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July 2023   Issue 234


Contents

Editorial 3 

Grafton Way house-building 15 

New members 3 

Our AGM speaker Adrian Bleese 16 

Chairman’s remarks  4 

Letter to the Editor 17 

Planning maters 5 

Ipswich Society Awards '23 nominations 18 

Cauldwell Hall, Ipswich 6 

Serendipity corner19 

Bob Malster (1932-2023) 8 

Book review: The Ipswich mint 20 

Heritage Open Days 2023 9

Book review: Ipswich cabinet trade 20 

Cobbold ales & tales book 10 

New way to support St Clement Church 21 

Street scene 11 

Packard's printing inks 22 

Ipswich's future 13

Members’ outing 24 

A visionary entrepreneur 14 

Rendlesham revealed 24 

Michael Gove blocks housing proposal  14  

Co-op Harvest mural listed  25 

Suffolk’s political balance changes 15     

Our back cover 26     


Coronation Carnival 22 July 1902 Children in fancy dress, probably in Christchurch Park, to celebrate  the coronation of King Edward VII.

Photograph courtesy Nick Wiggin


Editorial 

First, a note to collectors of this Newsletter – such people do exist. The masthead on the cover of  

the last issue of the Newsletter (April 2023) had, tucked away at the lower left, ‘Issue 232’. This 

should have read ‘Issue 233’ and it has been corrected on the online version. 


This-One-Will-Run-&-Run Dept. 

Sometimes in the Newsletter, once a hare has been set running, 

the subject provokes a chain of responses or articles. Recent 

examples include the Carr Street Co-op store demolition (see 

Newsletters passim and page 25), Copperas (page 22) and the 

1930 Wolsey Pageant (page 18). This is most gratifying for the 

Editor and he welcomes further contributions on this or other 

topics. There’s a lot going on in Ipswich and we cover much of 

it on our online Facebook page and in these pages. 


Thanks to Society member Nick Wiggin for our cover image. 

This Edwardian photographic print, on very fragile mounting 

board, hung in Nick’s family home for many years. Prompted 

by the first royal coronation in Britain for seventy years, in 

April 2023, Nick thought it would be of interest to our readers. 

It includes Nick's father as a youngster in the centre, wearing a 

pointed cap and just above the child dressed as Bottom from A 

midsummer night’s dream. On the back of the frame is 

‘Workman’s Ticket No. 31448’ for the framer C.B. Bartlett. 

According to Nick’s 1933 Kellys directory, Mr Bartlett was no 

longer at the address. 46 Westgate Street was Ipswich Wireless 

Co. and 48 was W.E. Harris, Baby Carriage Dealers. 


New sign at the entrance to The Buttermarket Shopping Centre 

Photograph by Tim Leggett; see Street Scene on page 11.


New members 


Chairman’s remarks 

I was invited by a local primary school to talk to their six and seven year-olds about Famous 

Ipswich People. The Mayor (John Cook) had been in the week before and John Field was due the 

following week to illustrate Carl Giles. I needed to maintain a gender balance: three females as 

well as three males, so Nina Layard, Edith Maud Cook and Margaret Catchpole. The choice of 

males was from a much larger and diverse pool: Big John Cobbold, Robert Ransome, and 

Edward Ardizzone. My next problem was ‘Will six-year-olds understand archaeologist, 

entrepreneur, and agricultural implements?’. 


A surprising number of the youngsters had: 

a) been to the seaside, 

b) dug in the sand and also had 

c) found some old coins or other ancient (in their terms) artefacts. Nina Layard wasn’t the 

challenge I had expected. 


We were on our way. However, keeping the attention of those who were not engaging was 

difficult. It is so easy to ask the first hand to shoot up for the answer when what ‘teacher’ should 

be doing is asking those whose hands have not responded, whose mind was wandering and 

whose thoughts were on something entirely different. They were, however, fascinated by the 

exploits of the horse thief and her sentence: ‘transportation’ to Australia and her decision to stay 

there. But they were even more attentive to the unfortunate exploits of the turn-of-the-century 

parachutist who met her fate falling from a factory roof in Coventry. 


The overall outcome was that individuals, like each of the children present, could become  

successful in their own field; they just need to work hard and stick at it.  


Heritage Open Days (HOD). It may seem a little early to mention Heritage Open Days, but we 

have a team, led by Neil Thompson, working on what should be a very popular occasion. 


Adopting the Wolsey 550 theme, we are busy persuading the building owners in St Peters Street 

to join the party. Wolsey ‘walked this way’, between the river (Wolsey’s Gate) and Curzon Plain 

(Wolsey’s Statue); you can too, inspecting the Tudor buildings along the way. He didn’t call in at 

the Thomas Wolsey, it’s only been a pub for 50 years, but you can – the first floor front room is 

panelled and there are decorative plaster ceilings throughout.   


