October 2019 Issue 217
Contents
Editorial
Withypoll memorial stone
New members
IMT Window Museum anniversary
Chairman’s remarks
Snippets
Planning matters
Street scene addendum
Peter Bruff and I
Coprolite Street
Ghost signs: traces of lost businesses
Suffolk serendipity
IBC encouraging high quality design
Winter talks refreshments appeal
Knots & Ropework exhibits on the move
Adventures in Metro-land outing
Letters to the Editor
‘The Maltings’, Princes Street opens
Maldon and Wilkins Jams outing
Ipswich Society officers
Street scene
Diary dates
A burst of colour comes to College Street: ‘Mural by Zoe Power with & for the folks of Ipswich’.
Photograph by Tim Leggett
Editorial
Sheer(an) madness. On the hottest Bank Holiday weekend on record, Chantry Park in Ipswich played host to 160,000 people over four days of music, while the Made in Suffolk exhibition had them queuing outside the Wolsey Galley at Christchurch Mansion for an exhibition of fine art and Ed Sheeran’s story. Timed/dated tickets for the exhibition are free. The logistics of all this must have been a real challenge, so we must tip our collective hat to the organisers and support services for events enjoyed safely by all, many of whom would have been visiting our town for the first time.
Barely a week later and Ipswich showed itself to best effect again with the 1 Big Multicultural Festival in Alexandra Park – a family event unique in this country. Organised by BSC Multicultural Services (which has emerged out of the Bangladeshi Support Centre) which is based in Suffolk’s most ethnically diverse and vibrant town, the BSC reaches out to advance education and empower individuals and communities. Contrary to weather forecasts, sun came to make the ninth festival of music, food, play and sport a great success. Along with the Ipswich Music Day in Christchurch Park at the end of June and the Global Rhythms world music event shortly after, Ipswich maintains its fine tradition of a free music scene, supporting musicians and lifting the spirits of the populace and visitors alike.
Ipswich: a town to be proud of, indeed.
Robin Gaylard
New Members
In 1915, the Metropolitan Railway coined the term Metroland to describe a band of countryside just north-west of London, marketed as a land of idyllic cottages and wild flowers. See the article on page 22.
Chairman’s remarks
The proposal for an Ipswich Northern Route has caused a number of members to write to me,
suggesting that the Ipswich Society take a stand against the proposal (particularly those
members who live in the rural area that is most likely to be affected) and by some who think
we should support the Suffolk County Council proposal believing that a new road will go some
way to relieving Ipswich of its traffic problems.
Even the politicians are split with the current MP Sandy Martin and the Conservative candidate
Tom Hunt both supporting the proposal with local MPs Therese Coffey and Dan Poulter
both against.
The first fact to note is that a new road won't make a great deal of difference to central
Ipswich's traffic overload. Suffolk County Council's own figures, released as part of the case
for the new road, suggest that it will make less than a 2% difference to traffic in Star Lane.
Importantly, traffic from the south will still queue at the Copdock junction (junction 55) and to
get off the A14 at junction 53 (ASDA).
Where it will make a difference is in providing a direct line between Needham Market and
Martlesham, for onward travel to the Suffolk Coast and the Port of Felixstowe. It is the latter
that makes the strategic case stack up: the A14, and particularly the Orwell Bridge, are
frequently at capacity resulting in stationary or slow moving traffic.
There is no case for building a new road ‘just in case' the Orwell Bridge is closed. Such events are still, thankfully, so infrequent as not to be economically significant, (you may not agree if you've been caught up in the gridlock that occurs in Ipswich when all of the A14 traffic has to find an alternative route through town).
What I haven't been able to find is an ‘Origin and Destination' survey of motorists who are likely to switch to the new route. The consultation document suggests journey times between Needham Market and Adastral Park (for example) will be reduced but it doesn't know how many people currently make this journey.
Finally, there is the thorny subject of cost and how we are going to pay for it. I'll not speculate
on the total cost or by how much the estimate will increase during the life of the project but
Suffolk County Council see the majority of the finance coming from developers, building new
homes north of Ipswich (and serviced by the new road). Estimates vary but that could mean
between 15,000 and 20,000 new homes. (There are currently 60,000 houses in Ipswich).
You will find enclosed within this Newsletter a four-page insert, our response to the
Consultation which was recently carried out by Suffolk County Council. It is different to most
in that it is based on a POPE (Post Opening Project Evaluation) for the A120 Braintree-to-
Stansted dual carriageway. You might be able to draw parallels between what has happened
around this road and the likely scenario north of Ipswich if the new road goes ahead.
John Norman
Planning matters
‘Digital Communication Hubs’. A proposal to install five of these 2.4m tall, 1.5m wide
telephone and advertising screens in central Ipswich. Under the Town and Country Planning
(General Permitted Development) Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 16 the LPA cannot refuse these
advertising hoardings. The order was introduced by the then Labour Government to protect K6
red telephone boxes. Under the Law of Unintended Consequences the largest advertising
company in the world, JC Decaux, can place these wherever it likes and nobody can do a thing
about it. We are consulting Civic Voice to assess the situation nationally and to check whether
they are taking it up nationally with their central Government contacts. The Highways
Authority and Suffolk Constabulary have objected; we and the Conservation Panel also object.
Ipswich Borough Council (IBC) has refused prior approval to all six on grounds of obstruction
to pedestrians, encouraging public disorder and harmful effect on the central Conservation
Area and buildings Listed Grade 2*. But we understand that BT is proposing to replace all the
existing 31,000 pay phone boxes in the UK with similar devices as above. If the intentions of
the advertising industry and BT are successful, then our town centres are going to be blighted
with these obstructive advertising hoardings.
