for the organisation’s 57th Annual General
Meeting on Wednesday 26 April, to discuss key developments in the town over the last year. The
AGM, held at the University of Suffolk’s Waterfront Building, featured a talk by Ipswich
Borough Council’s new Senior Conservation and Urban Design Officer, Mike Taylor. Points of
discussion included the town’s local list, urban characterisation study and projects expected over
the coming year.
An introduction by the Society’s President The Mayor of Ipswich, Roger Fern (in one of his final
engagements in that post) set the tone for the evening. Mike Taylor gave a cogent and interesting
talk on one facet of the Borough’s work for the town.
An Urban Character study provides guidance for developers and planners to use. It is based on
character areas, which have been identified using factors such as historical character, topography,
natural features and street types. It provides urban design analysis and information but not
prescriptive advice about how development should be designed.
For each character area, the SPD (Strategic Planning Document) provides information on the
historical background, biodiversity and archaeology, transport and access, open space and green
space, landform and views, urban analysis and on sub-areas within each broad character area.
In 2015 the Council adopted the Ipswich Urban Character SPDs for Norwich Road; Gipping and
Orwell Valley; Parks; California; Chantry, Stoke Park and Maidenhall. The remaining parts of the
Borough are scheduled to be characterised in the next phase of work which is ongoing.
The documents are available online and comprise attractive, well-designed spreads of
information, maps, period and location photographs, detail images and captions with an overall
summary at the end. It is the inclusion of smaller details of brickwork, railings and other features
which bring the documents to life – particularly if you live in or know the locality. They point up
the importance of things we normally take for granted: the importance of neighbourhood and the
differences between neighbourhoods, as well as the dramatic changes to a familiar place which
would result from the removal of a couple of trees, or a landmark building.
Viewing the ‘then and now’ photographs which Tim Leggett produces (with such attention to detail) on the Society’s Facebook page and on their dedicated album on our online Image Archive, reveals that Ipswich is no stranger to this sort of alteration in the urban landscape.
https://www.ipswich.gov.uk/content/urban-character-supplementary-planning-document
From Barrack Corner to Bobby Robson Bridge We had a lovely sunny evening for our walk with 30+ Ipswich Society members down the side and across the bottom of the River Gipping/Orwell valley, considering the geology in the
buildings and under their foundations.
We started with the Elim Pentecostal Church, with its distinctive Kentish Ragstone, a sandy limestone about 120 million years old, seen in many of the Victorian churches built after the arrival of the railway to our town. Opposite, the old telephone exchange in Portman Road was built in 1954, its foundations showing glacial boulder clay (about 440,000 years old) with gravel above it which yielded a mammoth tooth. Downhill, St Matthew’s Church has London Clay septaria in its walls. This local calcareous mudstone, about 54 million years old, is not a good
building stone – its history includes church tower collapses, such as at Alderton. The foundations of the underground car park across Civic Drive showed much flexuring of the boulder clay/London Clay layers, buckled up by the advancing ice. The problems this caused during construction may be reflected in the chancel arch of St Matthews, which is slightly askew perhaps due to this unstable foundation.
Further down Portman Road, excavations have shown mud and then peat, with branches and nuts
resting on gravel. This gravel is the lowest river terrace deposited by the Gipping during the last
cold phase about 25,000 years ago and the peat on top of it represents a younger river channel.
We traced this – a flat, grassed linear feature between Canham Street and Little Gipping Street
(the clue is in the name), it is occupied by the low level sewer now. It leads to the Alderman
Canal, though cut off from it now, and we walked along the canal path discussing its origins and
water supply. The canal is banked up 3 metres above the recreation ground – an artificial mill
leet (elevated water supply) for the former Handford Mill. Could the canal receive water directly
from the Chalk in the Dillwyn Street area, where the gravel is banked up against the Chalk? Our
progress to the Handford Sluice revealed the penstock valve which can let water in from the
River Gipping. The Handford Sluice is (one of two) where the fresh water Gipping ends and the
salt water Orwell begins – holding back the Orwell at high tide.