Potentially 30 other buildings will be open to visitors including the Ancient House and 

Pykenham’s Gate House where we will need volunteers. No experience or in-depth knowledge 

required, just an hour or so sitting at the door welcoming visitors from far and wide. If you are 

willing to help please email the Hon. Secretary (details on page 27). 


In addition to the customary HOD weekend, from 11th to 15th September we are organising a 

week of ‘walks and talks’ all with a loose Tudor theme. John Warren will explain the changes and 

tolerances to religion in this country in the 16th and 17th centuries and there will be at least two 

walks incorporating Tudor buildings. Details on page 21. 


Membership fee increase.  You will not be surprised to learn that the cost of almost everything 

has gone up since the end of the pandemic, not least the cost of holding the Society’s AGM, the 

Awards evening and distribution of the Newsletter. To maintain the benefits that you have come 

to expect from the Society it became necessary to ask members at April’s Annual General 

Meeting to approve an increase in the cost of membership. This proposal was unanimously 

approved. You will find, enclosed with this Newsletter, a form for your bank requesting a change 

in the amount you pay as a membership fee. Please complete the form and send it to your bank, a 

simple task that will ensure that you receive the Newsletter in 2024. 


New membership fees: £15 for individual membership; £20 for couple/family membership. 

John Norman 


Planning matters 

Partly due to my fractured hip making it impossible to attend meetings physically – and partly 

due to their reduced frequency because of the recent local elections – this is a much shorter 

report than usual. 

Land between Tye Road and Unity Street, Duke Street. The developer proposed a five storey, 

160-bedroom student building, with minimal parking provision. There were a considerable 

number of objections from local residents, ward councillors and from the Conservation and 

Urban Design Panel.   

Firstly, there was no proof for the need for more student accommodation, Athena House being 

half-empty and the support from the university being lukewarm. Secondly, the block was too tall 

and overbearing in an area where the current height is around two storeys. Thirdly, the provision 

for car parking was inadequate and accessibility was too low. The Councillors on the Planning 

and Development Committee rejected the Officers recommendation to approve and voted to 

refuse permission. 

1 Kettlebaston Way Appeal. 21/00962  The developers of the proposed 70-bed care home 

appealed IBC’s refusal of March 2022; the appeal was dismissed by the Inspector who stated 

positively that the ‘proposal would not harm the character and appearance of the surrounding 

area, and there would be economic, social and environmental benefits from the scheme’.   

However, the Inspector went on to report ‘I have also found that the proposal would be likely to 

give rise to an increased demand for on-street parking which would have a harmful effect on the 

safe operation of the highway’. There is no news of what the Fonnereau Trust and the developers 

are proposing to do now. I put the full appeal reference and the verbatim quote from the report in 

full as I know many members are keen to know what is happening to the much-lamented Victoria 

Nursery site. 

The Island site, Ipswich Docks. ABP, the owners, hired Legal & General (L&G) to develop a 

large part of the island for residential use, for which it is zoned in the Ipswich Local Plan. The 

Chair and I attended a Public Consultation at the Customs House at which we learnt that the 

proposal was for two blocks of two and three storey modular houses, totalling 177 dwellings, 

separated by the Harbour Master Office and the original Lock Gate Keepers cottage.   

Whilst adequate car parking for the houses is to be provided, there was little for the yacht berth 

holders. Some landscaping would come on The New Cut side but reinstallation of ‘The 

Umbrella’ was not in their remit as the land is owned by DEFRA. A pedestrian and cycle bridge 

will be built as SCC has allocated £9m to it; thus, there will be a Way, if not a Right! However, in 

the month, L&G have announced the closure of their modular factory near Leeds after a loss of 

£170,000,000.  Note that the Local Plan aimed at over four hundred dwellings. Meanwhile, The 

Ipswich Society and The Ipswich Maritime Trust are negotiating with Historic England to have 

the original cottages listed at Grade 2. 

We are also keen to see a Master Plan for the whole of the Island Site, including the longer-term 

proposals for the marina, cycle and pedestrian paths that encircle the ‘Island’ and possibly some 

green public open space (as opposed to minute ‘pocket parks’ which seem to serve nobody). 

ITFC Portman Road. Gamechanger 20, the owners, together with the CEO Mark Ashton and 

the Chair, Mike O’Leary, are continuing their proposals to upgrade the stadium in line with their 

ambitions for the club in its newly promoted status to the championship. The first major change 

to the stadium is a new access route from the railway station and entrance under the South Stand.  

This has been made possible by the demolition of the former Staples building in Russell Road, 

creating a view of the stadium as fans walk across Princes Street bridge. Demolition of modern 

buildings does not require planning permission, but the Local Authority do require a method 

statement to ensure public safety.  Planning Permission was required for the changes to create 

turnstiles and internal access routes within the South Stand. 