Land to the west of the A12 and to the north of the A14 at Foxhall in East Suffolk. In the
face of much local objection and trenchant criticism from local planners, Gladman
Developments have withdrawn their proposals for a ‘garden village’ on 142 hectares of
countryside with 2,700 houses (33% affordable), 70 apartments with care, a new roundabout
from the A12, a neighbourhood centre, two primary schools, a village green, a medical centre
and much else.The Ipswich Planning & Development Committee objected strongly as well as
112 members of the public, six parish and town councils, Suffolk County Council Highways,
Highways England, Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils and the Woodbridge
Society. No consultation had taken place with the Local Planning Authorities Group. It would
produce a major increase in traffic whereas the proposed changes to the A12 and A14 have not
been approved; there is no public transport scheme identified. There would be the loss of 142
hectares of best farming land and the loss of the countryside setting of Ipswich. East Suffolk
District Council has already identified sufficient housing for its needs; this site is not needed.
Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, Heath Road. The Hospital has gained £60 million from its
merger with the failing Colchester University Hospital. Most of this will go to building a new
extension for urgent and Accident & Emergency care as well as improving the Medical
Admissions Unit, the Surgical Assessment Unit and Scanning facilities. It will be housed in
what is now the Orthopaedic Out-patient department at the south entrance. A new main hospital
entrance will be constructed on to the corridor connecting the hospital to the Elizabeth Garrett
Anderson wing (EGA). The Orthopaedic out-patients department will go into the ground floor
of the EGA. The whole scheme is a reversion to the original use of 1984 when the Casualty
department was at the south end. Architects KLH have tried their best to achieve some
architectural cohesion with the external cladding, but it is an impossible task.
Burton Son & Sanders Warehouse, St Peters Wharf. IBC are making a full application for
change of use and associated external works to the brick warehouse building to leisure use for
Gecko, a ‘physical theatre’ without a home to use Burton's warehouse as a rehearsal space. To
raise the funds the owners, IBC, has engaged a pair of architects, EDRM, to come up with a
scheme for the whole site. Assuming the planning application is successful, funders will have
to be sought which is presumably more difficult. As an architectural scheme, it is sensitively
done and there can be few serious objections. An outline application for change of use and
associated external works to the concrete framed building (including link section) to increase
the height of the building by 3 storeys, to provide retail and cafe/restaurant/takeaway at
ground floor and basement level, offices on the first and second floors and for up to 14 self-
contained flats with roof terrace amenity area and ancillary plant at 3rd to 7th floors. As this
part is at outline stage, no details are currently known.
St Peter’s Wharf in the 1990s showing St Peter’s Warehouse in the distance which burnt down in
2000 and the ship-loading gantry from the R&W Paul silo. Image from the Society’s Image Archive.
Open space, Mansbrook Boulevard, Ravenswood. The site, next to the Blue Bird Respite
Home, was allocated for recreation and has now been acquired by Headway to concentrate its
services for the rehabilitation of the brain-injured in a much larger new build on this site. This
is welcome to Ipswich, providing for both day and in-patient care for the injured and their
relatives. However, The Society and the Design Panel were disappointed with its uninteresting
layout and design; they have made some encouraging changes. Many such buildings are
architecture prize-winners – it’s an opportunity lost.
Top Yard, behind Ranelagh Road terrace. Freightliner, the second largest freight train
operator in the UK, American-owned, has permission to build a new depot in the old ‘Top
Yard’ behind the terraced houses in Ranelagh Road, opposite the Penta Hotel. This will enable
them to repair and maintain wagons and locomotives close to Felixstowe. No longer will the
diesel locomotives have to cross and recross the passenger lines to the refuelling point at the
station. When Peter Bruff built his structures they looked good, lasted 100 years and got
Listed; this won’t be the fate of these tin sheds.
Mike Cook
Peter Bruff and I
The story of the plaque celebrating Peter Bruff’s life began about ten or more years ago when I bought a book in a second-hand bookshop in Southwold. It was entitled; East Anglia’s First Railways. I thumbed through it and thought that it looked very interesting. I had never heard of the Peter Bruff, who was mentioned on numerous occasions within its pages.
I became fascinated by the story of how this man had been trained by a legend of the early railway world, Joseph
Locke, on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) in the 1830‘s. Locke had been influential in getting him an
appointment working directly for John Braithwaite on the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) in 1840. They were building a line from London to Norwich. Unfortunately, they ran out of money by the time the line reached Colchester. Bruff, having been sacked by the ECR, had surveyed an alternative, cheaper route to Ipswich and eventually on to Bury St Edmunds and Norwich. To do this the Eastern Union and Ipswich and Bury Railways were
formed with Bruff as engineer in charge. These later became part of the Great Eastern Railway (GER) in 1862.
I could not understand at first how I had missed Bruff’s name when I had been a GER enthusiast for sixty years. The reason was that few of the significant recorders of Great Eastern Railway history had ever given him more than a
passing mention. There he sat in a photograph in the book, a man in middle age –
a typical picture of the successful Victorian – confident and in charge of his life. A man who had walked the same streets as I had, a century and a half before me. Returning to the book: the author, Hugh Moffat, was recorded as
living at Clopton in Suffolk. On the cover was the reproduction of a painting by a fellow member of the Ipswich and District Historical Transport Society, Ken Leighton. I rang Ken and he told me that Hugh had also been a founder member of the society and had moved to Felixstowe. Hugh filled in many of the gaps in my knowledge concerning
Peter Bruff in middle age (reproduced Peter Bruff’s life. He also asked me to find a home for his with kind permission of Suffolk Record collection of railway related slides. They are now on permanent Office, Ipswich branch, HD2816/1/1/42) loan to the Suffolk Records Office. They include many of the photographs appearing in Hugh’s book.
