28 page
bumper
issue
Ipswich
“I take this town to be one of the most agreeable places in England.” Daniel Defoe, 1724
Contents
Editorial
Chairman’s remarks
Planning matters
Chairman’s remarks
At risk buildings
Ipswich hotel occupancy
2020 members' outings
Greenways
New members
Book review: Hanseatic Ipswich
‘Cornhill cubes’
Book review: Elizabeth Knipe Cobbold
New blue plaques
Letters to the Editor
Colour section
More letters to the Editor
‘Germany calling’
Affordable homes
Street scene
Snippets
Ipswich Society Awards 2019
Photography competition
Ipswich Society officers
Diary dates
The new Mabel in the park?
Main cover image: St Mary-Le-Tower Church
Editorial
If we were a marriage, this would be diamond. Sixty years of The Ipswich Society makes the relative newcomer like myself think of the people who were there in the early years. 1960 was a time of volcanic changes in Ipswich:
social, economic, architectural amongst others. And it was as a direct result of the threat to some of our oldest buildings by a new ring-road that those like-minded pioneers considered it time to form a civic society for Suffolk’s county town.
Early Newsletters were just that: typed and duplicated documents stapled together to pass on news of meetings well (and less-well) attended, of people working out how to establish a society to treasure our history, protect and enhance what is valuable and monitor new developments and proposals. Oddly, little has changed in today’s Ipswich Society. Those original tenets hold true: the past, the present and the future of our town.
The issues seem to be just as challenging as in 1960. Bridges over the docks, by-passes to relieve traffic congestion, large housing developments are all planned or proposed. Industry has gone through convulsive changes, particularly in the 1980s when malting, milling, heavy engineering, corset-making and many other trades were coming to an end. The Wet Dock is a good barometer of the economic revolution. Trading vessels disappeared almost completely, and for some years clear water could be seen across the dock with, perhaps, a red lightship
moored on the island for the Sea Scouts. The goods trains around the tramway – once reaching round the northern and eastern quays to meet the ones running across the Island at Cliff Quay and right down to the coal-fired power station near the site of today’s Orwell Bridge – vanished and sidings in the Lower Goods Yard became a DIY store and later a skate park.
Ipswich County Borough lost a lot of its functions and funding to the newly-formed Suffolk County Council. Buildings came and went, roads and bridges were changed, parks and public spaces were sometimes neglected, then protected and gained investment. In the still centre of all this, the medieval street layout of the town survived largely unchanged. Archaeology revealed for the first time our Anglo-Saxon origins after the Romans had departed. The oldest, continuously-settled town in the country continued to go through good and bad times, but the people of the town – essentially the town itself – stayed strong.
For sixty years the wholly voluntary Ipswich Society has remained active and gained members who appreciate that so much is done with neither sponsorship nor commercial advertising. The Ipswich Society celebrates its independence and offers excellent value for money, not least this very quarterly Newsletter, to subscribers.
Robin Gaylard
Chairman’s remarks
This, the 219th edition of the Newsletter marks the 60th anniversary of the Ipswich Society.
I’m sure you will have gathered by now that there are a variety of events to mark our diamond
year. It is, however, essential that we do not forget the contributions the Society has made to
the health and cultural wealth of the town over the years.
One of the outcomes of the ‘Cubes on the Cornhill’ venture (which will have taken place by the
time you read this – see page 9) is that we could mount an exhibition of photographs of
buildings lost to the proposed inner ring road in 1960. The only part of this project to be
completed was Civic Drive and the dualling of Cromwell Street, with the new road ending
against the Tudor buildings of St Nicholas Street.
The Ipswich Society campaigned to save these, and other buildings in the path of the proposed
road, for example those in Lower Brook Street, but the real saviour was a change in
Government policy in terms of town growth. The additional 125,000 ‘London Overspill’
residents which had been proposed were no longer destined for Ipswich.
Cromwell Street became a car park and the dualling of St Matthews Street, Crown Street and
St Margarets Street was limited to a very short stretch close to the roundabout. Bond Street
and Grimwade Street became one way but their northern and southern ends were not linked as
had been originally intended.
Perhaps this inner ring road might have been the answer to Ipswich’s growing traffic problems,
but at what cost? An historic building, once demolished, is lost forever. And as we know from
elsewhere (and from St Matthews Street), dual carriageways are a barrier to the free flow of
pedestrians, they are uncomfortable for cyclists and are not favoured by the bus companies
who want stops close to where their passengers shop.
You will read in my Annual Report my comments about the Society’s stance on the Northern
Bypass, perhaps there is a connection between decisions made 50 years ago in abandoning a
possible solution to our traffic problems and those being made by Suffolk County Council in
2020. As I suggest in the report, the solution is not to build more roads but to travel less
(particularly by private car).
We should spend the money that would have been expended on the Northern By-pass making
the alternatives acceptable, convenient, comfortable and available.
The other important news which is happening as I write, 23 February, is a fire at the former
Tolly Cobbold brewery on Cliff Quay. To suggest that it was a fire waiting to happen is
perhaps stating the obvious, but no more so than Fison’s in Paper Mill Lane – which was
possibly an even more important building. Unfortunately, most of the copper mash tubs and
other non-ferrous artefacts had already been stolen but I understand that the E.R. & F. Turner
steam engine, built in 1746, was still in place.
It is a sad state of affairs that we rely on the building owner to take due care of these valuable
historic assets when we know that they would, deep down, rather have them out of the way.
John Norman
Planning matters
Old County Hall, St Helens Street. It is a shame it’s taken from 2005, when SCC left, until
now for a comprehensive scheme to redevelop the grade 2 listed , partly C18 and partly C19
building, for its only possible use, residential. The listed portion will have ten 1, 2, and 3-bed
apartments. A red brick new-build in modern style will contain 30 1 and 2-bed apartments.
One of the former court rooms will be retained as a heritage area and the other converted into
an inserted 2-bed apartment. John Norman endorsed the Society’s enthusiasm for its restoration
and support for its conversion to town centre residential accommodation. But we do object that
the former Council Chamber with protected fireplace, a very large arched window and an
exposed hammer beam roof would be spoilt by the insertion of the cabin style pod. This would
sit clear of the panelled walls (i.e. surrounded by corridor). The roof of this pod would become
the lounge of the apartment, connected to the existing ‘public gallery’ by a new ‘bridge’, the
rooms inside the pod being bedrooms and other living accommodation. He was also concerned
about the proposed fenestration on the St Helens Street facade; they would be asymmetrical
and provide inadequate light to the apartments. Nevertheless, the plans have been approved.