A separate application was for changes in the Magnus Group (West) Stand, the infilling of voids 

to create new open plan office floor space and repurposing of spaces across the existing first 

floor, to create new floor space on the second floor to provide new Hospitality suites. Secondly, 

they wish to create a memorial garden for those whose ashes are interred at the stadium and a 

peaceful area of remembrance. This would be in a raised area at the Portman Road entrance. 

Arras Square. This the long-awaited application by the Borough Council to improve Arras 

Square. It has been prepared by a group of architects, civil engineers, lighting designers, 

arboriculturists and ecologists. 

The proposals are comprehensive and include seven main points:- 

– Decluttering of existing street furniture and elements which are defunct and installing new 

street furniture and benches, including a concrete stair and ramp with integrated seating and 

planting. 

– Repaving the entire site, which includes St Stephen’s Lane west of the Church but not the 

stretch providing vehicular access into the Sainsbury’s service yard. 

– Accessibility improvements include a ramp to the North of St. Stephen’s Church to improve 

the  thoroughfare between St Stephen’s Church Lane and the Buttermarket Centre. 

– The removal of ten trees to improve visibility and overshadowing and to decrease damage to 

paving, reduce anti-social behaviour and replace them with eleven more suitable trees in 

carefully considered locations. 

– Removal of the external boundary wall to sarcophagi on the east of the site to make them more 

accessible to read. Repair work to the Sarcophagi to ensure their stability. 

– Energy-efficient LED lights will replace existing wall-mounted luminaires and lamp columns 

with simple modern fittings. Low-level fittings and up lighters on the church’s external walls will 

improve the evening and night-time atmosphere and support the use of the church as an evening 

live music venue. 

– An initial proposal is to paint the brick walls east and south of the church yard, and along the 

narrow passageway. The mural on the rear wall of Wilkinson’s, and along the wall separating the 

service yard from the graveyard will be subject to an artistic competition, that along St Stephen’s 

Church Lane may well replicate stylised medieval church architecture. 

Some of the proposals have aroused criticism. Is it necessary to remove so many mature trees?  

Will painted walls in St. Stephen’s Church Lane not just become a graffiti paradise? Do rising 

bollards really work? (they mostly do but are expensive to repair). Is the paving pattern too 

fussy? (me). But these are details which will be discussed before the work is carried out, and it 

will be a huge improvement if they can get rid of the cars whilst maintaining delivery access to 

the former BHS Arras Square entrance. Improving the paving and lighting in St Stephens Church 

Lane is a must! Please Mr Ashley – reopen the empty BHS store and bring some life back into 

Arras Square. 

Mike Cook 


Heritage Open Days Volunteering 

Heritage Open Days are on September 9th and 10th this year and it always seems to me that 

this weekend is especially important for Ipswich. Our many fine heritage buildings are from 

such different periods in history and are so spread throughout the town that they are not 

always easy for visitors to access. This rich history, still evident in our urban landscape today, 

needs interpretation such as that provided by HOD. Ipswich Society members can play their 

part by volunteering as stewards in one of the buildings open to the public – this year the 

Ancient House and Pykenham’s Gatehouse need our services. They are both open from 10 till 

4 on both the Saturday and Sunday and I divide the rota into two hour sessions with two 

stewards on each session, so I need 24 volunteers altogether! If you feel you can give two 

hours of your time at some stage during the weekend, please do contact me on 

secretary@ipswichsociety.org.uk 

Caroline Markham 


Cauldwell Hall, Ipswich 


Cauldwell Hall was a farm, long before the surrounding roads of Ipswich were built. I lived there 

as a child with my grandparents, Lionel and Nellie Vulliamy. Lionel was a solicitor and also the 

coroner who conducted the Sutton Hoo inquest. He had made a beautiful garden with a big lake 

in the valley. This was fed by a spring which came out at the same temperature summer and 

winter. Spring Road was named after this. He had a tame flamingo there. He used to walk round 

the garden calling it. 


There was a crag pit where we used to look for fossils, and plantations of bamboos and at one 

time he grew bat willows for sale to make cricket bats.


Above: the lake and garden in the snow; the railway viaduct over Spring Road is in the background.


There were a lot of mature trees, mostly beech and oak. Luckily, he was no longer alive to see 

them cut down and the lake destroyed to make way for a housing estate. It would have broken 

his heart.

The house remains, but turned into flats now. 

Lydia Vulliamy 


We are grateful to Lydia for these memories and photographs. Cauldwell Farm (and later Hall) played 

an important part in the Victorian development of eastern Ipswich, notably for housing. The Ipswich & 

Suffolk Freehold Land Society was hugely influential in Ipswich from 1850, particularly its role in 

building the ninety-eight and a half acres of the California Estate. The original farm has a long history 

and is said to have Anglo-Saxon origins, after 1066 being gifted to the Norman knight Roger Bigod. 

