January 2022 Issue 228
Contents
Editorial
Society Awards and Photo Competition
New members
Old Buck with a new heart reviewed
Chairman's remarks
The Shrine of our Lady of Ipswich
Planning matters
Visit to Carr House
Starting work at R.&W. Paul
Introducing Ethel's Edwardian album
The tallest structures in Ipswich
Bob & Joyce Dumper’s legacy
Mystery plaque in Slade Street
Barry Girling's Band of brothers book
The Hold: a new home for Suffolk archives
Tourist Guides' Afternoon Tea Walks 2022
Street scene
HMOs
Art and artisans
Society Officers and contacts
Eminent Ipswichians: Ray Booty
Diary dates
IBPT: ‘Caring for your vintage house’
Newsletter deadlines
The Hold, Fore Street elevation, photographed by John Field. See article on page 10.
Editorial
In a packed New Year issue, I just have space here to let you all know that Tony Robson has
produced a new edition of the Society’s Blue Plaques booklet. This includes all the new plaques
including Peter Schuyler Bruff, Margaret Catchpole and Sophie Youngman. The PDF can be
downloaded from our website and the paper booklet is available free from usual outlets. Just as
important, our Treasurer has announced that The Ipswich Society benefitted by £1,560 from Gift
Aid. We thank all who registered for Gift Aid on their subscriptions and urge any member who
hasn’t, and who is a UK taxpayer, to ask for a form from our Hon. Secretary (all contact details
are on page 27).
Robin Gaylard
Stop press: Ipswich Museum has been awarded a £4.3m grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund towards a
redevelopment project. Congratulations.
4 College Street and (below) the former Alexandria Hair Artistry, St Margarets Street; see Street Scene page 12.
New members
Chairman’s remarks
I was rather hoping that 2022 would be something closer to a ‘normal’ year compared with
2020 and 2021, alas it appears that it is not to be and as I write this column all four corners of
the UK are suffering from an increase in Covid cases. A new South African variant has been
discovered and has caused governments to introduce travel restrictions. For the Society these
increases indicate a reduced opportunity to re-introduce summer coach outings although we are
planning a spring programme of speakers in Museum Street Methodist Church.
Looking back at 2021 our biggest disappointment was the decision by the Ipswich planners to
effectively grant permission to demolish the former Co-operative Department Store on the
corner of Cox Lane and Carr Street. You will read elsewhere in this Newsletter of my visit to
Carr House, the former Co-operative’s central premises which have successfully been
converted into 22 apartments. Joe Fogal, the developer who showed us around, was fairly
certain that neither the ‘1908 Each for all & All for each’ corner building nor the three-storey
white glazed brick adjacent unit (which were our prime concern) had been offered for sale for
potential residential conversion.
The choice was, it seems, either demolish and build a school or lose the opportunity for this worthwhile development. The Ipswich Society, together with the Suffolk Preservation Society, the Victorian Society and the 20th Century Society all objected to the loss of locally listed buildings.
The really annoying facts of the case are that there is more than sufficient
brownfield land on which to build a primary school at the rear of the locally listed buildings. In
fact, by utilising the space occupied by the former Co-operative Garden Centre, the developer
could avoid putting the games area on the roof.
We are within a couple of years of ‘celebrating’ the 100th anniversary of the demolition (slum
clearance) of the high-density housing in Cox Lane, Upper Barclay Street and Permit Office
Street. A primary school in this location could kick start some ‘inner-city’ residences.
On a positive note, I am pleased to report a successful Ipswich Society Awards Evening, ably
organised by our Vice Chairman, Tony Marsden, and essentially supported – not only by the
Executive Committee – but also a couple of friends and partners. Thank you all, it was a very
prestigious occasion. The event was made all the more prestigious by the location: the
auditorium in The Hold, a new lecture theatre for the university. Quality sound and particularly
sharp image projection, comfortable seats and a warm room all contribute to the ambience
these awards deserve.
A full list of award winners is published in this Newsletter (pages 18-19) but I should mention
that an Award of Distinction (which is not given lightly) was made for the restoration of the
Unitarian Meeting House by KLH Architects and F.A.Valiant and Son Ltd. It is often said that
the very best restoration of a listed property is that, when it is finished, it isn’t noticeable on
completion. I am informed by members of the congregation that in this case the difference is
noticeable. The church is a lot warmer since restoration – probably due to the sheep’s wool
insulation in the external walls.
John Norman
Planning matters
50 Russet Road (old Driving Test Centre, Woodbridge Road). After deferment for a site visit to
assess the roads and access, the much needed Special Educational Needs School for 60 students
has received planning permission.
69 Constable Road. The proposal is to build a modern, highly sustainable near-passivhaus on
the tennis court of no 69. Access requires the demolition of the existing garage. The Society is
not keen on back garden development in Article 4d Conservation areas, however in this case
there is the space.
Albion Wharf. Brewdog, a Scottish Brewery, has applied to convert the ground floor space of
Albion Wharf (next door to the Maritime Trust’s Exhibition window) into a pub. The beer house
will have over 120 seats on the ground floor, 97 on the mezzanine and possibly 76 outside on the
quay. So it is likely there could be more than three hundred revellers on and around the
premises. The residents of the apartments above are vocal in their opposition with at least 25
objecting to the proposal. The police are objecting on the grounds of lack of detail and have
supplied a long list of conditions which must be fulfilled. In planning terms there is nothing to
object to in the application. The Licensing Committee Meeting for December 9, 2021 was
postponed so we don't yet know the outcome.
28 St Matthews Street. The site is the car park for the very popular Turkish supermarket
(previously Blockbusters) in Berners Street. The proposal is to erect a three storey building
over the car park, the latter hidden behind a perforated wall. The first and second storeys will
have eight one or two person flats; a two bedroom flat on the third floor is set back from the
building line. KLH architects have proposed a typical modern style which is intended to blend
into the conservation area. In our opinion the top storey is a step too far and increases the canyon
like feel of lower Berners Street. Whilst we would support dwellings on this site the developer
and their architects need to reappraise their proposal.
21 Upper Brook Street (the former Billiards Hall hidden behind the shops). After deferment, a
much improved 16 bedroom, three storey building (which now includes accommodation for an
on-site manager) has been granted planning permission.
Dove Street / Rope Walk. A four storey building, similar to the newly completed one on the
adjacent corner, recently completed for Suffolk New College has been approved.
18 Badgers Bank. The proposal is to demolish the existing house which has suffered major
subsidence and replace with a modern, sustainable, two storey building in brick with a zinc roof
and solar panels. It differs architecturally, from its neighbours – 1970s boxes by Costain which
are on a steeply sloping site but offer nothing in the way of architectural merit.
42 Marlborough Road is in an Article 4 Conservation Area. The proposal is to demolish a
1950s gabled single garage and replace it with a hipped roof double garage to mirror the one at
number 44. The red brick boundary wall would be rebuilt.