The part of the Waterfront nearest Stoke Bridge, the St Peters warehouse and the old
Burton Son & Sanders building are owned by Ipswich Borough Council (IBC). The quay in
front has been completely renovated and permission to convert the old Burton Son & Sanders
brick built warehouse to a rehearsal space for Gecko, a ‘physical theatre’ without a home has
been granted. To raise the funds for the conversion, the local EDRM Architects have designed
a scheme for the whole site; the concrete framed building (including link section) adjacent will
increase by 3 storeys, to provide retail and a 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
a roof terrace amenity area and ancillary plant at 3rd to 7th Floors. This sensitive scheme will
provide, with the Jerwood Regional Dance House, a very welcome creative hub on this part of
the waterfront.
No. 4 College Street. The IBC-owned 16th century merchant’s house, Listed Grade 2, will be
completely renovated and fitted out for office use thus removing it from Historic England’s
Buildings-At-Risk register. The remainder of the site is currently being master planned; the
future for this prominent site, an eyesore for decades – where the Saxons built the nascent
Ipswich 1,200 years ago – at last looks encouraging.
28-50 Grimwade Street. IBC own the short parade of 1930s shops with flats above. They
have demonstrated that it is cheaper to demolish and replace them with two four-storey blocks
of two flats per floor, making 16 in total. The blocks are at right angles to Grimwade Street to
provide social interaction, views and transparency in an effort to design out antisocial
behaviour. The ground floors will be wheelchair user compatible. The architects are Hoopers
and all the consultants are Ipswich based.
14 Emmanuel Close: Old St Johns Ambulance Station, Coltsfoot Road; 10-12 Halton
Crescent; 70-84 Sheldrake Drive; Garages behind 32-40 Mallard Way.
These five applications by Handford Homes, for IBC, will provide 16 dwellings with 30
bedrooms for affordable rent with appropriate amenity space and parking. This is ‘unused
portions of land’ or brownfield sites owned by the Borough.
Telecomms Screens. J.C. Decaux’s application to erect seven ‘advertising’ screens in the town
centre was originally thought to be impossible to oppose. However, the Town and Country
Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 – known as the GPDO –
Part 16 has been amended to remove the permitted development rights for public call boxes.
So, on appeal, the one in the centre of the Old Cattle Market and the two in Carr Street will be
allowed but the appeals for those outside the Great White Horse, the Ipswich Building Society
(Parr’s Bank), outside Sainsbury’s in Upper Brook Street and opposite Revolution, Old Cattle
Market were dismissed, because they would harm the setting of Listed buildings in the central
Conservation Area.
75 Valley Road. An outline application to build four dwellings on backland behind 69-75
Valley Road with access from Cotswold Avenue has already generated local resistance. In
2012, an application to build one house was refused and the appeal dismissed. Once more, the
Society plus 30 residents have objected to this proposal. The access is inadequate, it would
mean the loss of many trees – some of great significance – it divides Green Corridor ‘B’ which
connects Christchurch Park via Dales Local Nature Reserve* to open countryside. The land is
Suffolk Sandlands in character and it would impinge on the privacy of several houses.
Park View Dental Practice, 49 Fonnereau Road. Permission was granted to fell the 120+
year old beech tree. No reasons given and no conditions as to replanting except that applicant
said he was happy to plant on advice. However, we know that the IBC Arboricultural Officer’s
advice was that the tree was dying. There were six objectors plus The Society.
57 Henley Road. The first application, to fell a prime red cedar, was refused; the second, to
widen the entrance, is regarded as unnecessary by The Society. If granted, it should require a
major rebuild of the wall to restore the symmetry of the brickwork panels facing Henley Road.
Mike Cook
[*see page 8]
At Risk Buildings
There are over a thousand iconic buildings in ‘Greater Ipswich’ recorded on some authorities’
lists somewhere. Currently the future of half-a-dozen give cause for concern. These buildings
were designed by a decent architect, had an important use and have been deserted and unused
for at least a dozen years. Many have suffered from water damage from leaking roofs, guttering
and broken windows. Theft of important historic fittings can lead to use of the buildings by the
homeless with possible subsequent further damage and fires. All of them are too expensive and
too big to be undertaken as a project by a Building Preservation Trust.
All, bar one, are owned by developers who bought them to turn a profit which they find they
can’t achieve. The cost of conversion to the standard required in the current state of the
property market militates against action by the owners.
The one exception, 4 College Street, is owned by Ipswich Borough Council which has very
recently allocated half a million pounds to its complete restoration.
Our Chair asked on ITV Anglia how society can ensure the restitution of such properties and indeed answer
the problem of ‘zombie’ sites raised by Graham Day in the January 2020 Newsletter (Issue 218) – and Dennis Miller in this issue – is relevant.
Ultimately, the problem relates to the private ownership of land. Whilst the principle of land owners being
able to do what they like with their patch (as long its legal) persists, not much will change. At the moment, once you have received planning permission, they can either carry it out within the three years before it lapses, sell it or do nothing until times change and it seems more profitable for them to do something.
A personal view is that after, say, six years have elapsed the Local Planning Authority should
have a right to call the owner to account; to find out what is happening and when. Pressure
could then be applied by imposing a crippling Council Tax until something is completed. In
these situations, it's vital that the law of unintended consequences isn’t enacted. Finally,
compulsory purchase by the Council would have to operate; but in order to encourage developers to actually develop rather than hold land for better times, at the same price they purchased it!
Fantasies, especially in the current political climate!
Mike Cook
Ipswich Hotel Occupancy
Over the past ten years there has been a substantial net increase in hotel beds in Ipswich,
particularly mid-market accommodation. New hotels have been built from scratch, notably the
Penta Hotel in Ranelagh Road, the Travelodge in Duke Street and the Premier Inn. Actually,
there are now three additional Premier Inns: Augusta Close on Ransomes industrial estate, The
Oyster Reach on Bourne Hill, Wherstead and The Beagle in Sproughton.
Recently improved hotels include Belstead Brook, now part of the MGM Muthu group, the
Novotel which has benefited from a £2.5 million refit and the Holiday Inn, London Road which
has just been upgraded. The newcomer is the easyHotel in Northgate Street, a minimalist hotel
offering just the very basics, so basic in fact that some rooms have no natural light – they do,
however, have clean sheets and an en suite shower.