The name 'Cauldwell', as a Manor, may date from the early 14th century in the ownership of the 

Holbroke family. Edmunde de Caldeswelle appears to have been in residence in the Holbrook manor 

house in 1327. In the 16th century when Caldwell Hall was part of the extensive property of 

Christchurch Priory, the assets of the Priory were seized by that son of Ipswich, Cardinal Wolsey, to 

provide funds for his ill-fated College which he started to build in Ipswich in the late 1520s. Caldwell 

Hall was bought from Sir John Pope by the Withepole family, who built Christchurch Mansion in 1563. 

By the early part of the 17th century, the Caldwell Hall estate had passed to Robert Leman and then to 

William Rivers, eventually to John Footman in 1848. From 1919 to his death in 1956 Cauldwell Hall 

was the home of the Ipswich solicitor Lionel H. Vulliamy. Quite an extraordinary story. –Ed. 


Bob Malster (1932-2023) 

‘Ipswich has lost a stalwart historian, author and a mine of information; a sad loss. Bob gathered his information from a number of sources including his work (for the EADT), as a researcher and simply from his love of boats, the sea and associated ports.’  (John Norman, Chair of The Ipswich Society) 

‘From adventurers and pirates, traders and tragedies, dreams and danger, Robert Malster, known affectionately as Bob, tackled a number of topics within his writing. Known for his diligence and all-round thoroughness, his talents will live on in his work. Born in Norwich in 1932, he became a Freeman of the city following on from his father.’  

(Eastern Daily Press obituary, 23.4.2023) 

‘Bob greeted me cordially in a household that betrayed some of the strains of collecting large amounts of historical material. He had become a publisher – Malthouse Press – as well as being a writer. At the moment he also edited the Babergh District Council newsletter… Bob had unfortunately arrived in Ipswich at the height of “redevelopment” in the early 70s , and he launched into a Seymouresque* denunciation of local politicians and planners. “If anything was ‘old’, they wanted to pull it down. I wrote my book on Ipswich partly to show people what they’d got”. ’ 

(Don Mathew: Cycling through Suffolk, 2002


Having served his National Service in the Royal Air Force, Bob began his career as a journalist on the Lowestoft Journal. This led to his fascination with the fishing industry of the town and of East Anglia, the 

service and so much more. He became a feature writer for the Eastern Daily Press and then the East Anglian Daily Times.  


His many books and articles are treasure troves  of imagery and information, all presented and  

written with passion and flair. The Editor’s  favourite is The Wharncliffe companion to  Ipswich: an A to Z of local history (2005)  which offers 262 pages of those nuggets about  our town which frequently make the reader  stop and think: ‘Well, I didn’t know that!’. 


To those with an interest in local history, Bob was a familiar figure at the meetings and talks organised by clubs and  

societies. He was a regular at Ipswich Society events and had close  involvement with The Ipswich & District Historical Transport Society and The Ipswich Maritime Trust, as well as giving occasional lectures. 

Bob Malster died at Ipswich Hospital on Sunday, April 16. He was aged 90. He is survived by his daughter, Andrea.                RG 

[* After Seymour Krelborn, the main character in The little shop of horrors.] 


Ipswich Heritage Open Days, coming up in September 

September is a time for reflection and collection of thoughts as the year goes round when we 

look back at the wows of the year, the joy of summer months and the fulfilled promise of earlier 

in the year.   


In the Society, we begin the programme of lectures and look forward to the Wednesday sessions 

at the Methodist Chapel and even towards the major winter event of the Annual Ipswich Society 

Awards.  However, before all that there are the Heritage Open Days to look out for. On the 9th 

and 10th of September the Society will set up its gazebo on the Cornhill and provide a focus 

point for the Heritage Open Days where it will be possible to pick up a guide book for the 

weekend’s events and to be directed to the various locations around the town centre.   


We are proud to coordinate the Heritage Open Days event in Ipswich on behalf of the town and 

all our wonderful participants. At the current time we can foresee that a greater number of 

locations will be available to visit and explore this year – possibly thirty-two – which should 

include the Ancient House which proved to be a major and fascinating attraction last year. 


The guide books will be available during August to prepare for planning the weekend and it all 

promises to be as interesting and revealing as ever before. 


Cobbold ales & tales: 1723-2023 by Mary Attwood

The latest book from The Cobbold Family History Trust is written by family member Mary 

Attwood. A Chevallier descendent, she is an art historian with a special interest in how past ideas 

and people have shaped our present world. 