The Golden Goose (formerly The Ship Launch PH). Since the pub closed it has had a brief life
as a Chinese restaurant. Built in 1850 to serve the dockers, ship-builders and sailors as well as
Cobbold’s brewery workers it has distinctive architectural features. This proposal, by Last and
Tricker with good professional support, is to convert the main building into four upside down
apartments and turn an outbuilding into a fifth. Once again, however, it is packing too many
apartments into too small a space.
1 Kettlebaston Way. Victoria Nursery will stay until for Christmas 2022 so Christmas trees are
safe for another year. The previous application (for a care home) was refused, the building was
oversized for the site, and there was not enough car parking. This latest application moves the
building to the south-east corner of the site so there is less overlooking. The ridge line has been
lowered, the pitch angle increased and the trees on the south east corner retained. Car park
spaces have increased from 26 to 30, plus one disabled. These changes are for the better but it
remains a large building.
10 Westgate Street. Most recently a shoe shop, Office, this ‘change of use’ application is for
yet another coffee shop: Starbucks.
2 St Margarets Plain. On the corner of Northgate Street is an important Grade II listed
medieval building currently being converted from Alexandria hairdressing salon into three
ground floor retail units, two one bed flats on the first floor and two studios on the second floor.
An assessment report by Leigh Ashton complete with maps, photographs, and extensive
descriptions makes for fascinating reading. I have spoken to the enthusiastic owner-entrepreneur
and I am reassured that all is in order.
Ipswich Garden Suburb Country Park has been brought forward by new funding from the
government. It will be slightly larger in area than Christchurch Park, so these proposals need
careful consideration and review.
1-4 & 3-4 Lower Brook Street Mews. The conversion of an existing office with a new building
adjacent, both by Martin Last, to create 14 single person accommodation units. The drawings
show each with a double bed so occupancy could exceed expectations and so the proposal
was refused.
32 Broughton Road. The proposed front extensions to this 1930s detached residence at the top
of Broughton Road was refused and the committee’s decision has been upheld on appeal.
Ipswich Sports Club, Henley Road. In 2018, permission was granted to build 28 detached
houses on the artificial hockey pitch. This new proposal is for a less dense development with
somewhat larger houses, accessed by an improved approach from Henley Road. An unusual part
of the application is the presence of the Financial Viability Report in the public domain. It makes
the case that it is unviable to have more than two dwellings for affordable rent. This claim will
be assessed by independent experts on behalf of Ipswich Borough Council.
6 Silent Street. The owner has been successfully prosecuted for unauthorized work to a Grade II
listed building. This application concerns the mitigation of those works, internal repairs to lath
and plaster work (particularly first floor ceilings) a new parapet, and two new flat roofs. The
Heritage Statement, by KLH, is comprehensive and is worth reading. Ipswich Building
Preservation Trust seriously considered purchasing the building from Suffolk CC in the late
1970s but the feasibility study advised against.
The Head of Development Control, stated during the October meeting of the Planning and
Development Committee, that under the latest version of the Local Plan, Ipswich has
demonstrated an adequate supply of housing for the next five years. Windfall sites, predicted in
the Plan at 50 a year, are coming forward at 75 annually. It’s been assisted by the recent
conversion of offices to small apartments. This is excellent news as now developers will no
longer be able to say that permission has to be granted for this application for dwellings because
the Borough cannot demonstrate a five year supply of housing.
Henley Gate Community Liaison Group. On behalf of the Society, I attended the first
meeting, by Zoom, in November. Virtually all the attendees were councillors. Most concern was
raised over the access being formed on Henley Gate and the associated residents’ disturbance. I
raised concerns over hedgerows and cycle access. I was reassured as to the former but received
an anodyne managerial reply on the latter. The next meeting, possibly in person, is in mid-
January. If you have a question please contact me.
Mike Cook
Starting work at R&W Paul Ltd
I was interested to read Neil Thompson’s memories of his early working life at the Willis Faber
offices, in the October Newsletter. Prompted by members of my family, I have written down
some of my own memories of starting work, back in the mid-1950s, at the former head office of
R&W Paul. They are a well-remembered Ipswich employer, which had a significant influence on
the business development (and townscape) of Ipswich in the 19th and 20th Centuries.
I was employed as a junior clerk in the Head Office of Paul’s in Key Street, Ipswich from 1956
until 1958, immediately after leaving Northgate School. R & W Paul Ltd. – founded in the first
half of the 19th Century by a member of the well-known local Paul family – had grown by then
to become one of the principal animal food manufacturers in the country. At that time, as well as
Ipswich, they had mills in Hull, Kings Lynn, London, Faversham, Avonmouth and Manchester. Their sailing barges
were a familiar sight on the Orwell and in the Wet Dock.
The company produced ‘Sow and Weaner’ nuts & pellets for pigs/swine, ‘Layers Mash’ and pellets for poultry
and the curiously-named ‘Kositos’ feed for cattle.
There were between 50 and 60 staff employed in the office and I worked in the ‘Kositos Department’, recording sales, producing price lists and general admin duties. My pay was £3 15 shillings per week, paid in cash in sealed envelopes with notes visible for checking prior to opening. We worked from 8.45am to 5.30pm on weekdays and from 9am to noon on Saturdays. We signed in each morning and at 8.50am a line was drawn below the signatures, anybody falling below the line twice in a week was required to report to the Company Secretary. Like many staff at that time, I cycled to work; in addition I used to cycle home (to Whitton) and back to the office each lunchtime. 1932 advertisement from Ipswich Historic Lettering website
The impressive Head Office, located in Key Street behind the Old Custom House, was built during the 1930s (but has sadly been out of active use for most of the years following the merger with BOCM in the early 1990s). It contained a spacious main office area with double-sided sloping desks arranged in long rows across the office, for all but the most senior staff. We were seated on high stools. The Company Secretary’s office had a window through which he could observe activity in the main office and check on any ‘slacking’ – in which casethose nearest to him would pass along appropriate warnings to the miscreants.
An important part of office life each month was to produce, pack and distribute revised price lists for our animal feed products. Prices varied across the mills, so each had its own list. The newly-printed lists would be loaded onto a trolley, which two of us then pushed up Fore Street, along Orwell Place and Tacket Street to the old Post Office Sorting Office on Old Cattle Market, in time for the post.
Members of the Paul family regularly worked in the office and were known by their first names, at that time Mr Jim (Managing Director), Mr William and Mr Geoffrey.
At one stage we were subjected to the new idea of an ‘Efficiency Study’ of our working practices (carried out by an external consultant), to look at a restructuring of staffing. Some staff were then ‘encouraged’ to leave and, if replacements were recruited, they tended to be young females – who could at that time be paid less!