I wrote a piece on Bruff’s life for the Ipswich Society Newsletter and eventually constructed a
talk describing the story of the building of the line from Colchester to Bury St Edmunds. I have
given this talk some thirty times over the last six or seven years and began to feel that I had
grown to know this man known as ‘The Brunel of the East’. I read with interest Ruth Serjeant’s
work uncovering the private life and family of this busy man. It was clear from Ruth’s article that
he and his wife had their worries concerning their large family and their antics.
I talked to John Blatchly and Doug Harper about him and they gave me some A1 size drawings
of the opening of the Eastern Union Railway. They were drawn by Fred Russel, a well-known
Ipswich-based artist of the early to mid-nineteenth century, showing a scene at the first Ipswich
Station in Croft Street on that June day in 1846. Peter Bruff is shown standing with the man who
had helped him to gain support for the line, John Chevallier Cobbold.
I began to think about a blue plaque to celebrate Bruff’s life in 2011 and I expressed the thought in a letter to Neil Salmon – then responsible for plaque installation for The Ipswich Society committee. Neil was positive about this but there were problems which I mulled over with Neil’s successor, Tony Marsden. Where were we going to install it?
Handford Lodge in Handford Road, where Bruff lived for fifty years, had been demolished ninety years before and the current Ipswich Station might present practical difficulties. I had hopes when a new block of flats was
constructed by McCarthy and Stone on the site near where the entrance gates to Handford Lodge had once stood. I suggested that the building might be named Bruff Lodge. It was decided, however, that a more
The opening of the Eastern Union Railway, 1846 logical name would be Booth Court since Handford Lodge had been the home of William Henry Booth after Bruff had died. Booth was a coal merchant who had donated his
substantial art collection to Ipswich Corporation. Tony was hoping to install the Bruff plaque on the building but ultimately it was decided that the railway station in Burrell Road was a more appropriate location particularly as it was about to undergo a major facelift.
Tony Robson took over as officer-commanding-plaques in the mid-2010s. He asked me to make contact with Abellio Greater Anglia with a view to installing the plaque on a wall at the entrance to the station. A simple instruction – but, as it transpired, not an easy one to action. Greater Anglia are easily contacted if one wants timetable informationbut anything else is almost impossible.
Eventually I rang Councillor Mandy Gaylard and she suggested that Cllr. Phil Smart might be able to help with supplying a contact name. Phil has a special interest in transport matters and was a key person in getting the new roads in the Stoke area named after such railway luminaries as Peppercorn, Gresley and our hero; Peter Bruff. He. gave me the name and contact details of
Paul Oxley, Greater Anglia Public Affairs Manager, stationed in their London office. The latter was very helpful and keen that the project should go ahead. Having made contact, Tony Robson continued further negotiations with Greater Anglia.
It was agreed that the most appropriate location for the plaque would be on a wall at the entrance to the station above a Victorian post box. Eventual installation of the plaque was delayed somewhat – one of the reasons being that Paul Oxley moved on to pastures new. Alan Neville soon took up the baton on behalf of Greater Anglia and the plaque was eventually installed in March 2019 by a contractor.
I began to think about the unveiling ceremony and who we could invite to carry out the task. It would be very appropriate if we could find a descendant of Bruff – but how to do that? It is very easy now, with the advent of the internet, to trace ancestors but the tracing of descendants is another matter.
I had one clue. Bruff’s daughter; Elizabeth Kate (born 1840/41) had married a Newson Garrett. This was one of the famous Garrett family of Snape and Leiston. I decided to ring the Longshop Museum at Leiston to see if they had any genealogical information which would help in the task.
The man I spoke to there helped me make contact with a lady who was an expert on Garrett family history,
Margaret Young. She had the contact details of a lady who is a direct descendant of Elizabeth Kate and great great granddaughter of Peter Schuyler Bruff. Mrs Virginia Jani lives in Shepherd’s Bush in London. It was arranged for her and her two daughters (3 times granddaughters of Bruff) to come to the unveiling of the plaque on 17 June.
At the eleventh hour; Mike Cook was contacted by a man in Leeds named Peter Bruff. His grandfather was Peter John Bruff (born 1845) who emigrated to Norway and he himself was brought up in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (formerly Northern Rhodesia). The family had moved there in about 1910. The Leeds-based Peter Bruff was therefore the great grandson of our Peter Schuyler. The former had seen mention of his ancestor on the Ipswich Society website and, of course, he and his wife were also invited to the unveiling.
Mrs Ginnie Jani with her daughters Nisha adn maya with Mr Peter Bruff between the unveiled plaque.
On the morning of Monday 17 June 2019 a large group of people assembled at Ipswich Station. Our guests of honour, the descendants of Mr Bruff ,were present. After a short introduction by John Norman and myself, the plaque was unveiled by Mrs Jani and Mr Peter Bruff. Photographs were taken and an interview was conducted with Mrs Jani by Radio Suffolk. We all then adjourned to the Railway Hotel opposite for a finger buffet and drinks: the end of a successful blue plaque adventure. My sincere thanks to Tony Marsden and especially Tony Robson for all their efforts in bringing this project to fruition.
Merv Russen
Ghost signs II:
traces of lost Ipswich businesses
an illustrated talk by Borin Van Loon
Traditionally, tradesmen painted the names of their business plus other signs and advertisements on the fabric of their buildings. As a town with a longindustrial history, Ipswich still bears traces of those
bygone businesses. This new talk by the creator of the Ipswich Historic Lettering website includes some trade signs which will be familiar to Ipswich residents and many ‘ghost signs’ which are little noticed today in the era of digital marketing. We will look back at signs which are being uncovered, those sadly lost and one or two which have been moved.