She opens in the time of Chaucer and takes us through the first green shoots of two Thomases 

struggling with the most basic ingredient – water – to the prodigious growth of third generation 

John, now known as ‘Big John’, with very good reason, and on to John Wilkinson who 

broadened the business with well-aimed ventures into merchanting, shipping and banking. John 

Chevallier Cobbold pursued growth but was also a player at national level employing a little 

enlightened self-interest to bring the country’s biggest wet dock and the railway to Ipswich. 


Tragedy struck with the early death of John Patteson Cobbold demanding the return to Ipswich of 

the academic Felix whose able handling of the banking interests provided much beneficial 

philanthropy. John Dupuis, the last member of the Cobbold family to occupy Holywells, married 

the most extraordinary of all the Cobbold wives, Lady Evelyn Murray, who outlived her husband 

and all her children and then converted to Islam, but not until her only son, who married into the 

aristocracy, had become tragedy victim number two being killed by a doodle-bug whilst at 

church on a Sunday morning in 1944. 


The last of the Cobbolds, Mr John and Mr Patrick, as they were affectionately known to ‘Town’ 

football fans, presided over not only the optimism of the merger with that other stalwart local 

brewery run by the revered Tollemache family but also, sadly, the decline of the business at the 

hands of commercial giants. Fortunately, perhaps, they did not live to see the struggles leading up 

to the abandonment of The Cliff to silence, desolation, vandalism and finally arson. 


The illustrated paperback costs £10 and was launched at Holywells Park on 24 June 2023 at the 

Cobbold 300 event and is available from ‘Books for Sale’on the website www.cobboldfht.com


Street Scene 

Reporting on changes in town centres today can be depressing at times. It is nine months since I wrote a Street Scene in this format. Shops and businesses are closing in town centres all over the UK, many of them big names we have been brought up with, but new shoots still appear and I have been requested to carry on with this page by popular demand so here are a few of the many positive things going on in Ipswich at the moment.  Cafés and restaurants are big business in most towns these days and Ipswich is no different with an abundance of longstanding independent cafés and coffee shops in the town centre, along our Waterfront and in our wonderful parks.  


Here are just some of the recent independent café additions to join Ipswich. 


MOMENTS CAFÉ and Coffee Shop run by the St Elizabeth Hospice recently opened in Ipswich 

Town Hall with its outside seating overlooking the Cornhill fountains. This new café is always 

very popular.  

Right next door in the old Post Office on Cornhill we now have THE BOTANIST restaurant and 

bar with seating and planters spilling out onto Cornhill. A smart venue in the recently restored 

Grade II listed Post Office building and always busy.  

The ever popular Ipswich independent Patisserie and Café BONBON with its home-made 

produce has recently moved from its small shop into the former Patisserie Valerie unit in Butter 

Market giving it much more space and indoor seating.  

H&R DESSERTS is another independent cakes and ice cream café which has just opened in 

Westgate Street.  

New Ipswich independent HARRY'S Handmade Doughnuts and café with its kitchen on the top 

floor has opened on the ground floor in Sailmakers Shopping Centre with seating along the front.  

Next door, another independent café and sandwich shop, the VITAMIN BAR, has opened; its 

speciality being bubble drinks and it is popular with young and older alike.  

The ARKANA COFFEE HOUSE with outside seating has opened in the recently restored former 

Green and Hatfield antique dealer’s shop in St Margarets Plain.  

The smart independent TAKAYAMA Japanese Restaurant has opened in St Nicholas Street, as 

has the popular independent ST NICHOLAS SANDWICH SHOP with its homemade bread, deli- 

style sandwiches, and artisan cakes.  

The ENCORE COFFEE HOUSE and cakes café has opened to the public in the Hope Church in 

the restored former Odeon Cinema complex in St. Margarets Street while the RIVER CAFE has 

opened in the River Church in St Mary-at-the-Quay in Key Street.  

The BISHOPS PARLOUR CAFÉ has opened in the completely refurbished old stable block in 

Holywells Park and runs an additional coffee and ice cream kiosk by the recently reopened 

children's playground with its splash fountains and new play equipment. (We understand the 

Heritage Lottery restored ORANGERY in Holywells Park is scheduled for a smarten up later this 

year.)  


New shops continue to appear filling the empty gaps around town. Recently, LEADING 

LABELS, a new entry for Ipswich, has opened in Sailmakers Shopping Centre in the former 

TopShop unit and BLUEINC has opened a new and smarter shop in the former TopMan unit 

while their old shop is being refitted for BODYCARE, yet another new name for Ipswich.  

VERNON FOX DISCOUNT STORE is reported to be opening soon in the large former JJB unit 

under the old Woolworth store in Carr Street.  