As can be expected, the easyHotel’s rates are the lowest in town, but only marginally more
expensive is Marston’s Inn adjacent to the Mermaid, Yarmouth Road which has the benefit of car
parking.
One would assume therefore that with the increase in available hotel beds occupancy would be
thinly spread. Not so; most hotels report a healthy percentage of overnight stays, particularly
Monday to Wednesday. Hotel manager Nuwan Jayasena, claims that the Novotel is achieving
90% early in the week. On average 2,500 visitors spend the night in a hotel* in Ipswich.
[*hotel, guest house, bed & breakfast etc.]
Ipswich isn’t yet the most popular destination for weekend breaks and, with the exception of
when the football club play a successful side, hotel rooms are usually available. This is
regrettable; Ipswich is an ideal centre for touring the Suffolk coast, Constable country and the
wool towns of west Suffolk.
How do we change things? It’s really down to us, to recommend Ipswich to friends, family and
work colleagues, to sell the positives: the history, the Waterfront, the cultural offer (count the
theatres and cinema screens, include the Dance House and the music venues). Also to ensure that
they come along to one of the festivals: Jazz, Spill, Music Day, Global Rhythms, One Big
Cultural, Maritime, Summer Mela and so on.
John Norman
2020 members outings
All of our 2019 outings were fully booked (with the exception of the Buckingham
Palace visit which had very good up-take), so we must be getting it right. However if
you have any ideas for outings please let me know and they will find their way onto
the list for consideration at our annual Outings Committee meeting in July. We have
another varied and interesting package for you this year, with the booking form for
the April, May and June visits is in this Newsletter, plus a flyer from the Ipswich
Maritime Trust - I have booked one of their trips on the Victor for the Ipswich Society
on August 13th. I look forward to meeting up with many of you on outings this
summer, and meanwhile if I could just remind you that we cannot guarantee that
booking fees will be refunded if you cancel later than one week prior to the date of
the excursion. Should we have to cancel any of the outings due to the Corona virus
epidemic you will be informed and your cheque will not be cashed.
Caroline Markham secretary@ipswichsociety.org.uk
Greenways
As Neil Thompson’s article in the January newsletter shows, the Greenways Project manages
some little-known, but important green spaces in and around Ipswich. I have been associated
for a number of years with the Project and also with Ipswich Borough Council’s Parks and
Cemeteries Department, based at Holywells Park. As an illustrator I have produced pictorial
maps and wildlife illustrations for information boards that are installed in Ipswich parks,
recreation grounds and other public open spaces. This has entailed visiting various locations
and I have been surprised to discover delightful pockets of green space which I knew nothing
about, and I suspect many Newsletter readers don’t either.
For example, I have recently worked on information boards for The Dales and Bixley Heath.
The Dales Local Nature Reserve is a narrow belt of land about 1/3 mile long running parallel
to Dales Road. It can only be accessed from Baronsdale Close and via two grass tracks off
Dales Road; you could go past and not realise where they lead as the site is concealed by the
houses which surround it. They lead to a meadow, surrounded by woodland. A path leads to
another meadow where there is a pond fringed by reeds. Beyond, the ground rises steeply to a
ridge where clay pits were dug to make bricks from which many of the surrounding houses
were built. The pits are now covered in trees and a meandering path will take you the length of
the site, but be warned, in places it climbs and dips steeply as it skirts the old pits. Springs arise
from the base of the slope, feeding the large pond and several smaller ones. At the northern end
is a well-equipped play area. I expect this delightful place is well-known to local children and
dog-walkers, but I wonder how many people from further afield know it is there?
The other site I visited recently is Bixley Heath which has the status of a Site of Special
Scientific Interest and which IBC are managing as a nature reserve, rather than just a public
open space, because it has not one but three distinct habitats. Like The Dales it is surrounded
by housing and has no direct access by road, so is a very secret place. A footpath runs through
it from north to south from Wadhurst Road to Bucklesham Road and another path enters from
the west off Dorchester Road into an area of open heath. Here IBC are gradually restoring
areas of heather. The heath drops down steeply to a narrow wooded valley which is classed as
fen carr; boggy ground supporting damp-loving trees like alder and willow. To the east this
valley opens out into marshy meadow, where the conditions are just right for Greater Tussock
Sedge – distinctive mounds of tall grasses rising out of the quagmire.
On the other side of the access path, the meadow opens out further into reedbeds fringed with
oaks and willows and a circular walk takes you on a boardwalk over the marshy ground,
through which the stream flows and disappears into the adjacent golf course.
Both sites have a distinctive character and are well worth a visit.
Mark Beesley
Review
Ipswich: a Hanseatic Port
by Patricia Grimwade, published by Ipswich Maritime
Trust, 2019 (Available for £2.00 from the Tourist
Information Centre)
This 22-page booklet is well-produced and full of illustrations. Pat Grimwade describes the long history
of maritime trade, particularly with east coast ports, including Ipswich, over the centuries.
Resonances of today’s multinational commercial giants (Google, Facebook, Amazon etc.) can
be found in the Hanseatic League. This confederation of merchant gilds in north-western and
central Europe gained considerable state-like power to the point of holding the first Hanseatic
parliament in Lübeck, Germany in 1358.
Hanseatic towns developed their own legal systems and hired mercenaries for mutual aid and
protection. It was, in effect a north European commercial empire which had possession of
almost all of the Baltic trade. In England, outside of the major trading centre of London, there
were ‘Kontore’ (headquarters of the Hanse, also known as a ‘Steelyard’) along the east coast
including one at Ipswich, which developed in the 14th and 15th centuries. Ipswich became a
staple port for wool: it was the sole authorised centre for wool exporting in Suffolk.
There is much here to enjoy, including for those who may not have a strong interest in
maritime history. Although there is no surviving Hanseatic warehouse in Ipswich – the only
one in Britain is in King’s Lynn – the influence of the Hanse on our town’s history is laid out
here, including the role of powerful merchants in securing the Royal Charter for Ipswich from
King John in 1200.
R.G.