Ipswich Building Preservation Trust: short AGM followed by talk. Isaac’s on the Waterfront, at 6.30pm on Tuesday 22 October 2019. Free entry, all welcome; refreshments will be available.
Ipswich Borough Council: Encouraging high quality design through the adoption of Supplementary Planning Documents
The Council produces Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) to provide greater detail on
the planning policies that have been adopted in the Ipswich Local Plan. At the Full Council
meeting in July, two Supplementary Planning Documents were adopted following public
consultation: the Ipswich Urban Characterisation Studies and the Ipswich Town Centre &
Waterfront Public Realm Strategy.
Ipswich Urban Characterisation Studies
In planning for growth in Ipswich, it is important to deliver high quality change which
safeguards the best of the town’s character and secures positive improvements to the
townscape. The Ipswich Urban Characterisation Study SPDs were commenced to provide
urban character analysis and guidance to areas outside of the town’s core which do not benefit
from design guidance (such as Conservation Area appraisals).
The borough was divided into eight ‘urban character areas’, to explore where local
distinctiveness could be identified and help inform new development. The adopted SPDs
enable valued characteristics to be taken into account when changes affecting an area are
proposed by way of a planning application and ensure that development and change reinforces
local distinctiveness and contributes to good design. The documents also look at the history
and development of parts of the borough which are outside of the medieval core of the town,
revealing the history of the borough prior to the widespread suburban growth of the town. The
Ipswich Urban Characterisation Study SPD provides urban design analysis and information,
but not prescriptive advice about how development should be designed.
The preparation of this SPD has been carried out over the course of 2014-2019. The Council
adopted the Ipswich Urban Characterisation Study SPD for Norwich Road; Gipping and
Orwell Valley; Parks; California and Chantry, Stoke Park and Maidenhall in 2015; and the final
three Urban Characterisation Studies for North East, South East and Castle Hill, Whitehouse
and Whitton were adopted by Ipswich Borough Council on 24th July 2019.
The suite of Urban Character Studies is now complete, with documents for all 8 character areas
being adopted at Full Council. These documents will encourage new development to be
appropriate to its context and encourage high quality design in the borough.
The documents can be viewed on the Ipswich Borough Council website:-
https://www.ipswich.gov.uk/content/urban-character-supplementary-planning-document
Ipswich Town Centre & Waterfront Public Realm Strategy
Investing in the public realm is an investment in placemaking, business and community.
Improving the spaces used for shopping, recreation and other aspects of daily life is a cost
effective way to support local businesses and improve the quality of life for residents, and to
make the town function better, make it more welcoming for visitors and more attractive as a
heritage and recreational destination.
The Ipswich Town Centre and Waterfront Public Realm Strategy SPD provides design
guidance for the renewal of Ipswich town centre’s public spaces, including the waterfront
quays and green spaces within the central area, mostly churchyards (the study does not include
the main urban parks, such as Christchurch or Holywells).
It sets out 3 objectives for public realm improvements: improving connectivity between key
places; improving legibility and permeability; and creating a coherent identity for the town
centre and its character areas.
40 projects are described which will deliver the objectives. The potential for improvement in
each case is illustrated with plans and photographs. In addition, two area-wide projects are
identified, a local nodes project and cultural trails project. Generic design guidance is provided
for the study area, covering categories such as street tree planting, paving specification and
lighting design. Project delivery and the importance of stakeholder engagement are included,
and appendices of the SPD provide additional guidance on design and highways maintenance /
management issues.
The document can be viewed on the Ipswich Borough Council website:-
Rebecca Styles, IBC Conservation Officer
Des and Liz Pawson
The future of the Museum of Knots & Sailor’s Ropework collection
The Ipswich Society Newsletter #204 (2016) carried an invitation to celebrate the 20 years of the Museum’s existence in Ipswich. The long term future of the collection has needed to be considered for a long time.
In 2012, at a meeting of the Maritime Curators Group, I was challenged with the question ‘What is your succession plan?’, and took the opportunity to talk to the director of Chatham Historic Dockyard, who was at the meeting, raising the possibility that it might find a long-term home at Chatham.
Since then it has been a long and frustrating journey, with three failed funding applications, but
finally an agreement to fund the whole collection’s move and its future care, has been reached.
Over the next three years the collection will gradually be moved to Chatham, where it will be
quarantined, catalogued and digitised, with proper provision made for the storage and
relatively easy accessibility for researchers and other interested bodies, both at Chatham and
digitally, in much the same way that their HMS Invincible collection has been dealt with.
Before the move of the collection, Ipswich Maritime Trust took the opportunity to create, as
their 17th Window Museum display, a special exhibition: ‘A Selection from the Collection of
the Museum of Knots & Sailor’s Ropework’.
The actual move to Chatham has been a slow affair with the first 100 items being delivered in
November 2018. The conversion of the Fitted Rigging House to the new offices of Chatham
Historic Dockyard Trust, conservation department, library and research facility has delayed
matters, indeed there are still problems and delays, but the next batch went on June 28 2019
and another went on the 6 August. After this, I hope that things will speed up. Between the
Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust & myself there is a desire that the items and all that I know
about them is properly preserved. This, in itself, is proving to be an interesting exercise as I
have to put myself in the position of recording knowledge that I would normally take
for granted.
I expect to continue to research and write on this whole area, producing further monographs
and expanding those already produced as information comes to hand.
The Alladin’s cave of the museum Meanwhile there is still a great deal more to see than if you had visited in
the early years; so, perhaps until the end of 2019, if you wish to visit us you can arrange an appointment by contacting me either by e-mail (des@despawson.com) or phone
01473 690090 and we can work out a
mutually agreed day & time.