McColls stores were taken over by Morrisons earlier this year and the Ipswich McColls by Tower 

Ramparts Bus Station has now become a MORRISONS DAILY. Ipswich already has a large 

Morrisons on the edge of town. WOODGREEN ANIMAL SHELTERS Charity Shop is opening 

in the former Joules in Butter Market.  


Arkana Coffee 

House,  

St Margarets 

Plain


Some fairly substantial building projects are planned or are under way around the town. On 19 

June the new 99 bedroom IPSWICH CENTRAL TRAVELODGE is due to open on Russell 

Road/Chancery Road backing onto the ITFC football stadium. The former Staples and Better 

Gym site next to the hotel has been bought by the new ITFC owners and the retail warehouses 

have been demolished ready to create a new, much more visible and smarter entrance to the Sir 

Alf Ramsey Stand with its approach from the nearby railway station, while a new pitch is being 

laid in the football stadium reported as having undersoil heating, high-draining sand will be 

installed below a modern hybrid surface (a combination of natural and artificial grass) and served 

by a new sprinkler and irrigation system.  


ARRAS SQUARE in St. Stephens Lane has been getting tired in recent years and is scheduled 

for a major makeover starting later this year to complete in 2024. Erect Architects have been 

working with Ipswich Borough Council to develop the design which includes new seating, 

paving, drainage, lighting, CCTV, litter bins and trees as well as a new mural following a poll 

carried out by the Ipswich Star, which selected Arras Square as the public’s top priority for 

improvements. 

The restoration and conversion of Grade II listed ST STEPHENS CHURCH into a MUSIC 

VENUE is nearing completion. The church, owned by Ipswich Borough Council, is being 

converted into a live music and community entertainment venue for up to 225 people. During the 

daytime there will be a café and meeting place for like-minded creatives, students, and the wider 

community with the ability to host events and exhibitions plus a range of live music performed in 

the evenings.  


Meanwhile Phase 2 of the ST. CLEMENTS CHURCH ARTS CENTRE is well under way with 

the addition of toilets and other ancillaries. 

Galliard Homes have started constructing many NEW HOMES ON GRAFTON WAY situated 

along the north bank of the River Orwell and opposite Ipswich railway station. The residential 

community is expected to comprise a mix of two-bed, three-bed, and four-bed homes which 

together will provide almost 160,000 square feet of housing once complete and will include 

making up a wider and much improved public river path between Stoke Bridge and Princes 

Street Bridge.  


The THOMAS WOLSEY HOUSE retirement apartments and adjoining housing complex by 

McCarthy Stone on the former Archant newspapers site between Lower Orwell Street and Turret 

Lane is nearly complete. Some landscaping is being added which will hopefully soften this rather 

brutal looking building over time. 

House building continues in abundance on the WOLSEY GRANGE development off London 

Road and Hadleigh Road by the Holiday Inn, as well as at the BOURNE VIEW development on 

Bourne Hill and work continues on the GARDEN SUBURB (Northern Fringe) development. 

The total size of the new development that stretches from Henley Road west to Tuddenham Road 

in the east will be between 3,000 and 3,500 homes – that is adding about 10,000 residents  

to Ipswich.  


The BUTTERMARKET Centre makeover is finally complete with new smarter signage over the 

front and rear entrances to the retail and leisure complex. The front of the former BHS has been 

tidied up with neat boarding over the doors and windows while it awaits its future. 


PLANTERS and SEATING have been installed near the Thomas Wolsey statue in St. Peters 

Street as part of the ‘Greener Ipswich Project’, while more planters have been placed along ST. 

PETERS WHARF where the hoardings have been tidied up with some very eye catching, mostly 

commissioned, street murals. The project was organised by Art Eat Events, a community art 

organisation from Ipswich, and was a part of the Hullabaloo 22 programme, a series of activities 

funded by Suffolk County Council's Covid Continuity Fund for Culture. 

Tim Leggett 


Ipswich’s future 

I am becoming increasingly bemused by the number of committees, boards, or groups (of 

leaders) whose remit is to advise and steer Ipswich into the future. Which way to go, where to 

make investments that will create growth, where to spend the money that the Government is 

promising for town centre improvements. Not only financial support for the ‘town centre’ but 

also, for example, local shopping parades, skills training, and leisure facilities.  


There is no definitive list of either the groups of advisers or the funding available, but I have 

heard of (but do not necessarily understand) the following: 


Ipswich Vision,  Ipswich Policy Development Panel,  Ipswich Town Deal Board,  

Ipswich’s City Bid.  Cross Party Working Group,  All About Ipswich (their online 

prospectus),  Greater Ipswich City Deal.   


I also know that these groups have various amounts of money to spend, and it is interesting to 

note that some of the projects are underway. The £3 million allocated to a single town centre 

‘improvement’ was earmarked for Arras Square (following public consultation) some four years 

ago and only now coming to fruition. 