Staff were interviewed about their career aspirations – most wanted to become sales reps, as those posts were rewarded with the provision of a car. I was advised I had no chance. I was also asked how much I anticipated earning, in the future. I had little interest in a career at that time: I was young, single and lived at home with my parents and family, and my main financial needs were for weekend social life. However, when encouraged, I plucked an exaggerated figure out of the air: £100 per week. I was rapidly advised to think again, as only 1% of the working population were paid at that level then and, of course, professional footballers in those days were famously still subject to a ‘maximum wage’ rule of just £20 per week.
As with many other major employers in the town at that time, sporting and social activities were encouraged; and the company owned an excellent sports-ground off Belstead Road, on Stone Lodge Lane. The Pauls football team was based there, and - being left-footed- I played at Left Half for a few seasons (including for a period after I left to work at the old County Hall). During that time the team was playing in Division 3 of the Ipswich and District League and in the most successful season I experienced, they finished 2nd and were promoted to Division 2. Each year, all the Paul’s Mills and Head Office competed for the ‘William Paul Knock Out Cup’. On one occasion we played the London Mill at the old Crystal Palace ground (at Sydenham) which had been used for
staging FA Cup Finals between 1895-1914. Another time we played Hull at the Market Rasen Racecourse and changed in the jockeys’ weighing room.
Other sports played on a company team basis included tennis, table tennis and netball. At Christmas time, all staff at the Head Office were presented with either a brace of pheasants or a turkey. During the week before, the printing room (home to several Gestetner copying machines) would become engulfed in a sea of feathers, as that was the location for plucking the birds.
A former employee at Paul’s was a young Sir John Mills, the famous actor, who worked there as a clerk in the 1920s, while living in Felixstowe from where he travelled to work by train. It was reported that his parents funded his daily rail fares from Felixstowe to Ipswich but that he left the train at Derby Road station, walked the remainder of the way to the Paul’s office and saved the sixpenny fare difference. At Paul’s he was remembered as being particularly successful at a particular extracurricular activity in the office – the game of Battleships. This was a long-standing office tradition, passed on to later employees and played discreetly by me and my colleagues during quiet times in the office, under the pretext of checking invoices, and using code names to indicate ‘targets’ and ‘hits’. Although long before my time, it appears that Battleships had been a more ‘formal’ competition back in the 1920s as we later discovered in a store cupboard the old ‘Battleships trophy’ (spoon), featuring the name John Mills and the various dates he was awarded it.
I enjoyed my introduction to working life at Paul’s and the friends that I made there. It was, even then, something of a throwback to earlier times in terms of a ‘patriarchal’ office environment. The remainder of my working life was spent at County Hall, where I worked until retiring in 2000.
Derek Lay
The tallest structures in Ipswich
The Mill, Albion Wharf (2009) 233ft
St Mary-Le-Tower, Tower Street (1862 rebuild) 176ft
St Frances Court, Franciscan Way (1969) 172ft
The Winerack, Albion Wharf (2020) 171ft
St Clare House, Princes Street (1982) 156ft
Orwell Bridge (1982) 140ft
Suffolk House, Civic Drive (1968), 140ft (former Guardian Royal Exchange north block)
Ipswich Hospital Maternity Block (1985) 135ft
AXA, Civic Drive (1972)
(Guardian Royal Exchange south block)
St Vincent House, 1 Cutler Street (1967) 130ft
10 Reavell Place, off Ranelagh Road (2010) 121ft
(overlooking the canalised Orwell)
The Cambria, Key Street (2009) 121ft
Cumberland Towers, Norwich Road (1966) 115ft
Neptune Marina, Coprolite Street (2005) 112ft
St Lawrence Church, Dial Lane (1449) 90ft
[Lost buildings: Civic Centre (1969-2009) – would have been no. 6; Suffolk New College (1959-2010) - would have been equal no. 11.]
Mystery plaque in Slade Street
A query from Margaret Hancock: ‘Above is a photograph of a plaque in Slade Street which a friend & I have been trying to decipher/explain.
We think it reads as follows:-
P A R T ? ? I S (or maybe A)
WALL
1812’
The weathered lettering may read: ‘PARTABLE WALL 1812’. If any reader can shed any light
on this mystery, please let the editor know (contact details on page 27). The plaque can be seen to
the right of the lamp post on the (presumed) boundary wall of the old Bull Inn which fronts onto
Key Street. Surely this wall can’t date to 1812, so was the plaque resited? – Ed.
The Hold: the new Suffolk County archives building in Ipswich
In approaching this project, the architects were faced with creating a viable building which
needed to include, within its ‘envelope’, ten widely separate uses, each with its own different
spatial requirements such as size, ceiling heights and even the number of floors.
Their solution was to create a Street, north-south through the middle of the building, on which to
‘hang’ these differing uses, each basically treated as an independent element but, together,
forming the integrated structure of the building. The resulting ‘organic’ range of shapes and sizes
is clearly illustrated by the model of the building.
On one side of the street we have, in sequence, the café with its outdoor terrace giving views
onto the waterfront, the shop, the exhibition gallery, the John Blatchly Local Studies Library with
a mezzanine floor leading through to the Search Room for viewing archives, the back-office
collections processing areas including the accessioning and cataloguing, digitisation and
conservation rooms and the 3-storey strong room where the large collection of archival
documents and artefacts are kept. On the other side of the street are the education room, to be
used for a wide range of activities, a large 200-seat auditorium, intended to have a high level of
university usage, two seminar rooms and toilets.
When fully operating after the pandemic limitations, the Hold will become a major lively
destination within Ipswich.
The pedestrian route through the building has been designed to create a welcoming and attractive
feature. One side is adorned with a large mural comprising greatly enlarged copies of local artist
Valerie Irwin’s powerful drawings of the demolition works of the former silos and industrial
buildings on the waterfront. The other side contains information and fixed interpretation panels
telling the stories of important Suffolk individuals and organisations with, changing exhibition
panels, digital information stations and bench seating with audio points. As a result, this
connecting spine through the building forms a vibrant and important feature within the overall
scheme.
Careful thought was given to creating an interesting and entertaining experience when using or
passing through the building – at the southern entrance the glazed facade, facing the waterfront,
is tinged blue and the sounds of Suffolk’s connections with the sea. At the northern end, the
glazing is inspired by the colours of the illustrations within one of Suffolk's important medieval
manuscripts – the Bury Psalter – with sounds of Suffolk’s links with the land, including those of
animals at a cattle market, tractors, combine harvesters, etc.
Local architectural references within the design include clerestory windows along the Street,
reminding us of our County’s many medieval churches; the two largest elements of the building -
the large pitched roofs on the Search and Strong Rooms – reflect those of typical Suffolk barns as
well as the two nearby large Victorian churches and St Edmunds House, and the architects have
stated that ‘their skyline presence and scale, rising above the lower parts of the building, is a
reference to the contrasting mix of large warehouses and lower level houses of the historic
waterfront area’. The building’s red and white brick banding reflects the materials of the
Victorian Ipswich Social Settlement building which stood earlier on the site.