We walked along Sir Alf Ramsey Way on the lowest river terrace to the Bus Depot, with its
diverting evening bus-shunting activities. The Chalk is only a few metres below the surface here
and our modern steel-framed buildings all the way along to the waterfront have their foundations
driven into it. Excellent – except for a deep, narrow channel eroded under the ice 440,000 years
ago which snakes its way from the Great Blakenham area via the bus depot (and the ‘Wine
Rack’) down to the Orwell bridge. This steep sided channel in the Chalk can be 30-40 m deep –
it is infilled with sand and clay and requires deep piles driven down to the Chalk. CM’s
experience of the Ramsgate earthquake of May 2015 was related at this point – woken at 3am by
a loud bang and several seconds of horizontal vibrations. Shockwaves from the faulting under
Ramsgate travelled northwards through the Chalk to Ipswich (Wolsey Street in this case) and
transmitted themselves through the foundations (in the Chalk) and up steel frame to the 5th floor
apartment. Two other members of the party had also been woken up by this experience – we
can’t usually see the Chalk in Ipswich but sometimes we can feel it!
Still on the 25,000 year-old terrace, we stopped by the old power station in Constantine Road.
Various excavations here have yielded mammoth and reindeer bones indicative of cold climate, and also evidence of ourselves – some (very beautiful) Late Palaeolithic flint implements. Did these mammoth-hunters experience earthquakes in the Chalk?
Caroline and Bob Markham
Ransomes’ global reach
We have a family connection with the World War II Thai-Burma Railway and have just returned from a regular visit to Myanmar (Burma). We visited Mawlamyine (Moulmein in Colonial and WWII days), the third largest city in the country. Following the construction of a major river bridge about 13 years ago the railway marshalling yards have been bypassed and have fallen into neglect. We took the opportunity of exploring this area and came across a turntable. On close examination we found the maker’s name plate and were surprised to see ‘Ransomes & Rapier Ltd, Makers, Ipswich.’.
David and Judy Saunders
Wolsey’s Angels come to Ipswich
Plans are being drawn up for an exhibition to be staged, appropriately, in the Wolsey Art
Gallery within Christchurch Mansion. The centre-piece will be the four sculptures of angels
commissioned by the town’s most famous son, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, (perhaps typically) to
preside over the grand, classical stone tomb he had commissioned for himself. The tomb was,
after centuries, eventually ‘recycled’ for Lord Nelson in St Paul’s Cathedral and is there today.
The story of the sculptures is summarised in our Newsletter October 2014 (Issue 197), when your Society
contributed to the fund to save them for the nation. Of course, Wolsey, Cardinal Archbishop of York and Lord
Chancellor of England, never needed the elaborate burial accoutrements owing to his fall from power initiated by his former patron, King Henry VIII.
Below: facsimile of the foundation stone for Wolsey’s College which stands in St Peter’s on the Waterfront.
Bust of Wolsey displayed at the top of the main staircase in the Town Hall.
Various Tudor artefacts from the Museums collection, rarely displayed, will be on show as
well as documents, including the Charter granted by the king to found Wolsey’s pet project the short-lived College of The Blessed Virgin Mary (1528-31) between College Street, St Peters Street and Lower Brook Street. Only one authenticated painted portrait of Wolsey is known – and that is a copy of a contemporary original. Further copies based on that famous portly profile include one in the Town Hall.
The exhibition in the Wolsey Art Gallery, Ipswich will run from October 14 2017 to March 11 2018. This, following the highly successful showing of the John Constable ‘rainbow’ painting of Salisbury Cathedral in the same venue, has the makings of a major draw to One of the four angel sculptures by the Ipswich both locally, regionally and internationally. Florentine sculptor Benedetto da Rovezzano
Tourism: essential to Ipswich
Heritage tourism is a vital part of the UK economy. In 2015, domestic and international tourists
made 192 million trips to visit the UK’s cultural, historic and natural assets. They spent £17.5
billion while doing so. ‘Heritage tourism’ encompasses heritage attractions, such as castles,
galleries and museums as well as attractions in the natural environment such as urban parks,
beaches, country parks, and nature reserves.