‘Cornhill cubes’
One feature of the Society’s 60th celebrations appeared on the Cornhill as a series of
photographic panels, erected on March 10. Your editor strongly recommended the use of Tim
Leggett’s excellent ‘then and now’ pairs of images for this display, which make full use of the
Image Archive on Flickr (you can find the link at the bottom of the homepage:
www.ipswichsociety.org.uk). Tim has a knack of really studying the original photographs of
Ipswich street scenes and working out where the photographer might have Cornhill, March 2020originally stood. The display proved to be hugely popular with members of the public, young and old, and a great success for us.
See our Diary dates on page 27 for more Society 60th birthday events.
T.L.
Review:
Elizabeth Cobbold – Georgian Polymath
This book by Adele Mallen is the second in the Cobbold & Kin
series published by the Cobbold Family History Trust.
Born in London in 1765 and brought up mostly in Liverpool and Manchester, Elizabeth Knipe became the second wife of Ipswich brewer John Cobbold in 1791. She was an intelligent and free-thinking woman and the author devotes a chapter to each of her many accomplishments, setting them into their historical background – the Regency, French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.
The story begins with Elizabeth Knipe’s early life as the daughter of a Liverpool merchant. She published a book of poetry by the time she was 18 and took a keen interest in the theatre and politics – with her abolitionist views of slavery evident in her writing. The family took holidays in the Lake District and Derbyshire where she became interested in landscape and botany and also met her first husband, William Clarke, an Ipswich customs officer and Portman. Their marriage in 1790 brought Elizabeth Knipe Clarke to Ipswich, though William, much older than her, died later that year. Fortunately, Elizabeth stayed here and soon became Elizabeth Knipe Cobbold.
Perhaps because her life was more settled (her father had moved around a lot) or because she
had to stay put to look after her 15 step-children (plus adding 7 of her own) and certainly
because her husband allowed it (in law she was her husband’s possession), Elizabeth Knipe
Cobbold’s creativity flourished after her marriage into the Cobbold family. The author devotes
20+ pages to her prolific production of poetry at this time and her interest in the theatre in
Ipswich and Norwich. There is also a detailed chapter on her paper cut silhouettes, used as
Valentines at her ‘reputed’ Ipswich parties and one on her famous servant Margaret Catchpole.
Elizabeth Knipe Cobbold was a scientific pioneer and whilst in Ipswich she took part in the
‘Enlightenment’ with great enthusiasm. The chapter on her science, though perhaps not so
detailed as the others*, covers her correspondence and exchange of specimens with Sir James
Smith, founder of the Linnaean Society and Gideon Mantell who pioneered the study of
dinosaurs. She collected fossil shells in the crag sands in the Cobbold’s Holywells estate and
they were published (from 1812) by James Sowerby in the first comprehensive
palaeontological publication in this country, ‘The Mineral Conchology of Great Britain’.
This is a well-researched book – it is good to see this highly talented Ipswich woman being
given the recognition she deserves. It costs £10 and can be bought from the Ipswich Tourist
Information Centre or online from www.cobboldfht.com.
Caroline Markham
[*for more on Elizabeth Knipe Cobbold’s science see Bob Markham’s GeoSuffolk Notes no.70
at www.geosuffolk.co.uk/index.php/archive/geosuffolk-notes]
New Blue Plaques
Last December Ipswich Society, with Ipswich Women’s Festival Group, unveiled two new Blue Plaques commemorating Margaret Catchpole and Sophie Youngman, two important Ipswich women for whom learning and education played a key role in their The plaque commemorating Margaret Catchpole achievements. on The Manor House, St Margarets Green
Margaret Catchpole (1762-1819) became a Suffolk folk heroine, capturing the public
imagination through her association with local smugglers, her daring exploits in riding a stolen
horse to London from Ipswich and later escaping from Ipswich Gaol. Two death sentences
were commuted to transportation to Australia where she established a smallholding, learned
about indigenous communities, the environment and acquired knowledge and skill in
midwifery. She wrote letters home, with observations about her new life, including to her
previous employer Elizabeth Cobbold, who is thought to have encouraged her thirst for
learning whilst in her employment as a younger woman in Ipswich.
Margaret’s story has been fictionalised in books, film, on stage and even in an opera. 200 years
after her death the Blue Plaque was installed on Manor House, St Margaret’s Green, Ipswich,
where Margaret had worked as a servant for Elizabeth Cobbold.
Sophie Youngman (1849-1907) was the first headmistress of Ipswich High School for Girls,
which opened in 1878. For 21 years she led and developed the school. She challenged local
prejudice about education, when opinions did not favour higher education for girls. For the first
time girls had the opportunity to access affordable education with a wide curriculum and
opportunity to sit exams.
Her leadership and support helped many of the pupils to enter university education and gain
professional qualifications. Some of the school’s early pupils were involved in the women’s
suffrage movement and many took active part in World War I, including nursing at the front.
The school still awards a yearly prize in her name.
The plaque honouring Sophie Youngman is displayed outside 3-5 Northgate Street, Ipswich
(now EasyHotel). The building was previously known as the Assembly Rooms and was the
home of the school for many years.
The unveiling of the plaques was followed by refreshments at the Ipswich Institute. Ipswich
Women’s Festival Group has been actively promoting the achievements of Ipswich women for
a number of years, including a commitment to redressing the under-representation of women
recognised through the Blue Plaque scheme – currently 8 out of 28.
At the previous launch for four Blue Plaques in 2016, Cathy Power of English Heritage Blue
Plaques commented: “A local plaque scheme is such a wonderful way to acknowledge the role
of women in history and the link to the buildings in which they lived and worked”. The two
new Blue Plaques will give additional public recognition to Ipswich’s exceptional women.
Ipswich Women’s Festival Group
Letters to the Editor
The Return of the ‘Zombie Sites’ of Ipswich from Dennis Miller
My memory banks whirred into action after reading this letter from Graham Day [Issue 218],
taking me all the way back to 2004 when I was Minutes Secretary for the Society.
I was struck by the number of derelict and empty sites around town so I set about
photographing some and investigating the reasons for their neglect. Nothing was ever resolved
but it is interesting now, 15 years later, to see how the situation has changed.
The two properties that I was particularly concerned about were those in Museum Street and St
Margarets Street (see photos). Both of these are now back in working order with one now a
well established restaurant and the other only just restored as accommodation.
Here also are photos of other properties, some of which still have not been touched!
[See the ‘then and now’ photographs on pages 13-15. -Ed.]