In addition to being an attractive and meaningful feature within the building, the Street also
performs a useful and important function by providing a covered link between the south campus
of the university, fronting the waterfront, and its north campus and Suffolk New College beyond.
This element helps to successfully integrate this new building within the planning fabric of our
increasingly vibrant waterfront.
Pringle Richards Sharratt (PRS) Architects are to be congratulated on achieving a building which
not only meets admirably the requirements of the client’s brief (i.e. providing Suffolk with an
excellent archival centre) but one which also contributes greatly to the increasingly successful
ongoing regeneration of our former working dock area. Their building provides a very pleasant
and well-organised base for those wishing to use the county’s large and important archival
holdings as well as being an attractive and welcoming visitor and user destination.
John Field Chair, Ipswich Heritage Forum
See also the Society’s Image Archive on the web for our album on the story of The Hold
with an extensive collection of photographs and images about this major project.
Street Scene
As I write the Christmas tree is up and lit on the Cornhill, the Christmas lights are on all around the town centre. With the turkey season imminent, bird ’flu has returned and now the Omicrom variant of Coronavirus has hit the UK. In the words of Mark Twain (and others), ‘Life is just one damn thing after another’ – but life must go on.
New town centre shops
Shops and restaurants continue to come and go and, sadly, SWAROVSKI Jewellery has closed its small shop in Butter Market, but more have opened – even if some only temporarily for the Christmas season.
* BAR TWENTY ONE has opened in the empty Degero unit in St Nicholas Street.
* BARNARDO'S has opened a shop, in ‘Sailmakers' filling the empty Quiz unit. The charity currently has an agreement for one year to see how it goes.
* THE MILITARY UNIT clothing shop has also opened in ‘Sailmakers’ filling the empty Bags-4-U unit. A two month experimental period with a view to extending if it proves popular.
* CASH EXCHANGE has filled the long empty Mattress Man unit in Upper Brook Street having moved from its smaller shop in Tacket Street with a lower footfall. The vacated unit is already taken by another new shop opening soon.
* GEEK RETREAT has also opened its game shop and café in the former Suffolk Age UK unit in Upper Brook Street which is proving very popular.
* The long-awaited VIETNAMESE FOOD SHOP opened in Carr Street filling the former British Heart Foundation unit. It has since closed.
* MICROSHOPS have continued to fill their units in Cash Exchange, Upper Brook Street.the former Peacocks with phase two now being prepared. Father Christmas had his grotto in the Christmas Fayre in Microshops.
* SPOON World Buffet and Bar has reopened in St Matthews Street after being closed for over a year due to Covid – and is attracting queues at lunchtime.
* Café 43 in Carr Street has become GEO IPSWICH CAFE.
* ASCENSION AQUATICS has opened in the former Fun and Funky in Orwell Place.
* CALENDER CLUB has returned to Westgate Street for the Christmas season after missing out last year.
* A pop-up wristwatch shop occupied the former HOTTER unit in Tavern Street for a month and as soon as that wenta pop-up clothing shop moved in.
Ongoing projects
* At long last work is in progress restoring the long neglected Grade II Listed former merchant house at 4 COLLEGE STREET, currently surrounded by scaffolding. Potential occupants are already showing interest in filling the building. Ipswich Borough Council bought the building as part of a land deal in 2016 at the gateway to the Waterfront.
* Work by Carter continues on the old Princes Street Fire Station to enlarge it and convert it into a ‘BLUE LIGHT HUB’ where the fire, police and ambulance stations will share the town centre site. One of the firefighters said he believes they will now have a traditional ‘firefighters' pole’ from the rest area to the garage as the new recreation area is being constructed above the garage. The build cost is reported to have increased from £4.1 million to £8.7 million with some additional structural alterations required at the site, Covid problems and the cost of securing materials.
* The BROOMHILL LIDO restoration has been delayed due to Covid. Anthony Cawley, director
of operations at Fusion Lifestyle, said the organisation continued ‘to be fully committed to the redevelopment of Broomhill Lido and we are currently working with all relevant stakeholders to agree next steps’.
* Work has started to fit out THE BOTANIST restaurant in the old Post Office on Cornhill which, it is hoped, will open in the Spring of 2022.
* Work continues on the BUTTERMARKET CENTRE. It has been slow, but gradually it is getting there. The new viewing window on the first floor overlooking the glass dome area was revealed in early December. New wall lights and flooring are complete whilst painting and tiling Vietnamese food shop, Carr Street.continues and the new Butter Market entrance is yet to be constructed.
* The scaffolding has gone from the new Grimwade Street council flats and most agree they are
an improvement to the area.
* Burney Group, the developer behind a new 100-bed hotel in Ipswich has secured a £7.4m loan to help fund the project. The new TRAVELODGE on Russell Road close to Endeavour House and the ITFC stadium will include 60 parking spaces and it is hoped that construction work will start in 2022.
* Work is in progress on the new McCARTHY & STONE assisted living complex on the former Archant Newspapers site in Lower Brook Street.
* After years of discussion, work has started on the first phase of the IPSWICH GARDEN SUBURB (Northern Fringe) housing development known as HENLEY GATE. Crest Nicholson was given planning permission to build the first 130 homes.
* Work continues on the HOPE CENTRE in the old Odeon on Majors Corner.
* Flats for the disabled are taking shape on the former car park in Handford Road.
* The BHS site, reported as acquired by the Mike Ashley retail group, is still at a stand still. It would make a huge difference to the town centre if this project to open five of the groups brands including SPORTS DIRECT and GAME in the building was to take shape.
* The proposed HONEY+HARVEY premises in Giles Circus with ‘coming soon’ signs still remains dormant. Again this would be a welcome addition to the town. Let's hope 2022 sees both these projects come to fruition.
* Work repaving the WATERFRONT to remove the parking spaces is all but complete. The paving has been done well and includes removing the tarmac scars from the compass point. Bollards are on order and, when installed, the red and white barriers can be removed leaving a wide, level pavement for pedestrians.
*Long-neglected, the former ALEXANDRIA HAIR ARTISTRY in St. Margarets Street is being converted into flats with commercial premises on the ground floor. This should help tidy up this corner of Ipswich where the adjoining buildings have recently been renovated.
Proposed projects
* The BOOM BATTLE BAR application signs remain in the window of the former Coast to Coast in the Butter Market. Their website still says ‘Ipswich Coming Soon’ so we await progress.
* We expect a branch of BURGER AMOUR to open in the former Little Waitrose site in the Corn Exchange in 2022 whilst, round the corner, the Ipswich Film Theatre has rebranded itself as the KING STREET CINEMA.