For example, The UK recorded its biggest-ever month for tourist visits after the referendum-
related slump in the pound (when sterling was at its lowest level against the dollar for 30 years)
lured 3.8 million people to British shores in July 2016, spending £2.5 billion.
Tourism chiefs at Ipswich Borough Council and the Ipswich Destination Marketing
Organisation welcome the October 2016 statistics, which showed a year-on-year increase of
more than 2% as proof that the town continues to expand the attractions which it offers visitors.
Tourism is key to the Ipswich economy: not only does it bring in £242 million
per year, it also sustains more than 4,600 jobs – that’s one in seven of the
town’s workforce. Hotels, retailers, theatres and restaurants are all feeling the
benefit as the Ipswich statistics match those of the East of England region. And
the town does not rely just on the summer months. Tourism spending is fairly
constant throughout the year.
There are always going to be a few nay-sayers who ask ‘Why would anybody
want to come to Ipswich?’. Visitors are impressed by the situation of the town
with its historic Wet Dock, river foreshores, countryside and access to well-
maintained parks and to the nearby sea coast. A bustling shopping centre
contradicts the opinion (often held by those in the hinterland who avoid the
town and go to Bury or Norwich instead) that Ipswich is just full of charity
shops and phone shops. Look a little further and quality independent shops,
department stores, upmarket chain outlets and a busy open market four times a
week make it an excellent shopping destination. Oh, and contrary to
commonly-held opinion, the Borough car-parks are affordable and we still The Navigator
have valuable Park & Ride services from Copdock Mill and Martlesham Heath. on the River Path
Ipswich is there to be appreciated, for businesses to thrive, for people of all ages to enjoy. Its
heritage is comparable to other big towns and cities nationally – after all, the Anglo-Saxons
formed their first town here – and Ipswich was the crucible of the English language: becoming
a major cultural and artistic force. Perhaps what the town has lacked is a sense of confidence in
itself and its potential. Public bodies, voluntary groups and business people only have to look
at the economic benefits conferred by visitors to Ipswich. So let’s welcome the visitors,
celebrate our culture, historic buildings and street layout, enjoy our parks and facilities (the
envy of many other towns), support our traders and shop proprietors and we’ll be fine.
R.G.
References
https://www.ipswich.gov.uk/content/visitors-boost-ipswich-economy-0
The impact of heritage tourism for the UK economy. Oxford Economics, August 2016
Ipswich Society Newsletter supplement: A tale of three cities, April 2015.
Ipswich Society Newsletter: Parking prices in Ipswich, January 2016.
Butterflies
As a follow up to Bob Markham's review of my book about butterflies in Christchurch Park
(January 2017 issue), can I ask those visiting the park to let me have any records of butterflies
for 2017. The actual butterfly garden is the central point for sightings. This has been
supplemented by additional nectar sources though paradoxically six trees have been planted
there, all of which with increased length and width will cast shadows on to the nectar sources,
making them less productive and of not much use to insects which feed in sunlight. I am
particularly interested in sightings of these species:-
Common Blue – there was a colony in the long grass below the tennis courts but there were no
2016 records. This should not be confused with the holly blue, which usually flies much higher
and has a different underwing pattern.
Brimstone – there have been additional plants of buckthorn, the only one on which it lays
eggs, placed in the orchard and around the northern edges. Already there have been more
sightings than for most years and I am particularly interested in egg-laying records for this
distinctive yellow coloured butterfly.
Brown Argus – this needs close identification to separate it from a common blue female.
There have only been two recent park records and it is likely to be seen in the areas of longer grass.
Grayling – there is only one park record but this butterfly has a powerful flight and tends to
seek out new areas in good breeding years. It always settles with its wings closed.
Green hairstreak – this was a late but very welcome addition to the park's total of species. It
lays eggs on gorse or broom and will probably be seen below the tennis courts or around the
additional areas of gorse and broom planted around the northern edge.
In addition I mentioned several potential sightings in the future and two of these might be seen
in the park in 2017:-
Silver-washed fritillary – a large butterfly which is attracted to bramble flowers or buddleia
and has colonised many parts of Suffolk in recent years. This at a distance is a vivid orangey
colour, much bigger than a comma, with underwing markings resembling waves crashing at an
angle onto a beach, hence its name. One visited our garden, about five hundred yards from the
park, a few years ago.