Des Pawson MBE
Website- http://despawson.com/the-museum/
Letters to the Editor
A Jorvik for Ipswich? from Jordan Nye
I was recently reading your July newsletter which I always find very interesting. I have been
meaning to join the Society but never seem to find a moment!
Looking at the article on College Street, have there been any thoughts to whether it would be
amenable to being made into an archaeological centre/museum akin to the fantastic Jorvik
centre in York?
From what you have said this is an internationally important site with potentially lots of
waterlogged deposits. To have an Anglo-Saxon equivalent to the Jorvik centre would be a
massive draw for the town and attract people from far and wide to experience it – and truly
make it known that Ipswich is England's first and oldest town. It would also preserve the area
instead of it being wrecked by other development… How many more flats can the town
really take?
[As so often, these ideas are very attractive and it all comes down to finance, funding, political
will and goodwill from property owners. -Ed]
Ipswich engineering history from Graham Day
I was pleased to see Barry Girling’s letter in the recent Newsletter. Growing up ‘over Stoke’,
the engineering works of Ransomes & Rapier and, to a lesser extent, Cocksedge, dominated the
lives of many, including my late father. There was also a huge physical presence in respect of
buildings: looking out of our back upstairs windows we could see the Waterside Works, and to
the left – where the Ip City complex now is – the gigantic fabrication shop where the massive
walking Draglines were built, for use in the this country and for export around the globe.
In my middle teens, if I mistimed my walk to the newsagent to collect my evening newspaper
round, I would hear the sound and then not be able to cross Wherstead Road as workers from
Rapiers, anxious to get home, pedalled furiously along like a swarm of ants! No chance to
cross for a while.
For several years my father travelled by train around the UK, to such exotic locations as
Yorkshire, Manchester, and Tyneside, to sample-check components which were sub-contracted
out by Rapiers to other engineering firms. As such, engineering was an important and
significant part of the lifeblood and prosperity of the town. Barry is correct that the only
tangible sign of Rapiers presence is the war memorial, moved from Waterside Works to
Bourne Park.
It has infuriated me for many years that the Borough Council effectively air-brushes away the
engineering history of Ipswich. There surely should be some marker or interpretation panels to
prove and inform about the existence of these significant employers. Other towns are proud of
their manufacturing past; why not Ipswich?
And more engineering… from John Alborough I was interested to read the excellent feature concerning the Ransomes & Rapier buffers (Newsletter July 2019). Members may be interested to know that I have also seen the same design of R & R buffers at Central Station (Retiro Station), Buenos Aires, Argentina and also Central Station (Estación Alameda), Santiago, Chile. Both stations were British-built.
It’s always nice to be travelling a long way from home and then to stumble upon such lovely
reminders of our once great history of engineering exports.
Maldon and Wilkins Jams, Tiptree: an Ipswich Society outing 13.6.19
Maldon, on a hill with a commanding view over the tidal Blackwater, has a history dating back
to the Anglo-Saxons. Market Hill drops steeply to the river, but High Street is a more gentle
slope; there are plenty of Georgian frontages, though much behind is older. The 13th century
All Saints Church has a unique triangular tower and contains the Washington window, donated
in 1928 in memory of Rev. Laurence Washington, great-great-grandfather of George; he was
buried in the churchyard in 1652.
Down the street the surviving tower of St Peter’s Church had Dr Plume’s library added in
1704; today it also houses the Maeldune Heritage Centre with its heritage, archival, art and
craft displays. Near the Hythe the 14th century St Mary the Virgin Church (Grade I Listed) is
appropriately called the Fisherman’s (or Sailor’s) Church – a pilgrimage path runs to St Peter’s
Church at Bradwell. The long river Promenade terminates with a statue of Saxon leader
Brythnoth, who stands defiantly, sword raised
against invading Vikings.
On to Tiptree, where the Wilkins family have farmed for over 300 years. 150 years ago they started making jam which is now famous worldwide. Wilkins has a royal warrant. Our guide took us on a bumpy tractor-ride around the fruit fields. Their museum is full of interesting items and our party were treated to a scrumptious cream tea with, of course Wilkins jam. Many thanks to Chris and Lois Terry for a varied and fascinating outing.
Richard Worman
Maeldune Centre, Maldon
The return of Street Scene
It’s been six months since the last . In that time 55 large elephants have appeared on the streets of Ipswich to remain until September, with 84 smaller ones found mainly in herds around the town to raise funds for the St. Elizabeth Hospice.
Shops and businesses disappear all the time in town centres today but there are still new ones arriving. The biggest one in Ipswich in the last six months is probably SuperDry which filled three units in the Buttermarket centre, all of which had been empty since the centre’s redesign was completed about three years ago. This means the shopping section of the centre is full for the time being.
Other new shops and restaurants in town over the last six months include:
New shops, restaurants etc.
Bolognaise Food restaurant, King Street; Hullabalo vegan restaurant, St. Peter’s Street; Lotus Nail Bar, Upper Brook
Street; Modify Hair Lounge, St Nicholas Street; Ocean Fish Basket restaurant, Upper Brook Street; The Green Room coffee shop, St. Margaret’s Green; Peninsula Vegan Foods, Lloyds Avenue; The Gym, Cardinal Park; Paddy and Scott’s Head Office moved from Framlingham to their new site at the University of Suffolk on Neptune Quay in Ipswich next to their flagship outlet in UoS. Even the old fruit and vegetable stall at Ipswich market has been rebranded from Coxy’s to Catchy’s. Hullabaloo, 14 St Peter's St, Ipswich
Coming soon
The Swan public house on King Street which closed last year is soon to reopen under new
owners with the name of The Swan and Hedgehog. Honey + Harvey’s restaurants, well known
in Woodbridge and Melton, are hoping to open their third coffee/tea restaurant in Ipswich by
December, facing Giles Circus in the former Mambos Bar, with entrances on Princes Street and
Queen Street. This unit has been empty for some time and this already popular independent
brand will be a welcome addition to Ipswich market’s Food Quarter area.