* The TOLLY COBBOLD BREWERY has just been sold for a reported £475,000. Previous owners’ plans have fallen through so let's hope the new owners are more successful in making something of this historic building.
* COSTA coffee is to open an outlet on Ipswich Station.
* Adugs Food Ltd has applied for a liquor licence for the former Co-op in Handford Road to become a European food and drink shop. There has been local opposition.
* BREWDOG is still hoping to completely refit the former La Tour Café and to open a bar there, despite local opposition.
* The UNITARIAN MEETING HOUSE RESTORATION is complete and it has just been given an Award of Distinction in the 2021 Ipswich Society Awards (see p.18).
Tim Leggett
Art and artisans While browsing your interesting catalogue of works of art in Ipswich*, I noticed that no. 46, a
metal figure of flying swans, is unattributed. Actually they’re geese. It’s the work of artist blacksmith Paul Margetts (https://www.forging-ahead.co.uk). Paul has done work for me, which is how I know.
We’re in lockdown with time on our hands, and enough toilet rolls and flour to survive the isolation.
What’s to prevent the tackling of an overdue garden sort out on the dead side of our house? Well, builder’s clay might be a discouragement, along with compound slopes and an antipathy for gardening. Solutions centred around hard landscaping, relieved by contemporary art. A few hours on Google led to a shortlist of people
who were both creative and affordable. Paul Margetts was one such soul, with a portfolio of
work which appeared suitable. We contacted him with a bit of an ask - could he deviate from an
existing design enough to fabricate cormorants to flank Cormorant Drive, in place of geese.
‘Leave it with me’. I sent silhouette pictures of cormorants and two weeks later Paul said ‘yes’.
For a very affordable price increase, a unique sculpture was swiftly commissioned with a three
months wait before completion. He’s a craftsman, so a modest delay was anticipated and came
about. We used the time to dig, shift, saw and generally suffer in transforming the chaos of that
ground, into order. Lockdown over, all that remained was a trip to Paul’s premises south of
Birmingham, to collect the finished article.
Paul’s forge and his tiny courtyard form a crook in the narrow access road to his house,
presenting something of a manoeuvring challenge. By way of compensation, he’s a very nice
man. Affable, coarse-handed and blackened by his trade, he’s everything that you’d expect a
blacksmith to be. No spreading chestnut tree, but a lofty sculpture in lieu. Following his expert
guidance on fitting the edifice into our SUV, we journeyed home, wondering how easy it would
be to reverse the corkscrew method of fitting it in.
While collecting ours, Paul said that the geese were his most popular
Photograph by design. He had one there, which Jenny Davidson was probably 12 feet high. He makes the bigger ones with a hollow box section for stiffness. The wings are laser cut and the finished thing is dipped into molten zinc for galvanising. Living on an estate, with a teenage element, we were sensitive to the
possibility of prankish damage. A hole, deeper than needed, was filled with concrete topped with three protruding bolts. Two days later, the metal base slipped on onto our foundation, nuts were tightened, bolts trimmed and painted, and a bag of pebbles sprinkled around some artistically placed rocks. We’re pleased, compliments are voiced, there’s been no vandalism and the eyesore that the area once was, is no more.
As projects go, things went well. Not least because Paul did what he said he would, at the price
agreed and pretty well on time. I’d buy from him again but for one thing – I never, ever want to
move again!
Right now I’m project managing the acquisition and installation of a £10,000 work of art on our
housing estate. We have a few murals in Stowmarket, but a shortage of statuary. As I’m sure that
you are aware, Bury St Edmunds has quite a few. I can’t see Stowmarket catching up
anytime soon.
Jenny Davidson
[*The Public art in Ipswich booklet was distributed to members with the January 2021 Newsletter. –Ed.]
An occasional column of notable people from, or connected to, Ipswich who don’t quite qualify (yet) for an Ipswich
Society Blue Plaque.
The popularity of cycling has increased considerably following the success of British cycling teams at the Olympic and Paralympic games held in Tokyo last year. Members may be surprised to learn that Ipswich has its own cycling champion: Ray Booty, known in the cycling world as ‘The Boot’.
Ray was born on the 3rd September 1932 and lived with his parents in Benacre Road. His father was a
Ministry of Transport vehicle examiner. The family moved to Peterborough and then on to Stapleford, a
suburb of Nottingham, when Ray was 15. He left school in 1948, aged 16, and went to work for Ericsson’s Electronics Company based in Nottingham as a trainee, where he studied for, and gained, his Higher National Diploma becoming a qualified electronics engineer.
He was introduced to competitive cycling by a neighbour and he joined Ericsson’s Wheelers Cycling Club. During his National Service in the Army, he also rode for the Army Cycling Union. He was ideally suited to competitive cycling, being powerfully built, standing 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighing 14 stone. His preferred form of racing was the time trial where competitors raced against the clock over a set distance, rather than against each other. On race days, competing riders set off at one minute intervals. He also took part in twelve-hour competitions where riders tried to achieve the highest mileage in the set time. Ray raced as an amateur throughout his successful competitive cycling career.
He was the national twelve-hour champion from 1954 to 1958 and won the national 100-mile championship every year from 1955 to 1959, breaking the national record in 1956. In the same year he took part in the Bath Road 100-mile Classic. Riding his fixed wheel Raleigh Record Ace, he became the first rider to complete the 100 mile course in under 4 hours with a time of 3 hours, 58 minutes, 27 seconds. Bicycle technology was changing rapidly and in September of the same year, riding a Raleigh cycle with a three-speed hub, he broke his own record for 100 miles with a time of 3 hours, 28 minutes, 40 seconds. This record was to stand for 34 years.
In 1958, while doing his National Service, he won a gold medal in the Empire and Commonwealth Games Road Race in Cardiff.
1959 proved to be the watershed for his racing career although Ray continued to ride in club events. Some held the view that Ray lacked the dedication to make a career of full time cycling. Perhaps he felt that it was time to concentrate on his partner and his career in electronics which saw him working for Westinghouse and then Rolls-Royce until his retirement in 1992.
Ray Booty was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died in Derby, aged 79, on the 25th August, 2012.
Tony Robson
Sources:
Keith Bingham, Cycling Weekly, 29/08/2012
Richard Williams, The Guardian, 17/09/2012
Wikipedia
IBPT: ‘Caring for your vintage house’ The Ipswich Building Preservation Trust initiative Caring for your vintage house will promote conversations, sharing information and building a resource relating to the wealth of Victorian and Edwardian housing in Ipswich, Suffolk. The Freehold Land Society (forerunner of Ipswich Building Society) was responsible for over 700 houses being built in Ipswich between 1866 and
1920. Private developers also built many houses during this time.
Why are so many of these vintage houses still in use? Because they are decently built, attractive and, if looked after, make excellent homes. The Trust wants to engage with owners and occupiers of such houses to encourage sympathetic repair/preservation and energy efficiency to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Our project Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Your-Ipswich-Vintage-House-103623185448132
will be our main means of communicating information and questions about all sorts of issues
relating to these older 1866-1920 houses. As the subjects of green energy, home insulation and
zero carbon targets reach the national headlines we aim to share useful information. We aren’t
giving direct advice, but aim to start a conversation, inform people of current ideas with
arguments for and against.