White admiral – a beautiful butterfly with chocolate brown markings and white
banding, having for me the most elegant flight of any British species. It lays eggs on honeysuckle and will feed on bramble flowers and other nectar sources. One was recently seen and photographed in the Dales, little more than a mile from the park.
Please contact me by email on: rgsvalezina@hotmail.co.uk
Richard Stewart
Silver-washed fritillary
Letters to the Editor
90-92 Berners Street from Francis Beaumont
I was reading the Society's latest Newsletter and noticed an inaccuracy. As I live in Berners Street I've done a bit of research into the street over the years and knew that 90/92 Berners Street started off as a school – not a nurses’ home as stated in the interesting article about Italianate buildings [Issue 207].
The details of those living at No 90 (92) in 1862 were:-
Elizabeth (head) & Jane Butler Schoolmistress
Mary Edwards English teacher
Julie Clerc French teacher
Joana Pape German teacher
2 domestic servants & a nurse
30 female “Scholars” 8-17 years old.
In addition to this school, in 1862 the other large building in the street, today’s vets at no. 56, was another
school with 10 residential students.
I’m not sure when No 90 was built. Research into earlier dates is problematic. The area was still under
development, and street names and house numbers changed. There was a “Military Road” in the area – possibly where Anglesea Road is now, but it’s difficult to be sure.
[This ‘eyecatcher’ building at the top of Berners Street is Listed Grade II and described as ‘A late C19 red brick building with stucco dressings. Originally 2 houses, it is now divided into flats’. -Ed.]
Ipswich Market on the Cornhill from Sue Arbuthnot
Reading Neil Salmon’s article in the April Ipswich Society Newsletter today warmed my heart.
I’ve been going to the market for many years and never failed to enjoy the experience. Fish,
veg., and flowers are usually on my list – but I’ve spotted Hoover bags as well!
So very much more useful and used than tables and chairs and possibly a fountain which would
be clogged up pretty quickly!
Ex-M&S bosses don’t know everything!
Suffolk Churches from Felicity Cambridge
H. Munro Cautley's well known book originally published in 1937 and recognised still as the authority on Medieval Church Architecture and featuring a gazeteer of Suffolk's churches with over 400 photographs taken by the author has just been reissued. The more recent editions now include a Supplement on Victorian Church Building by Anne Riches and a Survey of Lost and Ruined Churches by John Blatchly and Peter Northeast.
I believe this book, originally printed and published by my father with the imprint Norman Adlard and Company, could be of interest to members of the Ipswich Society – if they do not already have a copy, of course. 5th edition published by Boydell and Brewer, £45, although check to see if a special offer price of £33.75 is still available.
Medieval churches in Ipswich from Ken Wilson
The report on the interesting proposals for St Clement’s Church in the April Newsletter is a reminder that, of our twelve* medieval churches (only York and Norwich have more) six are thriving with active congregations and the other five redundant ones are all in good uses.
The fact that no fewer than four of our churches are dedicated to St Mary is evidence of her long association with Ipswich, not least in the – now sadly lost – shrine in Lady Lane that, in its day, was second only in importance to that at Walsingham, visited by royalty and the setting for a royal wedding.
A statuette of the Virgin and Child that now graces the church in Nettuno, Italy is reputed to be the very one from Ipswich, saved from destruction during the Reformation and taken there for safety. A modern reproduction by Robert Mellamphy is to be found in St Mary Elms where more information about the ‘Madonna of Ipswich’ is also to be found.
[*Interestingly, the Suffolk churches website (www.suffolk churches.co.uk) includes St Mary & St Botolph at Whitton, making thirteen medieval churches in the Borough. -Ed.]
School places in ‘New Martlesham’ from Charles Currie
Following your kind publication of my letter in the latest newsletter, I thought I'd point out another apparent planning anomaly.
I realise that the development at Martlesham is not in Ipswich, but it will certainly have an impact on the town. According to the rather laudatory articles in the local press there will be 2000 houses in the completed scheme. And, as if it were a good thing, there is then a list of the school places that will be provided. 52 early years, 630 primary and 600 secondary. Isn't that wonderful?