More letters on page page 17
Right: the
original Ipswich
Museum, now
Arlingtons
Restaurant, 13
Museum Street
Photographs
2004 by
Dennis Miller
Photographs
2020 by
Tim Leggett
Below: the
former Kwik-Fit
premises,
St Margarets
Street /
St Margarets
Green
Right: the former Prince of
Orange / Bar Fontaine,
10-14 St Margarets Street
Below: the former Barnes
soft furnishing shop,
12-20 Upper Orwell Street
Right: the former
Steam Brewery Tap,
39 Upper Brook Street
Below: timber-framed
buildings next to the Co-op
Education Centre,
13-15 Fore Street
‘James Nightall GC’ at
Thuxton in 2014.
See the following Letter
to the Editor from
Graham Hardinge.
’Sir Guy Williams’
awaiting scrapping
in 1966, 22 years after it
was wrecked in the
Soham explosion.
’James Nightall GC’, the
name just discernible
below the driver’s cab
window at right.
Letters to the Editor (continued)
Ransomes and railways from Graham Hardinge (see the photographs on the previous page)
Thank you for another interesting read [Issue 218]. With my Ipswich Transport Society Vice-
Presidential hat on, there are a couple of items I would like to comment upon.
1. By one of those odd coincidences, only two days after I had read Mervyn Russen’s
‘Ransomes & Rapier’ letter concerning the R & R-built turntable at Didcot, I caught up with a
magazine article published by the Friends of Vintage Trains. VT operate main line steam
specials from their base at Tyseley Locomotive Works, previously a GWR and BR steam depot
located in the southern outskirts of Birmingham. Briefly, the detailed and quite technical article
describes the former steam depot here, the enormous covered area (220 ft x 360 ft) – long since
demolished – containing four turntables. One of these turntables survives (now in the open air)
and is currently undergoing restoration. Its history has Ipswich connections in that British
Railways (Western Region) ordered four x 65 feet Mundt turntables from Ransomes & Rapier
in 1957 to replace elderly existing turntables. Two of these were destined for Tyseley, but in the
event only one was installed during the Spring of 1959. Bearing in mind that steam traction
was about to be run down at a rapid rate, with Tyseley depot closing to steam little over seven
years later, 1957 seemed rather late in the day to place an order for new turntables but it was
good for our local engineering employees.
2. The other subject of particular interest was Izzy Lane's story of the Soham wartime
explosion which needs some minor amendment. The incident took place in 1944, not 1942,
while the naming of the two Class 47s diesel locomotives (47577 'Benjamin Gimbert GC' and
47579 'James Nightall GC’) took place at March on 28/9/81, not 1960 (the locos weren’t built
until late 1964!). Both were regular sights at Ipswich prior to the electrification of the Great
Eastern Main Line. While in BR service, they later had their nameplates and explanatory brass
plaques removed, but both survive. Of these, 47579 is privately preserved and restored to its
1981 condition, complete with nameplates and plaques, and is resident at Mangapps Railway
Museum near Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex. Two, more modern, diesel freight locomotives:
nos.66077 and 66079 – note the same last two digits – have now carried the names, but on less
attractive plates and no plaques, since 2004.
On the subject of locomotives, the one involved at Soham was an Austerity locomotive, not the
other way around. Despite being totally wrecked, it was rebuilt and spent its subsequent life at
Longmoor Military Railway in Hampshire (closed in 1969) where Royal Engineers were
trained in railway operations and construction. I visited the LMR in April 1966 where I saw it
stored and awaiting disposal. For possible added interest, the accompanying photographs are of
preserved 47579 ‘James Nightall GC’ at Thuxton, on the Mid-Norfolk Railway, in 2014 and
WD 400 ‘Sir Guy Williams’ awaiting scrapping at Longmoor in 1966, 22 years after it was
wrecked in the Soham explosion.
Apologies for the probable onset of boredom, but the facts must be right! By way of a
postscript and to complete the series of photographs, I’ve just remembered that I have a picture
of the locomotive that currently carries ‘James Nightall GC’ nameplates over the national
network. Unfortunately, this is barely discernible (it is under the driver’s cab side window) but
the train it is hauling was the first passenger train to run over the then new Bacon Factory
curve at Ipswich on 25/5/14. Has that line really been open for 5.5 years already! >
The Soham explosion from Spencer Greystrong, River Gipping Trust
Thanks for the latest newsletter, yet again full of interesting facts and pictures.
Could I just pick up on one very minor point in Izzy Lane's article on the Soham explosion.
The locomotive was an Austerity type 2-8-0 produced in large numbers specifically for War
Department use. This particular engine was numbered WD 7337. The North British
Locomotive Company built the majority of these locomotives (545 in total) and virtually all of
them were shipped to Europe for use by the Army after D-Day.
If your readers would like to see the only remaining preserved example of these engines they
can find No. 90733 on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway where it is currently being
overhauled.
Herbert Clarke and the tidal barrier viewing area from Graham Day
I was pleased to see in the last edition of the Newsletter [Issue 218] the letter and photograph
from Mervyn Russen about the Ransomes and Rapier turntable now in-situ at the Didcot
Railway Centre. It reminded me of another part of the engineering portfolio of Ransomes and
Rapier: that of water control sluice gates. From the early 1980s until the mid 1990s, we made
an annual trip to the Spalding Flower Parade, now sadly confined to the annals of history.
Walking from the parking place at a local school, and after watching the parade in the town,
we walked to Springfields to see the parade again and look around the wonderfully colourful
gardens. Our route took us past a majestic sluice gate, standing proudly on the river with its
elliptical plate proudly proclaiming ‘Ransomes and Rapier, Ipswich’. The contribution of
engineering to the development of Ipswich is always poorly represented.
On occasions when working in Ipswich, I often walk around parts of Old Stoke, my home area.
I often pass by the pocket park and the memorial garden to Herbert Clarke, the guard on the
Soham munitions train. The excellent Newsletter article was well complemented by Izzy
Lane’s good photograph showing the condition of the plaque on the park entrance. I wonder
who is responsible for the park and the plaque. The plaque does need to be cleaned and
repaired or replaced. A man of Stoke, Herbert Clarke’s bravery on that fateful night needs
better recognition than this.
My route on my last walk took me to where I thought the viewing area by the new flood barrier
would be. I had heard about the problems with the railway line, but was not prepared for the
tall hoardings which had been erected around the viewing area preventing public access. Surely, someone should have given consideration to the possibility that trains might use the track on the odd occasion, and
thought through the design before committing to the building work? What would be an excellent feature is now
shrouded in hoardings and also in mystery as to its future. Like the Orwell Bridge, we will have a solution at some indeterminate date distant years hence!