It’s easy to get lost in all the issues involved in looking after your vintage house: the different
choices open to you, potential costs and benefits. Many things are relatively easy to answer, but
some issues can be more involved, creating discussion and argument between companies,
institutions, researchers, experts and government.
Facebook posts will link back to main articles on the IBPT’s Your vintage house web-pages.
There will be useful links to other websites for further information. Features could include:
• heritage/historical matters
• human interest
• more technical side of repair and preservation
• the built environment
• family photo outside a house
• period wallpaper imagery
and much more.
The website will provide a more structured resource so that all can consult and follow links if they wish. Web mini-site and Facebook page should go ‘live’ by late January 2022.
Facebook presence
Society Awards 2020/
2021 & Photographic competition
The ‘triple event’ evening of Wednesday November 24, 2021 was held in The Hold’s 200-seat
auditorium. After such a long absence of Ipswich Society events due to the pandemic, the Society
wanted to put on something special for members and guests in this newest of Ipswich venues.
This was not only the usual November Awards event, but looked back at the missing 2020
Awards courtesy of our Vice-President Bob Allen.
A brief presentation – the visuals were excellent – and commentary on some of the
nominations culminated in the presentation of two Commendation Awards for projects completed in 2020. ‘A pair of striking contemporary residences [in Luther Road and Rushmere Road] built to high standards of sustainability, with designs echoing local vernacular features – while stretching the possibilities presented by their contrasting sites.’
The ‘ham’ in the evening’s sandwich was the prize-giving relating to the photographic competition held to celebrate our 60th birthday. Quality stretched-canvas prints of the winning images were presented to the three photographers: Helen Hedley (St Margaret’s Church from Christchurch Park, springtime); Anita Blyth (Stoke Quay across the water, night-time shot); John Hatfield (‘Paved with gold’, Oak Lane
night-time shot).
All images can be viewed in colour on our online Image Archive.
The evening proceeded smoothly on into the 2021 Awards with an informative commentary by our other Vice-President, Chris Wiltshire.
‘These varied and brilliant designs, daring and thrilling realisations serve to enhance the environment, the streets and ambience of our town.
Award of Commendation:
Armitage Place, off Whitton Church Lane; IBC microhomes to tackle homelessness.
Award of Commendation:
Old Tooks Bakery Estate, Old Norwich Road. IBC council housing.
Award of Commendation:
New Wolsey 2, Theatre Square, off Civic Drive. The New Wolsey Theatre's youth and participation activities centre.
Award of Distinction:
The Unitarian Meeting House, off Friars Street. ‘The most important surviving 17th century Dissenter’s Church in the country’ (Grade I listed) saved and restored in a major project.
The Society is extremely appreciative of the efforts of all concerned in these projects’ conception and completion.
Thanks also to the nominators, the judges and particularly to our Vice-Chairman Tony Marsden for organising a smoothly-run and enjoyable evening.
RG
Book Review: The Old Buck with a new heart revisited by Charles R. Clarke
The Old Buck (once the Running Buck public house) on St Margarets Plain is today The Key (Christian outreach centre and café).
This is the third book in a trilogy telling the story of how the parishioners of Bethesda Baptist Church took the brave decision to purchase the ancient Ipswich tavern and former nightclub, the Running Buck, and turn it into a community centre.
The story starts in June 1991 when ‘Cindy’s’ nightclub (later ‘Canes’, as the Running Buck had become) closed for the last time, shutters were fixed to the windows and the building was offered for sale. As unlikely as it may seem, one of the interested parties investigating possibilities of a future use of the building were the adjacent Bethesda Baptists.
The Running Buck had been advertised for sale at £700,000 but by the time negotiations started
a slump in the property market had reduced the asking price to £350,000. The church Deacons
initially offered £150,000 (rejected) and then increase the bid to £225,000 (again rejected) finally
increasing their offer to a full and final £235,000 (accepted). What both parties had failed to
realise at this stage that VAT would become due on the purchase price (£41,125) and the church
was simply unable to find this additional sum.
Negotiations continued throughout 1992 until finally the agents for Brent Walker accepted the
Deacon’s offer of £235,000 to include VAT. Bethesda had raised the money from donations and
interest free loans from church members. Work on the conversion could now start.
I’ll not spoil the detailed story of the conversion, its many trials and tribulations but simply
report that after five years there were three apartments on the first floor and The Key café and
church meeting rooms on the ground floor.
The final third of the book details the 22 years since the opening through to 2021 and the
pandemic, a breathing space which has given Charles Clarke the time and space to update the
Bethesda story.
There are final chapters on The Key Outreach in the community, and a detailed history of the
coffee shop (The Key Café). It is an interesting history of a dedicated church group, with a
myriad of volunteers and paid key workers with a belief that buying a pub would enhance their message.
John Norman
Also by Charles R. Clarke: A new heart for the Old
Buck, 2000
New heart still beating, 2009;
Bethesda Baptist Church: 100 Years, 2013.
Right: the Running Buck in 1897, Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee year. Photograph courtesy Suffolk Record Office.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Ipswich
One of late medieval England's most celebrated shrines, the home of an image of the Blessed
Virgin Mary is, or at least it was, in Ipswich. The Shrine is a carved figure of the Virgin Mary
holding the baby Jesus. The Chapel was located on the corner of Lady Lane and St Matthew’s
Street (the chapel was demolished to make room for an early Tesco supermarket).
This seemingly uncompromising position for an important place of pilgrimage was alongside
(but just outside) Ipswich’s West Gate, an important and busy entrance through the town’s
ancient ramparts. Both Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon made pilgrimages to the
shrine, Catherine on more than one occasion. Edward I had been the first royal visitor. His
daughter married, in 1279, the Count of Holland in the Chapel.
The site of the Chapel of Our Lady of Grace in Lady Lane is now marked with a bronze image of
the Virgin and Child by the sculptor Robert Mellamphy, placed there in 1990. There is a story
that the original, ordered to be destroyed by Henry VIII in 1538, was whisked away and taken,
eventually, to the port of Nettuno in Italy.
John Blatchly and Diarmaid MacCulloch researched and published Miracles in Lady Lane in
2013 which suggests that the statue in Nettuno is Renaissance in style, not medieval and is thus
unlikely to be the original Ipswich version. This doesn’t alter the importance of the chapel, or
the shrine, nor can it change the history of the visits made by royalty and others making a
pilgrimage to Ipswich.