It is possible that what we need is a Victorian Vision, and entrepreneur with foresight, a group 

that can see that things are not working and can spot the opportunity for change. Such a 

committee met in 1803 and by 1805 had obtained a Parliamentary Act to become the River 

Commissioners, purchase a steam dredger and straighten the navigational course. Wonderful 

names given to the short stretches of open water at right angles to the banks such as ‘Back Again 

Reach’ were lost as the river became easier for laden sailing vessels.   


The vision of the River Commissioners worked, by 1830 loans had been repaid and £25,000 

accumulated, discussion turned to creating a floating harbour, a wet dock where vessels could berth alongside and remain afloat, level with the quay. William Lane, Collector of Customs suggested, at a meeting of interested parties in the Moot Hall, that a freshwater bypass channel should be dug, from Stoke Bridge to Cliff Quay (The New Cut) enabling the wide basin on the St Clement’s side to be enclosed. When the new lock into the Wet Dock opened in1842 the Mayor called for ‘three times three’ cheers for William Lane Esq. 


A visionary entrepreneur

A similar group, this time including the brewer John Wilkinson Cobbold, and notably his son, 

John Chevallier Cobbold JP, MP, DL, dock commissioner, brewer, banker, and ship owner 

worked tirelessly to ensure that the railway came to Ipswich and extended beyond Ipswich to 

Bury and Norwich. Their motives were of self-interest, a railway would allow them to move 

goods, including the beer produced in Cliff Quay brewery and the cargoes imported into the Wet 

Dock but they also knew that the railway would benefit the town, allowing its citizens to travel 

and engage in business over a much wider area. The railway to London opened in June 1846 and 

to Bury in November the same year. 


It seems we spend a lot of time, effort (and money) on thinking up ideas that then fall by the 

wayside.  Take for example the Town Centre Master Plan of 2012 which proposed 40,000 square 

feet of additional retail space between the Cornhill and the Waterfront, an attempt to ‘turn the 

town around’, to create more of a north/south orientation rather than the current so called golden 

mile. It also touched on other schemes that you have seen and heard previously, a single bus 

station, a residential led redevelopment of Tacket Street carpark (behind Woolworth’s) and 

improvements to the market. 


I accept that 2012 was more than a decade ago and that Covid has intervened but in 2012 the 

demise of town centre retail was already evident, in Ipswich.  


Michael Gove blocks proposals for an ‘ugly’ housing scheme. 

OK, this is not in Ipswich, but it does mark an important step by the Government to implement 

the requirements of the NPPF (New Planning Policy Framework) which requires the design of 

new homes to be ‘aesthetically pleasing’. The scheme refused was on a green-field site in Kent, 

proposed by Berkeley Homes. Michael Gove’s grounds for refusal were that the proposed 

development was of ‘a generic suburban nature’ and did not reflect the aspirations of the local 

design code (Crane Valley in the Weald of Kent – an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). I 

understand that this is the first time a minister has turned down a development on aesthetic 

grounds since Gove promised to crack-down on ‘ugly identikit housing.’ 


The decision was not welcomed by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) who said that the 

decision would drastically reduce housing supply, disrupting the Governments attempts to build 

300,000 homes each year.  In his decision letter Gove wrote that he did not believe Berkeley’s 

plans to be to a ‘high standard which has evolved through thoughtful regard to its context.’  

‘Overall, he does not find the scheme sensitively designed having regard for its setting. He finds 

the that the design does not reflect the expectations of the High Weald housing design guide.’   


Michael Gove had forewarned housing developers last year that he would veto developments that 

were not aesthetically pleasing arguing that better design was the key to persuading local 

communities to accept new developments. He said ‘too many new homes have been ugly, 

shoddily constructed, and poor quality, identikit creations plonked down without regard to the 

shape and character of existing communities’. 


A change in the political balance of Suffolk

OK, so I do not normally write about politics in this journal and The Ipswich Society strives to 

be non-political, but it is probably worth recording that in the May 2023 local elections the Green 

Party had sufficient success in both East and Mid-Suffolk that they now have effective control of 

the councils. Given that rural Suffolk has been staunchly tory since local government 

reorganisation in 1974 (and in some cases for decades before then) this marks a major change. 


In Mid Suffolk the Greens, having won the majority of seats, have overall control of the Council.  

In East Suffolk – formerly the two districts of Suffolk Coastal and Waveney – the Greens are 

sharing control with the Liberal Democrats, the Greens have 16 seats, the Lib Dems 11 against 

the Conservatives’ 15 and Labour’s 12. 


What makes this Mid Suffolk win so momentous is that it marks the first time that the Greens 

have won outright control of any local authority anywhere in the United Kingdom and according 

to party leader Carla Denyer anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. 