But wait a minute, what demographic is being catered for here? One school age child in five eighths of the homes, and three eighths of the homes with no school age children at all? I know that planners have far more refined statistics than I do for the needs of a particular population, but doesn't that make the target home owner unusually celibate, and owning a lot of empty bedrooms?
The developer will walk away with a healthy profit, leaving a legacy of "immigrants stealing my child's school place" having to be dealt with by the local community. Including Ipswich.
Hanse Boston from Alison Fairman, Chairman Boston Hanse Group I read with interest your Newsletter [Issue 205, page 9] about your society's visit to Kings Lynn with a tour around the town with Dr Paul Richards, our very good friend. I thought I should contact you as some of your facts are wrong!
Boston joined the new Hanseatic league in 2015, after Hull the previous year. I am not aware that Great Yarmouth is a member.
We in the Boston Hanse Group have been aware of your application to join and are delighted that you will join the English Hanse towns. We went to Bergen last year with Kings Lynn and Hull and had a really interesting time making various connections with Europe.
We are taking 20 of us to Kampen this year including four Youth Hanse students, the only ones in England. We will link up with Kings Lynn and Hull again. We have our second International Day here on the 27th May, and would be delighted to meet any of your group. If there is any help we can give you, just contact me. Look forward to welcoming you to Hanse.
THE IPSWICH HERITAGE SYMPOSIUM 2017
Ipswich – Celebrating Our Heritage: Past, Present, and Future Presentations from the voluntary groups and organisations which have been involved in the town,
together with opportunities to consider how best we can sustain and further develop heritage priorities
for the future success of Ipswich.
Saturday 18 November 2017, 10.30am – 4pm. Museum Street Methodist Church, Ipswich
Tickets: £18.00 per person,
Hot lunch and refreshments included in the ticket price
Tickets will be available from the Tourist Information Centre from Tues. August 1, 2017.
Organised by The Ipswich Heritage Forum
Ipswich Society Awards 2017
Don’t forget to look out for nominations for this year’s Awards in November. Please contact our Hon. Secretary or Vice-Chairman, Tony Marsden (contact details are on page 23).
Suffolk Libraries’ cuts in funding
Suffolk Libraries cut many of the free online resources in February and
March, 2017 such as the 19th century newspapers, The Times Online archive
and the Dictionary of National Biography. For anyone not in education, employment, or
training or those in isolated rural communities this is a loss for those doing historical research.
It particularly affects those who are preparing for further education and schoolchildren in
Suffolk, because the only way to access those free resources was through the 44 libraries.
Students at the University of Suffolk get access for free, yet all those interested in doing
research in their own time who cannot afford to study are deprived of such research tools.
Residents of the county cannot subscribe to the online resources as individuals as they can
with, for example, Ancestry.co.uk, so Suffolk residents are left without access. The resources
were a great help for World War I research, for example. For many older people studying local
history these sites improved their quality of life. The Times Online archive said that it was
heavily used in this county, yet Suffolk Libraries say it was cut because of low use.
The counties of Essex, Norfolk and Cambridge still seem to have these services on offer to
their library users. Suffolk Libraries blames the latest £200,000 cut in funding from Suffolk
County Council (SCC) and the IPS* could face a further £230,000 reduction in 2017/18. The
council lays responsibility at the management decisions of the IPS running our libraries.
Funding for our libraries is now 33% lower than in 2010.
Archives users face similar challenges. They have to pay £1.50 at the Suffolk Record Offices
for a single A4 black & white photocopy or £10 for a day photo-licence. Either the Findmypast
website or Ancestry.co.uk (but not both) is still available for free to the public at the Record
Offices, but use is limited to thirty minutes at a time.
[*Industrial & Provident Society; running the county’s libraries as contracted by SCC.]
As we went to press, Arts Council England announced that Suffolk Libraries will have the status of a National
Portfolio Organisation for 2018-2022 and will receive £704,000 over this period.