It is time to celebrate the importance of the carved figure, albeit the modern replacement, and an
interdenominational service will take place at St Mary’s in Elm Street in March, the anniversary of our link with Nettuno.
The modern shrine is an ecumenical one, members of the Islamic faith also honour the Virgin Mary. Representatives of different Christian denominations will be present for the service to celebrate the anniversary. The celebration is to be led by the parish priest, Father John Thackray, and will take place in St Mary’s, Elm Street at 11.00 am on Saturday 26 March.
The occasion will also re-establish the civic link with Nettuno and the establishment of a Guild of Our Lady of Grace. In 1977, the Guild of Our Lady of Ipswich (later renamed Meryemana) was founded with two aims: to pray for Christian unity and to plan and achieve the re-establishment of the shrine of Our Lady of Grace at Ipswich.
On 10 September 2002 Our Lady of Ipswich was ‘re-established’ in her new home in the ancient church of St Mary at the Elms. The service of consecration was in the presence of representatives of many denominations (including
Muslims). Those present included the Right Reverend Bishop Richard Lewis, the Episcopal
Visitor The Right Reverend Bishop Keith Newton, Suffragan Bishop of Richborough, Mgr Peter
Leeming, Father Andrew Phillips, the Reverend Elizabeth Bellamy of the Methodist Church and
Elahe Mojdehi (formerly of the Suffolk Inter-Faith Resource). Civic dignitaries were present led
by the Mayor, Councillor Richard Risebrow. It was a truly ecumenical occasion and a cause for
great celebration. Happily, this medieval church, on the site of an even earlier church of St
Saviour, is the nearest to the original shrine in Lady Lane.
Twenty years after this installation of a statue of the Madonna and Child, and the establishment
of the Guild, prayers will again be said by this very mixed congregation. Members of the
Ipswich Society are invited to join in the celebrations. 11.00 am Saturday 26 March 2022.
For further information contact Father John Thackray, thereverendfather@hotmail.com
John Norman
[See also an article by Diana Lewis in the Ipswich Society Newsletter, Issue 151, April 2003.]
Carr House
38 Carr Street, the former Co-operative Store and Administrative Offices
A couple of members of the Society have just had the pleasure of being shown around Carr House by Joe Fogal of the House Group. The former Co-operative Administrative Offices, Co-operative Hall and retail outlets have been converted into 22 residential apartments. The development also includes 14 units in Avery House which was the Co-operative warehouse in the rear yard of the building, the first building within the Architect’s visual of Carr House, Carr Street, Ipswich.complex to be converted.
The developer, the House Group are known to the Society in that in 2019 we gave them an award for the conversion of the First Floor Club (later Fire and Ice) into Charlotte House, Tacket Street. Together with main contractor TLC Homes they also converted the Dolce Vita club (Prince of Orange public house or Bar Fontaine) in St Margarets Plain.
Carr House, a Victorian building of 1884, was a major development by what was then the Ipswich Industrial Co-operative Society (mergers and acquisitions have led to the local Co-op becoming the East of England). It was initially known as the Central Premises but has also been referred to as the Drapery Store and generations of youngsters will remember the toy department (and Santa’s Grotto) on the first floor.
You will probably remember the building either from the first floor banking hall from where you collected your divi, or from the individual Co-op outlets on Cox Lane; the opticians, chemist and Co-op Travel. More recently Brighthouse were in a large part of the ground floor facing Carr Street.
This £2.4 million development has taken longer than planned because of the pandemic but the
outcome is spectacular. Previously, both the first and second floors had extremely high ceilings,
essential in the top floor Co-operative Hall which was the 800-seat meeting place for flower
shows, political rallies and members’ meetings. This gave the developer the opportunity to insert
a mezzanine floor overlooking the apartment’s lounge (and external windows) as a balcony,
bedroom and ensuite. This has ensured that the one-bedroom apartments are different, spacious
and because of their central location, desirable.
We were shown a corner flat with an interesting window seat with views along Carr Street to
Major’s Corner and a couple of less desirable, but considerably cheaper, units overlooking the
rear yard. There is no on-site parking but the 500 space Cox Lane car park is adjacent. However
the town centre location with access to shops, restaurants and public houses together with
Ipswich’s cultural offer, transport links and Christchurch Park is ideal. It is also interesting to
note that Carr Street, despite a couple of years in the doldrums is regaining its reputation for shopping.
The ground floor will remain as retail or similar commercial units although the Brighthouse shop
has been sub-divided into two smaller units – suitable for local independent shops. The Co-
operative pharmacy is still operating from a unit in Cox Lane and Armstrong and North, who
purchased the Co-op opticians, are on the Carr Street frontage.
A couple of the apartments are still available to rent (none have been sold) from £875 to £1250
per calendar month. If these sound-like high prices there are people out there willing to rent, the
House Group are getting in excess of 90% occupancy across their range of properties.
Conversion of this Co-operative building was achieved under the planning condition known as
Permitted Development; the conversion of former offices and or retail premises into homes
simply requires the developer to inform the Planning Authority of their intention. Providing that
the building is not listed, is not in a Conservation Area and that there are no external alterations,
work can start immediately.
Interior of corner room of Carr House.Elsewhere this has resulted in some pretty small ‘studio flats’ (less than 35 sq. metres), occasionally without external windows. The developer will argue that if all the single occupant is doing in the flat is sleeping, external windows are unnecessary. I might disagree, such tiny units are already becoming the slums of tomorrow and Ipswich planners agree, refusing development of undersized conversions. This is not the case however in Carr House and we were suitably impressed by the spaciousness, the quality of fittings and finishes and their accessibility to the necessary services.
John Norman
Introducing Ethel’s Edwardian album
In the April 2022 issue of the Newsletter, we will feature selections from the family photograph album of Michael Atkinson’s maternal grandmother, Ethel Hewitt featuring her own photographs between 1909 and 1922.
Shown at the left is a sample from the hand-illustrated pages (tennis was a favourite pastime). Ethel proudly displays: ‘A photo of myself by myself October 16th 1913. This was highly commended in the January Girl’s Realm.’
At this period photography would have started to become a popular hobby, although still quite an expensive one.
The photographs have headings such as ‘Spring Flowers’ (showing views of the plantings in Ipswich Arboretum) and, most excitingly, ‘Our First Motor Picnic’ in Framlingham. Both of these sets were taken in 1913.
Ethel’s father was John Edwards 1866-1950 who was the co-founder of the firm J&J Edwards, gentleman’s outfitters of Tavern Street, next to the Great White Horse Hotel.
Bob & Joyce Dumper’s legacy
Bertram Robert (Bob) and Joyce Iva Dumper (née Markwell) married at St Peter’s Church
Ipswich in August 1954. They had just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary when Bob was
taken ill, hospitalised, and died in a nursing home in April 2015. Joyce went into a care home in
February 2020 for a trial period and died in lockdown restrictions the following October.