Argos are closing their Carr Street shop in November and relocating to new premises in the
Sainsbury’s store in Upper Brook Street which will have a revamp to accommodate them. The
London Road Argos, close to the Hadleigh Road Sainsburys, continues to be the main Argos hub
in Ipswich.
The former Sun Inn on St. Stephen’s Lane, more recently the Fancy Dress Hut, is expected to
become an Art and Tattoo studio.
Now open
Just out of town two new branches of The Food Warehouse (part of the Iceland group) have
opened at the Euro Retail Park and the Suffolk Retail Park. Both retail parks have been going
through extensive refurbishment and Home Bargains have opened their second store in Ipswich
at the Suffolk Retail Park leaving both these retail parks full up.
St Peter’s Wharf
Completed building projects
The St. Peter's Wharf remodelling and upgrade by Stoke Bridge started in January and completed
in June with new paving, seating, lighting, trees, litter bins and railings.
The former Paul’s Maltings on Princes Street (Hollywoods night club) known as The Maltings,
which had been derelict for some time, has completed a major overhaul and conversion to smart
offices with parking.
The conversion of Foundry House on Old Foundry Road (formerly the Dolce Vita nightclub)
to apartments is complete and work continues by the same developer on the adjoining former Bar
Fontaine facing St. Margarets Plain. Both these buildings were long deserted and derelict before
work began and will look smart and loved again.
Current building projects
The Winerack residential towers near completion on Ipswich Waterfront with the scaffolding and
tower crane all gone. Construction of The Hold, the new Suffolk Records Office and community
hub on the University campus facing Fore Street, continues with completion expected in early
2020. Work is expected to begin soon on the McCarthy & Stone retirement homes on the former
Archant Newspapers site in Lower Brook Street. Work continues reconditioning St Vincent
House on Franciscan Way. Cladding has been removed from St Francis Tower which awaits a
decision on what to replace it with and who pays for it.
The giant £40 million internet distribution warehouse on the former Sproughton beet sugar
factory site is nearing completion.
The future
Much more is happening in Ipswich than we can cover here but the next town centre change which many will be concerned about is the removal and replacement of ‘Cornhenge’ on Cornhill. Work to remove the current structure
is expected to begin in late September. What will go in its place (if anything) is still a bitvague but we have been led to believe a vastly improved ‘Henge’, with a shiny surface and other modifications, will replace the current
structure, to be in place and completed before the Christmas season. We understand other snagging details on Cornhill will also be dealt with at the same time to include extra handrails and a solution to the tapered step.
Tim Leggett
[See also page 18]
Withypoll memorial stone, Christchurch Park
The removal of overhanging yew and ivy growth in the summer has revealed one of the secrets
of Christchurch Park: the Withypoll memorial stone. It has stood leaning against a retaining
wall near the lawns to the east of Christchurch Mansion since, perhaps, the early 20th century.
Local architect and historian, J.S Corder, produced the book Christchurch or Withepole House:
a brief memorial in 1893; he mentions the ‘Old Brass Stone’ slab 'without the north door of the
present mansion doing duty for a step' and illustrated it on his plan. It is unlikely that the slab
would have been used in this way for long, as the detail would have been worn away.
The drawing above was made by the late John Blatchly in 1976 to show the indentations in the
stone left after removal of metal, mainly brass, detailing of figures and lettering. A slab was
intentionally used by Edmund Withypoll (1510/13-1582) as his grave stone in the Church of St
Margaret, which was built c.1300 as a Chapel-of-Ease to the original Priory Church of Holy
Trinity (long demolished, but which must have stood on or near the present mansion, which
was built after 1536). However the slab seen in the park today appears to have been removed
from St Margaret and become the object of a law suit between William Dandy and Edmund
Withypoll in 1563-5.
This impressive stone memorial (which presumably weighs several tons) is said to be of
Tournai Marble. Our friends at GeoSuffolk have tested the stone and it is clearly of limestone,
which means that Tournai Marble (which is a limestone) is not precluded. However, the slab is
pale grey and so does not present as the classic Tournai Marble colour which, as seen in the
famous font of St Peter on the docks, is black. It could well have been imported from Belgium.
Is it possible that this neglected stone memorial, shorn of its metal details, might yet shed some
light on the elusive history (and location) of the lost Church of the Holy Trinity Priory?
R.G.
See www.ipswich-lettering.co.uk/withypollmemorials.html for more information, images, full credits
and citations relating to this huge limestone feature.
The Ipswich Maritime Window Museum
celebrates a double anniversary
It is ten years since the Ipswich Maritime Window Museum opened to the public as a 24/7
Museum. Possibly a unique type of Museum; one certainly special enough to warrant a feature
in the International Congress of Maritime Museums’ Newsletter where the feature on it was
bigger than the expansion of the ship model display at Chatham Historic Dockyard.
During the past ten years, all aspects of Ipswich’s maritime history, culture and heritage have
been covered, with nineteen differing displays, including; Barges; Boat, Ship & Yacht
Building; Trade; Port Changes & Expansion. The current display celebrates another
anniversary: eighty years since the Abraham Rydberg brought her cargo of grain from Australia
to Ipswich on what was to be termed the ‘Last Grain Race’. The display celebrates her final
visit, along with the many other great sailing ships that carried their precious cargo around the
globe to Ipswich before World War II.