And now, from our New Zealand correspondent…
‘Germany calling’
One of the Luftwaffe’s rare bright spots in the Battle of Britain was on August 15, 1940, when
twenty-five fighter bombers (almost certainly Dorniers) attacked RAF Martlesham Heath
causing severe damage to a fighter airfield.
I was six and living at Hadleigh – and a bit envious about being away from the action. That
feeling was not to last. Decently sandbagged and window-taped, we had seen a lot less warfare
than Ipswich. (My Nanna and three aunts were bombed out of Cemetery Road and were living
with us, including Joyce (8), now the wife of Neil Salmon, your former editor.)
Some months after Martlesham the bizarre attack on Hadleigh took place. My pals and I were
kicking a ball around on the street when an enormous clanking sound occurred. It was a very
low-flying Dornier obviously crippled and trying to make it back to the Hook of Holland. The
nose gunner (either a father of boys or a fan of amateur football) was machine-gunning in a
fairly arbitrary fashion but ceased as soon as he spotted us. We didn’t get off entirely. His
comrades jettisoned racks of incendiaries, scoring direct hits on the Station Road allotments,
whose blasts threw some of us into neighbours front lawns and set tiles and windows flying.
My Aunt Rose’s almost last words were: ‘Look! They’re only practicing’. Nanna Welton dived
for the protection of the indoor shelter, a ‘Morrison’, only to be knocked over by the dog who
got there first.
The sole Hadleigh casualties were the Old Mill, marginally, and a Mrs Hall who lived – and died – next to it.
My Aunt Rose is key to this saga. Very elderly Ipswichians will remember her, after hostilities, as co-owner with her
husband Charlie Healey of two sub-post offices in Fore Street: one near the municipal baths, the other down on the other side close to Fore Hamlet. Rose had married Charlie, an RAF Warrant Officer from Plymouth, in 1931 or 1932.
Brian Jepson’s photograph of the Fore Street Post Office opposite Grimwade Street in 1961. The sign in the window: 'C.H. Healey ... Printer, Stationer’.
They ‘borrowed’ me, aged about 3, in 1937 for a couple of weeks in married quarters at RAF
Digby in Lincolnshire. Charlie showed me the latest prototype of the Spitfire, gleaming silver
and converted from a seaplane, in a hangar. I’m pretty sure it was my earliest memory of
anything. The aircraft was a thing of sublime beauty – like a perky robust seagull. It, with the
Hurricane, radar and anti-aircraft ground fire, was to save us as a nation. I shall think of that
Spitfire until I die.
Charlie finished the war as a Squadron Leader (engineer). He died suddenly in the night in
1961 at Halliwell Road, Lattice Barn. When Rose went to open Fore Street next morning – the
show must go on – she learned that their workmate Bill Bailey, who had gone through training
and the whole war with Charlie, had died in Belstead Road, I think, at the same hour.
Rose went on into her nineties and died in Halliwell Road. My mother, her sister, got to 99: the
oldest Girl Guide (Lone Grey) in the world. With her at the end was Joyce Salmon, her 1939
London evacuee, of Warrington Road.
Bernard Brown (Auckland, N.Z.)
Affordable Homes
The changes in planning rules which allow the conversion of office blocks to flats without the
developer having to apply for planning permission has seriously undermined the provision of
affordable homes. Ordinarily the granting of planning permission for new homes, flats or
houses will stipulate that a percentage of those homes should be affordable.
In the absence of the requirement for planning approval, office conversions are undertaken
without the development needing to comply with this basic social requirement. However the
arrival of these additional flats depresses the market and the developers of traditional homes
are less likely to push ahead with their own schemes, particularly if the percentage of
affordable units required makes their scheme marginal.
Converting offices also deprives the local authority of the income they would otherwise obtain
under 106 agreements (for example; roads, schools and other infrastructure). With a shortage
of affordable stock families are left with no choice but to live in these converted offices, often
on industrial estates and in high rise towers that don't necessarily meet modern safety
requirements.
It is interesting to note that Ipswich Borough Council through their own company, Ipswich
Borough Assets Ltd, have purchased the former BT office complex in Bibb Way for
£4.1 million with the intention of converting it into flats. Again, planning permission will not
be required – providing the external appearance doesn’t change – and there will be no
requirement for ‘affordable homes’.
John Norman
Notes about Ipswich Borough Assets
Ipswich Borough Assets Ltd created: April 2016
Birketts, Princes Street, £12.5 million
Portman House (Archant) Buy and Lease back £2.15 million
Europa House (formerly Billingtons) £3.5 million
17 – 19 Cornhill (formerly Burton’s) £3 million
Anglia Retail Park £42 million
Bibb Way (formerly BT) £4.1 million
J.N.
High streets have always changed but today they are changing faster than ever and Ipswich is no exception. Shops
are closing and towns everywhere are filling up with coffee shops, barber shops, nail bars, vape shops and gyms, cinemas and other activity venues. Charity shops were always there but have been become more central and conspicuous as sites become vacant. Shops move around and chain stores have been closing multiple units leaving one branch per town, but there are still new shops opening up.
Possibly the best news for Ipswich town centre in the last three months is the announcement that Sports Direct intend to move from Carr Street into the former BHS premises in Butter Market which have been empty since the chain crashed, leaving a big gap in the town centre. We are told this will also include new branches of the fashion stores Flannels and USC. All three brands are part of the group owned by retail entrepreneur Mike Ashley. USC used to occupy the site where Tiger is today.
Carr Street retail has been in decline ever since the Co-op Department Store closed, and only
recently Orwell Butchers closed. Other stores have moved from Carr Street to more central sites
including: Superdrug, Argos, Game and even The British Heart Foundation. Maplin crashed
nationwide and Peacocks have had ‘closing down’ signs for many months, though staff seem to
think that if they can find a suitable site they may also move closer to the town centre. This will
leave very little worth having in Carr Street. B&M already have three other branches around
Ipswich and are probably looking at the future of their Carr Street site. There are plans afoot to
build a Primary School on the old Co-op site beyond Cox Lane and the buildings the town side of
Cox Lane are being turned into residential apartments.