A plaque for Basque children in Ipswich
A new plaque celebrating the evacuation of children from the Basque region of Spain during the Spanish Civil War
eighty years ago was unveiled at Wherstead Park on 10 June 2017. 100 of the children were housed at the
Georgian mansion in 1937. Support for their upkeep came from voluntary contributions, including from staff of the Co-operative Society, now based at the mansion. A full article will appear in our October issue.
Corrigenda. Issue 207, Page 26: ‘… in 1666 Henry II signed the historic Royal Charter’; the date should have been ‘1166’, of course. The Editor welcomes corrections and contributions to the Newsletter.
The bells (and clock) of St Margaret
For the first time in over a hundred years, the eight bells of the Church of St Margaret are being taken
out of the tower as part of the Heritage Project. On the 15 and 16 May the bells were lowered to the
ground to be taken away for refurbishment or recasting.
Photograph by John Norman
Every week for the past 15 years, octogenarian John Girt has manually wound up the clock of St
Margaret. On 30 April he wound it for the last time and now anyone glancing up to check the time as
they walk down Soane Street will find the clock has stopped. In fact, not only has it stopped, but, as part
of a larger Heritage Lottery funded project, the clock mechanism has been taken away for repair and
overhaul. When it returns in October it will be fitted with an electric winder and auto-regulator so it will
be one of the most accurate tower clocks in Ipswich.
However the big question was: what time should the hands be set to whilst the clock was stopped?
Convention would often dictate 12 o’clock. However, St Margaret’s decided there could only be one
time for a stopped church clock. They therefore persuaded David Bearcroft, local horologist, to leave
the hands set at ten to three, to echo the war poet Rupert Brooke’s famous 1912 poem The Old Vicarage, Grantchester, with its memorable last lines:- ‘Stands the church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea?’
John Girt winding the clock
War memorials
Civic Voice, the national organisation for Civic Societies, held a training day in Ipswich
recently about how to carry out a condition survey on local war memorials. One of the key
requirements, having surveyed the memorial, was to add it to the National War Memorial
Register. It is estimated that there are some 100,000 war memorials in this country, but only
70,000 are on the Register.
They are historic monuments, almost all 100 years old and most are unique of shape and size,
each with a different set of names. After the First World War in Ipswich public subscription
was used to add a wing to the then East Suffolk hospital in Anglesea Road, with sufficient left
over to build the cenotaph in Christchurch Park.
Additionally there is a memorial in Bourne Park and one in St Pancras Church, Orwell Place
(together with a picture commemorating Our Lady of Czestochowa, in memory of the crew of
the Polish 'c' armoured train killed near Ipswich in the Second World War. The memorial to
the Boer War is close to the cenotaph in Christchurch Park.
Representatives from Civic Societies and Parish Councils attended the event and set off to
survey their own, local memorial.
We were informed that there are four ‘thankful villages’ in Suffolk: villages where the young
men were engaged in the First World War and all safely returned home (hence no local war
memorial). South Elmham St Michael, just south of Bungay is doubly ‘thankful’ in that the
young men of the village also survived the Second World War.
St Michael South Elmham is, as you can imagine, a pretty small village with a population in
the 1911 census of just under 50 people; remarkably, eleven of the men went to war and
returned home safely.
John Norman
The Civic Voice event: participants
surveying the cenotaph in Christchurch Park.
Snippets
NADFAS / The Arts Society
In January 2017, the arts education charity, the National Association of Decorative and Fine
Arts Societies (NADFAS) revealed plans for a new visual identity – and new name. It was
announced, that in May 2017, The Arts Society will replace NADFAS as their new trading
name. As a means of promoting the new iteration the local group will be featured at Quay
Place on Heritage Open Day. The Society met with Jan Watson and Anne Foulds, Chairman of
East Anglia Arts Society and John Biglin, Heritage and Community Co-ordinator at Quay
Place about producing some colouring-in sheets for youngsters based on images of Quay Place
and the area nearby. From our Image Archive work is proceeding to produce materials to
celebrate the place, the new name and our connection.