Using the power of wind and ocean current alone, the crews of these magnificent square-rigged
ships competed to be the winner of the ‘Great Grain Race’ by completing their course to the
UK in the fastest overall time. Over the years, many of these sailing ships brought their cargo
to Cranfields Flour Mill at the head of the dock, to the very site of the Ipswich Maritime Trust Window
Museum. As a reminder of the perilous nature of the voyage these
ships undertook, the display incudes a model of the Herzogin Cecilie that was lost in April 1936 – having made the fastest passage of the year – off the south coast of Devon, on her way to discharge her cargo of wheat at Ipswich. Luckily there was no loss of life, but she was a total write-off and was sold for scrap.
Des Pawson MBE,
Vice Chairman IMT
Photograph by Stuart Grimwade
Snippets
Passenger Trains
Two hundred years after passenger-carrying railways were introduced the railways are again
booming, particularly for longer journeys. The number of people using the railways has
doubled in twenty years; in the Eastern Region the number of passengers increased from 79
million (1995/96) to 188.5 million (2017/18). Greater Anglia alone conveyed 1.1 million
people every week, all contributing to the costs of the new trains, a totally new fleet of 1,000
items of rolling stock by the end of 2020.
Population of the World
Every day the world population grows by 200,000 people. All of them need feeding. Every
minute there are an additional 150 mouths to feed. Every year an additional 75 million people
require food, water, electricity and a mobile phone; unfortunately a
substantial number won’t have access to a toilet.
Heritage Open Days
By the time you read this, one of The Ipswich Society’s major annual events, Heritage Open Days in Ipswich, will have been held a couple of weeks previously. No doubt as successful as ever and enjoyed by residents and visitors alike, we will carry a full review of this year’s Ipswich HODs in our October issue.
More on Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs)
Following the article in the July Newsletter Ipswich Borough Council’s
Planning & Development Committee has published a paper on HMOs.
There is some progress on closing down/regulating HMOs using Health
& Safety Executive and Building Regulations legislation: Ipswich leads the way.
https://democracy.ipswich.gov.uk/documents/s25257/
PD-19-04%20Enforcement%20Update%20-%202019%20Quarter%201.pdf
Street Scene stop press
• Work on the removal of the ‘Cornhenge’ proceeds. The Borough have paved the space,
hiding the fact it was ever there, before deciding on the long term. Snagging problems work
will follow shortly afterwards to include new paving along the tops of the steps to make
them more visible, extra matching handrails in the middle of the wide steps and matching
handrails down the front of the Town Hall steps. Bespoke seating in the same style as the
concrete seats incorporating a planter will be bedded into the paving to replace the tapering
step. All to be completed before the Christmas tree arrives. (Information from Jason, Clerk
of Works and the Brookes and Wood Foreman, Marty.)
• Phase 1 of the revised Theatre Square plan proceeds, which includes the Golden Pavilion.
According to the Wolsey Theatre staff they expect completion in May 2020.
• New flooring has been laid in the Buttermarket Centre and the pillars refaced on the ground
floor area.
• La Tour Cycle Café on Albion Quay closed for a revamp before re-opening as ‘The Hub
Kitchen’ including a vegan menu.
• Paddy & Scott's international coffee shop franchise move their head office to the University
of Suffolk to be up and running by December next to their Coffee House on Neptune Quay
which will also have a revamp. Tim Leggett
Coprolite Street
Have you ever wondered why we have a ‘fossil animal dung’ street in Ipswich? If so, you need
a copy of GeoSuffolk’s new leaflet: Suffolk’s Crag Coprolites. These phosphate nodules, which
occur in our local Red Crag sands, were discovered by John Henslow of Cambridge University
in the cliffs at Felixstowe while he was on holiday there in 1843. His initial thought was that
they were coprolites (fossil animal droppings – possibly some are!) and the name has stuck. He
had them analysed, discovered the high phosphate content and thus began Packard’s and later
Fison’s fertiliser industry.
The coprolite pits were mostly in the Deben estuary area and they were brought to the factory
on what is now Coprolite Street in Ipswich to be ground up, treated with sulphuric acid and
turned into fertiliser. The factory moved out to Bramford in the 1850s, but the building
remained for over a century. It can be seen in the photograph below, taken in the 1960s; today
the Neptune Marina apartment block opposite the University of Suffolk stands in its place and
only the name of the street running between these two buildings remains as testament to our
‘coprolite’ industry.
Written by Bob Markham, the leaflet is free thanks to funding from The Ipswich
Institute and The Ipswich Society. You can find copies at Ipswich Museum, or
download it from the GeoSuffolk archive on: www.geosuffolk.co.uk.
Caroline Markham
Photograph courtesy Bob Markham
Suffolk Serendipity
On the visit to The Maltings in Princes Street, I received a copy of Ipswich: a town to be proud
of, published by the Society. Reading the article by Tony Marsden on An Ipswich Waterfront
Walk 2015 reminded me of a day in July 2019 where I tarried awhile on the Waterfront after
working at the University.
What was the day like? It was a day of searing sunshine, heralding superb summer days to come.
Was this Nice in the south of France or Monte Carlo? No, this was the Waterfront in Ipswich. I
had paused for a moment from my walk, sitting on a quayside seat by the water’s edge outside
the University of Suffolk, to take advantage of a slight breeze.
The strong sunlight shimmered on the serene water of the Marina. Immediately in front of me , at
anchor, superb seagoing craft of all descriptions; to the side, pedestrians and cyclists and people
enjoying the sunshine. Around the quayside: pubs and restaurants, with contented customers
chatting convivially.