Bob was born in Alton Hampshire in April 1926; his father was a painter by trade as was his
grandfather. Joyce was born in Princes Street Ipswich in July 1927. Joyce’s father was a railway
clerk and her paternal grandfather was a basket weaver for the herring trade. Joyce’s mother was
a teacher and her maternal grandfather a gamekeeper.
Bob went to Eggar’s Grammar School in Alton, where he met his lifelong friend Godfrey who in
a few lines to Bob’s widow speaks for all who knew them: ‘I saw him the first day I went to
Eggar’s peering eagerly at a notice board, and knew at once he was my sort of chap. We sat next
to each other in class and began a conversation that went on for quite 75 years. We never had a
cross word. But, wow, what fun we had! I never met a man with his lust for life; with his
unending quest for the best in music and theatre and books. He was a brilliant teacher, perhaps
because he was a student all his life.’
Bob met Joyce at University College Southampton where they appear side by side in the annual
student union photographs for 1949 and 1950, so they had known one-another at least five years
before they married. As Godfrey added: ‘And he was so lucky to find you: his perfect partner’.
Bob’s National Service from September 1944 to December 1947 was underground coal-mining
at Ferryhill, Co Durham: a Bevin Boy. After six months supply teaching in 1948 Bob went to
read English at Southampton University, obtained his BA (Hons) in 1951 and entered the
teachers training department at U.C.S. Bob spent Lent term 1952 in full time teaching practice at
Peter Symonds’ School Winchester before becoming a member of the English staff at Westcliffe
High School for Boys in September 1952. Anxious to widen his experience after a school of 700
boys Bob joined the School of Commerce and Social Studies here in Ipswich in 1954, which
became Ipswich Civic College, School of General Studies. Bob retired in July 1991 at what had
now become Suffolk College.
Meanwhile, Joyce, Miss Markwell, taught at Everton House School from 1954 until it closed,
and then Kesgrave Hall School from 1981 until retirement in 1991. Two words the headmaster
wrote in a testimonial in 1992 sums it up too briefly: ‘outstanding teacher’. What Joyce said of
Bob applies equally to Joyce: ‘His brilliant teaching of English brought academic success for his
students, setting them on paths they till then, had dared not think possible’.
Both participated in extracurricular activities: drama, music, students’ union, magazines and
group travel. They entertained, as attested by their visitor’s book started just after they moved to
Dales Road in 1954: ‘I have just spent three hours of being stuffed full of Stan Freberg, cream
cheese, Ricky Nelson, fireworks, Buddy Holly and cider, but strangely I have enjoyed myself
immensely’.
After they retired Bob and Joyce travelled far and wide and, back here in Suffolk, Bob played a
part in the creation of the Aldeburgh Festival and so fittingly, we said goodbye to them on the
River Alde at Snape Maltings. They excelled at whatever they put their minds to and their sparkle
lives on in the memories we share. Joyce wrote: ‘Don’t cry because it is over, smile because
it happened’.
Rowell Bell
New book: Band of Brothers by Barry Girling
Barry Girling’s earlier title Ipswich: memories of a special town – still selling several editions later – has now been followed by Band of brothers. At over 100 pages the expanded publication subtitled Some of the bargemen
associated with the port of Ipswich c.1860-1960 features over 120 images. Barry says: ‘The sailing barge was the early mainstay of bulk cargo transportation, especially between Ipswich and London. The great dock in town with its engineering works, maltings, mills and warehouses generated much waterborne traffic. Indeed over the years, close on 200 barges were laid down at Ipswich alone.’ You can the purchase the book for £15, with free delivery within Ipswich. For details, email redroundabout92@gmail.com or call 01473 328621. The book should be available from Waterstones.
HMOs
Over the past few years planning legislation has been simplified to enable householders to
expand their dwelling (within strict limits) without the need to apply for planning permission.
This relaxation was particularly aimed at growing families. The attic could be converted into an
additional bedroom (with a window on the rear elevation), a small extension could be added to
extend the kitchen or add a bathroom on the first floor.
Unfortunately this permitted development has been exploited by some landlords, particularly
when converting small starter homes (terraced houses) into Houses in Multiple Occupancy
(HMOs). Providing the extension is at the rear of the property, no higher than the existing and
extends no further than three metres into the garden (with first floor windows on the side of the
extension fitted with obscure glazing) then, with careful understanding of the various restrictions,
it fits within Permitted Development rights.
On the one hand this allows additional 'homes' to be added to the country's housing stock.
However, in many cases it allows too many individual tenants to be squeezed into a small
property (where the lack of amenity space and access to the basic necessities is restricted). We
have heard of cases where nine bedrooms can be squeezed into an extended two bedroom
terraced house.
Such property never appears in an estate agents window as such, but they are frequently
advertised on social media as 'House share'. You will get your own individual locked bedroom,
but rarely are the number of people sharing the same facilities mentioned.
Houses in Multiple Occupancy need a licence issued by the local authority, together with smoke
alarms throughout, a gas safety certificate and an electricity compliance notice. None of which
prevents overcrowding, too many people sharing bedrooms and beds, or even sleeping in the
cupboard under the stairs! Tomorrow’s slums in the making. John Norman
Ipswich Tourist Guides 'Afternoon Tea Walks’, 2022
Wednesday 12 January: Iconic Ipswich
Friday 28 January: Things about Ipswich you can't live without knowing!
Monday 7 February: Happy Birthday Mr Dickens
Friday 18 February: Right Royal Connections
Tuesday 8 March: Remarkable Women of Ipswich
Friday 25 March: Maritime Matters
Thursday 7 April: Explorers & Adventurers
Wednesday 20 April: Ipswich Medics
Further details including booking info: ipswichtourguides.org.uk/tea-walks
The Ipswich Society
Registered Charity no. 263322
www.ipswichsociety.org.uk | https://www.facebook.com/ipswichsociety | https://www.instagram.com/theipswichsociety
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 concerns about any content.
Diary dates
Winter Talks 2022
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 19 January 2022: Mark Mitchells on Margaret Catchpole (she has a blue plaque on
the Manor House in St Margaret’s Green), also Frederick Hervey, builder of Ickworth.
Wednesday 16 February 2022: David Vincent on recent developments at St Clement’s Church.
Wednesday 16 March 2022: Dr Anne Folan, ‘Did the sewers save lives? – public health in
Ipswich 1851-1911’.
Wednesday April 27, 7.30pm: The Society’s AGM is to be held in the auditorium of The Hold,
Fore Street.
[If there are changes to this schedule due to Covid-19 regulations, we will inform members by email.]
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.
Ipswich Waterfront, November 2021 photographed by Jamie Davidson