Aerial photographs of Ipswich
After a meeting with Brian Mateer, one of our members, we can expect to see a new album
opening in the Image Archive. Brian is retired and was a photographer of aerial views of
Ipswich and the surrounding areas. We were able to advise him on matters to do with
digitisation and admire many of the hundreds of photographs and negatives which he will be
working on over the next few months. The prospect is exciting and will add a new and
fascinating dimension to our resource with his excellent images.
The road across two continents, the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean
A direct and continuous motorway is under construction from Shanghai to Hamburg, an 8,500
kilometre road that will connect the manufacturing towns in China with the markets in Europe.
Costing six billion dollars (£5 billion) it is expected that trucks will take eleven days to
complete the full journey.
I’ll say that again - £5,000,000,000 for 8,500 km or 5,300 miles or just under £1 million per
mile (compared with £30 million* in the UK)
*across open countryside; in UK urban areas costs can be ten times this figure.
This new road will be in competition with the rail line mentioned in the last Newsletter: Yiwu,
China to the London Freight Terminal; a 7,500 mile journey but, because of the change of
gauge, the containers have to be transhipped twice (travelling on three trains).
Whither the bridge?
At the time of going to press, our local MP has changed and, judging by press statements, this
may affect the trajectory of the three bridges described in our last (Issue 207). Sandy Martin
has said that he would ask the Department of Transport to switch the £100 million promised
funding towards the building of a Northern Relief Road. The largest of the crossings from
Hawes Street to Holywells Road is the most controversial and this bridge is on the Department
of Transport schedule of capital infrastructure works and has sizeable funding pledges from the
Treasury, Suffolk County Council (SCC) and the Local Enterprise Partnership. This would
therefore not require planning permission from Ipswich Borough Council. SCC cabinet
member for Ipswich, Paul West, said that SCC would be pressing ahead with the project: ‘This
is a full project; you can’t plan to have one or two of the bridges. And it isn’t possible to move
the money from one Ipswich project to another in the town – if it is taken away from this, then
it would go to another part of the country.’ Our sister organisation, Ipswich Maritime Trust, is
very concerned about the effects of the bridge on high-masted vessels accessing the Wet Dock.
The ‘village’ from The Queen’s Head to The Rose & Crown
Your Editor, in characteristic skittish mood, suggested that I write something about our newly
adopted neighbourhood. You see, last year we made the momentous decision to move back into
Ipswich after a twenty-eight year country sojourn. Not only that, we decided to reside as
centrally as possible to avoid all the problems inherent in suburban living. A particular house in
Burlington Road took our fancy and we bought it. In choosing this area we have been regarded
by some as rather courageous or even a little foolhardy. Our reply to that is, what was good
enough for the redoubtable Dr John Marcus Blatchly, has to be acceptable to us! Indeed we
now reside in reflected glory in his former home.
Norwich Road to the west
Our excitement at not having to drive a mile to the nearest shop has been immense and we
have gradually explored the immediate area on foot. This brings me to Norwich Road. I
thought I knew it well, having worked at Ipswich Hospital when it was on Anglesea Road and
driven down it for forty odd years. How things have changed!
I have chosen to concentrate this short survey on the stretch starting at St Matthews Street
roundabout and ending at the Bramford Road junction.
The crucial point is that this is a street in the old sense although with a very different
demographic from that which existed forty years ago. Diversity and private entrepreneurial
enthusiasm is the over-riding feeling here. How different from the relatively sterile experience
of the town centre with its corporate ‘could be anywhere’ businesses. I have compared the
experience of eating and shopping here with that of parts of London.
There is street life of a kind normal for many of the new immigrant population. Meeting
greeting and transacting is commonplace in a way that is rather strange to indigenous
Ipswichians (whoever they may be). In consequence the street feels livelier even late into
the evenings.
Dining here used to be rather limited to ‘Indian’ (still there, the Maharani and Taj Mahal of
blessed memory) or latterly Chinese (as well as a take-away). Now there are Turkish
restaurants and takeaways (four) of some excellence and two rather wonderful Portuguese
Cafés, much used by the Portuguese. They have a nice family feel, serve some of the best
coffee in town and do an excellent lunch of whatever they happen to be cooking that day. A fish
and chip shop caters to more conservative palates and three other cafes are scattered around.