CAFES and RESTAURANTS
All over the country cafés and restaurants are filling the empty sites as town centres are edging
more and more towards being social and activity areas as much as retail centres. Several new
cafés have opened since the last Newsletter and more are in the pipeline. Such establishments
include On the Huh in St Peters Street, Café 43 in Carr Street, The Bloom Lounge in Tacket
Street, Combat 2 Coffee in Princes Street and Papaky in King Street. There have been reports of
three other café/restaurants possibly opening in the near future including a 1940s-themed café in
St Peters Street next to the former Rovian, Honey + Harvey in the former Mambos in Queen
Street, possibly this summer, and hints that a pizza restaurant may be opening soon on the upper
floor of the Buttermarket centre next to Cosy Club.
NEW SHOPS
The most exciting newcomer is Dial Lane Books, an independent shop which opened on March 3 in a unit which has been empty for a long time, leaving Dial Lane full up. Although we have lost Burtons and Dorothy Perkins, as have many other towns, Deichmann shoes have taken over the site and hope to open this summer. The Thomas Cook group closed nationally last year and Hays Travel have moved into the building. Blue Inc in Sailmakers, which was closed for a year, has reopened after a take-over by a new company.
Sadly we have lost Whittards (Tavern Street), one of only four branches in East Anglia, Jessops
(Butter Market) has also gone without warning and Paperchase (Tavern Street) has announced
that it will be closing in April if suitable alternative premises cannot be found in the town. Staff
understood that another shop is allegedly already lined up to move into the premises.
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
After a two year construction period the WINERACK apartments are complete which has
included paving Albion Wharf to match the rest of the Waterfront. This is a huge step forward for
the Waterfront regeneration (suspended after the global crash of 2007/8) with hopes that it will
kick-start plans for the remaining part of the old Wet Dock.
THE HOLD (Suffolk Records Office) on the University Campus is progressing fast and expected
to open in spring, possibly late May.
THEATRE SQUARE – this project, in front of the New Wolsey Theatre, is expected to be
completed in May and includes a new pavilion rehearsal studio for the theatre as well as a
complete refurbishment of the theatre concourse. The old and tired paving is being replaced with
a resin surface and there will be new landscaping. We wait to see if the ‘virtually ever-dry’
fountain will be reinstated.
BROOMHILL POOL – this Heritage Lottery funded project is expected to move forward
dramatically this year as tenders have gone out for the building work and trees have already been
cut down in preparation before the nesting season starts. It is hoped the well-remembered lido
will be open to the public once more in 2021.
CORNHILL – Snagging work has been in progress where more visible paving has been laid top
and bottom of the steps. Work will start again at the end of March when new stone planters will
be set into the paving replacing the plastic planters and the tapering step will go, being replaced
with one large planter and seating. Additional handrails are being added in the middle of the steps
and down the Town Hall steps. Work should be completed before the schools’ summer break.
WHERRY QUAY – This area has had temporary metal fencing near the Mariners floating
restaurant for over a year where the quay has been crumbling. Divers are currently working from
a diving platform alongside the quay. Work is expected to be completed by the end of March.
THE FUTURE
GRIMADE STREET shops have been boarded up. Owned by IBC, the block is likely to be demolished and replaced by 16 new council flats.
PRINCES STREET – The former Botwoods, more recently a car wash, has recently been boarded up. IBC wants to borrow £7million to build a new 700 space multi-storey car park on the former Portman Road livestock market, demolish the old Botwoods and build a new hotel and restaurant on the site and that of the former Drum & Monkey pub.
GECKO – Now that Ipswich Borough Council own the major part of the St Peters Dock buildings, a new world-class facility for physical theatre company, Gecko, 14 new flats and a restaurant with striking views of Ipswich Waterfront are among major intentions for the derelict former Burton's factory site.
Exciting times ahead for Ipswich.
Tim Leggett
Snippets
Suffolk Local History Council
New Local Recorders are welcome. They note significant happenings in their parish and
collect their local parish magazines, leaflets, election pamphlets and newspaper cuttings. At the
end of each year, they are asked to submit a short report summarising the activities of their
parish. The reports are deposited at the Suffolk Record Office and are available to future
researchers together with the collected items. To volunteer to help in this important work,
please contact recorders@slhc.org.uk
House building
New research from the Local Government Association (LGA) has revealed that more than a
million homes were not built in the past decade despite planning permission for them being
granted. The figures showed that 2,564,600 units have been granted planning permission by
councils since 2009/10 but only 1,530,680 units were completed in the same period. In Ipswich
the housing target (Ipswich Local Plan) has been as high as 700 units per year, currently nearer
500 but we typically only build somewhere over 300.
Charter Hangings
The Charter Hangings are eight superb pieces of embroidery marking the 800th anniversary of
Ipswich: eight centuries since King John gave the town its Charter; they were completed and
first went on display in the year 2000.
As it is now 20 years since they were completed there is to be a celebration in St Peter’s On
The Waterfront, where they are currently hanging, in the middle of June. Everybody who
contributed to the Charter Hangings, and their subsequent exhibition in this country and abroad
is invited to the celebration.
Please contact Isabel Clover for details: 01449 720424
14th in the world?
‘From strolling through the arboretum at Christchurch Park, taking in a show at the famous
Regent Theatre, viewing Constable's art at Christchurch Mansion, it's little wonder travellers
are falling in love with Ipswich.’ Thus spake the tripadvisor website when it placed Ipswich,
the only U.K. representative, at 14th in the chart of the World's top emerging destinations. Of
course, one can quibble with the source, its methodology and ‘The Sheeran Effect’, but the
volume of positive media coverage for our county town surrounding this placing is worth its
weight in gold.
Richard Ayoade
Actor, presenter, author, humorist and all-round excellent fellow Richard Ayoade was born in
Hammersmith of a Norwegian mother and a Nigerian father. The family moved to Ipswich
when he was young. Ayoade studied at St Joseph's College, Ipswich, where he recalls being so
obsessed with J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, that he dressed like Holden Caulfield.
Living on Martlesham Heath, his memories of life in Ipswich crop up in his latest entertaining
book Ayoade on top (published by Faber, 2019). This attempts to establish, by intensive critical
analysis, the rather slight Gwyneth Paltrow film Life at the top released in 2003 as one of the
greatest pieces of cinema ever made. The dissection is both absurd, fascinating and hilarious.