Across the water: the Island site with the curved roof of the 1882 Public warehouse, The Last
Anchor Café and other businesses. In the distance: the glowing green apartment blocks on the
New Cut, ‘Over Stoke’. Such a change from my growing-up days when it was an area of
millers , brewers, railways, and the site of the first chemical works!
The imminent finishing of the ‘Winerack’ project is helping to complete the transformation of the
area; some parts still need to be improved, particularly at the Stoke Bridge end, but the indication now is that
everything is moving in the right direction. However, perhaps also some more thought ought to be given
as to how this fine feature can best be linked to the ancient core of the town.
No longer does the area resemble a former war-torn Beirut! The original vision of the planners is now
coming to fruition; Ipswich now has another ‘go-to’ area, a fine feature for a very fine county.
Serendipity indeed!
Graham Day
The Winerack from the waterfront, near completion; photo by Tim Leggett
Winter Talks refreshments
Jean Lockie, who has kept us plied with refreshments after our Winter Talks for many years, is
standing down from this task now. The Committee would like to thank Jean on behalf of all of
our members for adding to the enjoyment of our evenings together. She leaves a gap to be filled.
I am happy to bring necessary supplies to the meeting and work in the kitchen, but I need help. I
was thinking that with a team of half dozen maybe, I could email round a week before each
meeting to see who is available and two or three from the team could provide the tea/coffee that
evening. So, please do contact me if you usually attend some of our Winter Illustrated Talks and
could help out in this way at a few of them.
Caroline Markham secretary@ipswichsociety.org.uk
Adventures in Metro-Land: a Society outing, July 16 2019
Sunshine, 46 Ipswich Society members and a tour of the Buckinghamshire Chilterns have the
makings of a fabulous day out. Interestingly though, the highlight was neither on the
Metropolitan Railway, nor in Buckinghamshire. The Barn at Harmondsworth is 191 feet long
and the wood (oak) has been dated to 1426. An English Heritage Grade I building, it is soon to
be on the edge of the Heathrow 3rd runway.
The church next to it has a stack of ‘Heathrow Expansion: Properties Policy Information Paper’
documents for the local residents who had to lodge a request for a ‘Home Purchase Bond’ by
the end of June 2019. How does that work when consent for the runway hasn’t been granted
yet? Those poor people. The village pub did excellent sandwiches for us and this trio of ancient
buildings sit together on the north side of a green – the housing on the south side soon to
disappear under concrete and airliners.
After lunch, our drive north through the Colne valley passed close to Pinewood Studios
(though not very close owing to filming of the latest James Bond saga in progress). Our guide
entertained us with stories of the famous and we could see some of their fantastic houses
among the Buckinghamshire trees as we made our way into John Betjeman’s ‘Metro-Land’.
It’s about a century since this area was opened up to commuters by the advance of the
Metropolitan Railway and we found some of the distinctive half-timber houses and a shopping
parade in ‘new’ Amersham. Down the hill away from the railway ‘old’ Amersham has been
preserved in its pre-Victorian state and a warm welcome awaited us at the Museum - in a
beautifully restored Tudor house. Refreshing tea and biscuits were provided in the garden
along with an introduction to the town and Museum. It was a fabulous day out – a big thank
you to Barbara Barker for organising it.
Caroline Markham
Society members in The Barn at Harmondsworth
‘The Maltings’ opens in Princes Street
On August 12, 2019 a group of members of The Ipswich Society attended the opening of ‘The
Maltings’, for a first look inside since its transformation into industrial-style offices began.
The Grade II Listed building on Princes Street, once the home to an R&W Paul Ltd maltings
and much later a night club/music venue, dates back to the 1820s with a reshaping in 1866. The
site stood empty and derelict for a decade, but now, with assistance from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) Growing Places Fund and from Ipswich Borough Council, it has been transformed.
Work started on the £3m project in March 2019, with the complete stripping-out of the building to reveal its original structure. The building, including the tall malt kiln, has been re-roofed in slate with extra insulation. Six new roof lights have been inserted and the original window openings reopened with more added. The building’s original brickwork has been repaired and steam-cleaned and a new Atrium area formed.
Some of the original machinery from the R&W Paul maltings has been preserved in situ. One of the business advantages of The Maltings is the on-site parking, accessed via Chancery Road.
R.G. Photographs by Caroline Markham
The Ipswich Society
Registered Charity no. 263322
www.ipswichsociety.org.uk | https://www.facebook.com/ipswichsociety | email: secretary@ipswichsociety.org.uk
This Newsletter is the quarterly journal of Ipswich’s civic amenity society established in 1960
(views expressed in the Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Society).
Diary dates
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 16 October: Alan Neville on Greater Anglia’s new rolling stock and other changes.
Wednesday 18 December: John Field on ‘A pictorial history of our partner town, Arras’.
Wednesday 20 November, 7.30pm: Annual Awards Evening, St Peter’s on the Waterfront.
21-31 October: Ipswich Transport Museum / Ipswich Society Exhibition at the University of
Suffolk Waterfront Building.
Tuesday 22 October,6.30pm. Ipswich Building Preservation Trust – short AGM followed by talk:
‘Ghost signs II: traces of lost Ipswich businesses’. Isaac’s on the Waterfront. [Article on page 8.]
2020 Outings: 24 April - Tutankhamun at the Saatchi Gallery, Chelsea; 20 May - Guided tours
of Hadleigh and Finchingfield Guildhall; 11 June - Gressenhall Museum; 7 July - Kew Gardens
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.
R & W Paul maltings in Princes Street in the 1980s; now refurbished and converted into offices in 2019. See article page 22.