At my last count there are four Halal grocers offering a bewildering array of exotic foods and
good vegetables. In addition Eastern European tastes are catered for at Rasputin and elsewhere
(two). Indeed, the range of services offered by some of these shops makes
categorisation difficult!
Several very good barbers, including Italian, Afro and Turkish, cater for men and women.
There are ten hair and nail salons! Tattoos can be had for those whose predilections tend in
that direction.
The Co-op has closed, but who needs it when a cornucopia of splendid, cheap produce is so
widely available?
Add to all these, a home brew shop, St Jude’s beer outlet, a tanning studio, stomacare facility,
two dry cleaners, a pharmacy, and two wedding shops, and you have a great range of
independent outlets. Of Cleopatra’s, with its unchanging ancient Egyptian themed window
display, I have no certain knowledge. Some readers of this article may be better informed
than I.
Chain shops include The Bath Store, Pizza Hut, Coral’s and, inevitably, a Tesco Express.
The extraordinary ‘jewel in the crown’ adorning the mid-point of this street is Coes. A
remarkable institution, that rarity, a family run clothing shop of some longevity. It is something
of an institution with generations of local people. The building has been extended in
commendable style and the window displays are professional and inviting.
Other services include the Racial Equality offices, various employment agencies and a travel
agent. BBC Suffolk lurks just off the street.
The quaintly entitled ‘Adult Shop’, its windows often misted up, has closed. This strikes me as
a little odd as a nationwide survey of attitudes to sex undertaken a few years ago suggested that
Suffolk is above average in its espousal of sexual matters.
So there we have it. A little shabby it may be. Not much in the way of Farrow and Ball here;
the shop fascias having something more of ‘abroad’ about them. But this is a street to visit and
treasure. Don’t be frightened. Venture, however tentatively, in from the suburbs and hinterland
and save yourself a foreign holiday or a trip to London. You’ll find most of the experience here
in these few hundred yards!
Chris Wiltshire
St Matthews Street to the east
Holi
The Holi Festival of Colour took place in Holywells Park in Ipswich on Saturday, April 2.
The traditional Hindu event, held in collaboration with Ipswich Borough Council, aimed to
welcome spring and mark the new life and energy of the season. It saw participants cover each
other in brightly-coloured powder. The festival of Holi can be regarded as a celebration of the
colours of unity and brotherhood. It has traditionally been celebrated in high spirit which
breaks all barriers of discrimination. Holi included a bonfire, Bollywood entertainment, henna
hand painting and Indian food stalls.
The view from just below the Stable Block of the lake and children’s play area…
and a tulip tree.
The Ipswich Society
email: secretary@ipswichsociety.org.uk
Registered Charity no. 263322
This Newsletter is the magazine of Ipswich’s civic amenity society established in 1960
(views expressed in the Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Society).
Other members
Dates for your diary
Society Outings are organised through the summer months, publicised via Newsletter inserts:-
Tuesday July 18: Watts Gallery Artists’ Village, Guildford
Tuesday August 8: Eltham Palace
Wednesday September 27: Hampstead and Kenwood House
Heritage Open Weekend: September 9-10. Watch out for the comprehensive booklet.
Winter Illustrated Talks at Museum St Methodist Church (entrance in Black Horse Lane); all
talks start at 7.30pm and free tea, coffee and biscuits are provided afterwards. All are welcome.
Wednesday September 20: Bob Markham, What have we done with the Mansion? In 1895
Ipswich Council was presented with an empty house in Christchurch Park…
Wednesday October 18: Lisa Wade (UoS), Sex in the 18th Century London.
Wednesday December 20: John Harvey, Fire Service history in Ipswich and Suffolk.
Annual Awards Evening: Wednesday November 15, 7.30pm. St Peter’s-on-the-Waterfront.
Heritage Symposium 2017: Saturday 18 Nov., 10.30am – 4pm. Museum St Methodist Church.
Newsletter deadlines & publication dates (the latter may vary by a few days)
Deadline for material: 1 December; Publication date: 22 January;
1 March; 2 April;
1 June; 17 July;
1 September; 9 October.