The evocation of the Ipswich of the teenage Ayoade will be recognised by many who knew the
town at the time. He describes himself as ‘insubstantial’. He’s anything but.
Ipswich Society Awards 2019
This was another successful and enlightening conclusion to the 2019 celebration of our town's
acquisition of new structures and projects.
We gathered on a chilly night in St Peter's On The Waterfront where, in the absence of the Vice
Chairman, the Society’s Hon. Secretary Caroline Markham conducted the ceremonies. It was
pleasing to see that our Executive Committee contains a fine variety of personalities who can
front such an occasion with assurance and aplomb. Members of the audience commented on the
ability we have to be balanced and equitable in this manner.
Our Vice President Bob Allen took charge of the presentation of the nominations for this year's
awards, the presentation having been prepared by Tony Marsden, the Vice Chairman.
In a typically thoughtful and probing account of the proceedings leading to the final
announcements of successful contenders, Bob was broad in his praise of the variety of entrants
and incisive in his commentary. He indicated the ways in which projects architecturally enhance
the character of the place, improve – with good materials and workmanship – and impact on the
street scene of the town.
As one might expect there were nominations from business, domestic, residential and the public
realm projects. A majority of the nominations were to do with houses or apartments which have
been finished, refurbished or improved during the year with the impressive Belgrove Place, the
old St Clement’s Hospital (listed grade 2) off Foxhall Road, attaining a High Commendation and
Foundry House opposite the central library in Old Foundry Road earned a fine Commendation.
In the business sphere there were two awards: the Easy Hotel in Northgate Street earned a
Commendation with consideration given to the reuse of a fine old Ipswich building based on the
original Assembly Rooms. However, the refurbishment and conversion of Princes Street
Maltings was considered to be of such significance in its treatment of another landmark building
in the important portal to the town that it deserved an award of Distinction.
In the realm of public works the outstanding transformation of Maple Park Playground
(Rendlesham Road – Ainslie Road in West Ipswich), with the award of Distinction was a superb
example of how the needs of a little-regarded part of town can be heard and responded to with
style and agility by the Council. It focused on the hopes of residents and their aspirations for the
area in a climax to the evening which was tremendous.
We have, once again, to thank the committee and volunteers for assisting with the evening – the
food and drink were welcomed. We must also applaud the panel of judges whose time and
consideration produced a collection of projects which reflected the variety and vivacity of
the town.
We were pleased to welcome a large number of guests, residents, builders, developers and
Council officials alongside a slightly reduced membership attendance. Perhaps the temperature
of the venue was not sufficiently warmed by the evening’s events; in any case, this might be our
last use of this splendid church for the time being.
All of the projects feature in the album Awards 2020 in our Image Archive on Flickr accessible
via our website home page. Incidentally, albums exist of the winners and nominations for many
recent years, the earliest being 1977 – once again all visible on our Image Archive.
Tony Marsden
[All photographs except Princes Street Maltings by Tony Marsden]
Belgrove Place, High Commendation
EasyHotel, Commendation
Foundry House, Commendation
Princes Street Maltings, Distinction
Maple Park Playground, Distinction
PHOTO COMP
The Ipswich Society’s 60th Birthday
Photographic Competition: Call for entries
The Ipswich Society invites members and non-members of the Society to enter our Diamond
Anniversary competition to celebrate Ipswich in all its variety: its buildings, environment and
open spaces. It is open to photographers of all ages. The rules are very simple and the selected
images will be part of a special exhibition in October 2020.
How to enter
1. Each entrant may submit up to five photographs which have been taken between January
2017 and the closing date (July 1, 2020). There is no entrance fee.
2. Photographs must be submitted by email to: secretary@ipswichsociety.org.uk.
(This email address replaces the earlier submission email address.)
If you have any problem emailing the images, let us know.)
3. Please submit each photograph separately, in this format, one per email:
Jpeg format (high resolution); max. largest dimension: 40cm; 200dpi.
(Larger image files will be requested if selected.)
Each image should be accompanied by :-
[adults] your name, postal address, phone number and email address;
[under-18s] your name and age. A parent/guardian must submit entries on your behalf and
include their own name, postal address, phone number and email address;
also:
• the title (if any),
• location,
• subject,
• date of the photograph.
The Society will award 1st, 2nd and 3rd awards to the winners, plus an award in the Under-18 category on Thursday 1 October 2020. The judges’ decision is final and we reserve the right to refuse photographs. Costs of printing/mounting the selected entries will be borne by The Ipswich Society.
NOTE
By entering this competition you are consenting to the use of the photograph (if selected) in an exhibition and possible use in R.G.The Ipswich Society’s Newsletter and Facebook page. Submitted photographs will be added to the Society’s Image Archive on the Flickr website. All selected entries will be credited to the photographer, who will retain copyright.
If you have any questions or require further information, please email our Hon. Secretary:
secretary@ipswichsociety.org.uk
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. We make every effort to comply with copyright and GDPR
law in our publications; please contact the Hon. Secretary if you have any concerns about any content.
Diary dates
*PLEASE READ THE ANNOUNCEMENT IN THE AGM BOOKLET (p.8) REGARDING SOCIETY EVENTS*
Wednesday April 22, 7.30pm: Society AGM, University of Suffolk Waterfront Building
(please note change of venue). Speaker: Amy Rushton, Project Co-ordinator for 'The Hold'.
Friday June 5 - Sunday 14: 3 Silent Street; Society exhibition for the 500th Anniversary of the
Field of the Cloth of Gold (as master-minded by Cardinal Wolsey). Free/open to the public.
Thursday July 16: The Society’s 60th Anniversary Celebration Garden Party at
Ransomes Sports Pavilion, Sidegate Avenue, Ipswich.
August 13: Visit Harwich aboard the sailing barge Victor with IMT (see the flyer in this issue).
September 12-13: Heritage Open Days.
November 18: Annual Awards Evening at The Hold (tbc).
Outings: 20 May - Guided tours of Hadleigh and Finchingfield Guildhall; 11 June - Gressenhall
Museum; 7 July - Kew Gardens
Thursday July 2, 7pm: Diplomacy with Axe, Lance and Sword: 500 years since The Field of Cloth of
Gold Tournament, a talk by Dr Tobias Capwell, Christchurch Mansion. Contact:
emma.roodhouse@colchester.gov.uk for information (Friends of the Ipswich Museums).
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.
Tanwy owl photographed in Christchurch Park, December 2019, by Graham Smith