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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 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/oct/11/tourism-booms-in-uk-after-post-referendum-fall-in-pound 

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 

www.ipswichsociety.org.uk 


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.



Issue 208 July 2017

© 2024 The Ipswich Society, Registered Charity Number: 263322

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