The Greens were so confident of success in Mid Suffolk that, before the elections, they launched 

their national manifesto in Stowmarket. They were predicting that they would gain five seats. 

Following the count they had increased their seat numbers by twelve to 24 (against a total 

opposition of 10). However, it is worth pointing out that voters in Mid Suffolk are probably not 

Water Melon Greens (Green on the outside, but red inside), they have been described in the 

national press as Mangos, Green on the outside, orange within, suggesting an alliance with the 

Lib Dems, as is the case in East Suffolk.  


The Mid Suffolk Greens, according to their manifesto support an ecologically sustainable 

society, environmentalism, social justice, and grassroots democracy. We await with interest the 

changes the new administration will bring. 


Grafton Way house-building 

You will possibly have read previously how the market for Waterfront apartments is not as 

lucrative as had been expected. At the turn of the millennium when building tower blocks on the 

Northern Quays started Ipswich was predicted to be the ‘go to’ residential destination for London 

commuters.   


However, twenty years after the demolition teams started there are still quite a number of flats 

‘for sale,’ many of which have been on the market for some time. The tallest block, The Mill at 

23 storeys and the attached seventeen storey block are still not finished and have never been 

occupied.   


The former B&Q site in Grafton Way – at one time earmarked for Tesco – received planning 

permission for town houses rather than the multi-storey apartments we expected. What is 

interesting here is that as the contractor, Galliard Homes, starts building expecting to sell the 

units individually ‘off plan’. The entire site has been sold to a private landlord. Every single one 

of the 163 two-, three- and four-bedroom homes have been purchased for the rental market by 

Aviva Investors and build-to-rent specialists Packaged Living. 


This type of private landlord, which offers newly-built homes for rent, is relatively new to 

Ipswich but is becoming increasingly common in London and other cities. Young professionals 

cannot afford to buy, but choose to spend a considerable proportion of their salary on renting an 

‘up-market’ property. 

JN 


Our AGM speaker, Adrian Bleese 

The April 19 AGM business completed, we were presented with the adventures of a police 

helicopter observer. Adrian Bleese, with the showmanship of a stand-up performer spent just 

over an hour captivating  us with the ups and downs, the swoops and hovers, the chases and the 

rescues of his time as one of a handful of the civilian air observers – anywhere in the world. 


His twelve years with the Suffolk Constabulary and later the National Police Air Service (NPAS) 

were outlined in amusing and fascinating detail. His claim to have had the best job in the world 

was held up by the unreserved delight in which he addressed the riveted audience. We heard 

accounts which surprised, reassured and  worried us in equal measure; from the story of the car 

chase to Walberswick  with all cars in pursuit, when the felon eluded capture by swimming 

across the River Blythe to Southwold; to the many successful searches for ‘mispers’ or missing 

persons and ultimately to the sad aerial coverage decline in Suffolk by reforms made by NPAS. 


Adrian had a memoir to sell and he made a very impressive job of doing so. His presentation 

indicated what is revealed more fully in the book as being a thoroughly enjoyable read. Although 

this was only hinted at in his talk, the chapter in which he examines the nature of observation and 

his interpretation of the manner in which he feels the brain adapts and adjusts during the process 

of developing a rewiring of one’s seeing is remarkable. He quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson 

reflecting on the effects of detailed observation: ‘The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never 

returns to its original dimensions’. 


I think our speaker managed to stretch our audience at the AGM and they departed to wine and 

nibbles bearing new insights and admiration for both the Constabulary and for Adrian Bleese. 

Tony Marsden 


Society Chairman John 

Norman with Adrian 

Bleese, author of the 

book Above the Law


Letter to the Editor 

Wolsey and music from Richard Wilson 

I greatly enjoyed your excellent piece on Wolsey and the 1520 Field of the Cloth of 

Gold. As we are in the midst of celebrating Wolsey 550, perhaps I might add some 

more colour by outlining just how important music was to that glittering occasion? 

Wolsey was indeed the chief architect of the drama and spectacle at The Field of the 

Cloth of Gold, sparing no expense in building magnificent temporary chapels and 

lavish banqueting halls. But music also played a key role in what David Starkey has 

called ‘this exercise in the politics of splendour’, accompanying the many 

entertainments, feast, jousts, public encounters and religious services. No doubt the 

promise of unlimited free wine for the duration of the trip sweetened the deal for 

certain members of Wolsey’s household choir who were shipped across the Channel 

alongside the singers of the Chapel Royal and an array of minstrels.  

  

The centrepiece of this elaborate summit meeting was the service begun at noon on 

the penultimate day, which has been called one of the period’s most spectacular 

displays of liturgical theatre. Overnight, a grand chapel had been erected on the 

jousting ground, the galleries converted into pews. It glittered with gold: ten large 

silver gilt images stood on the altar alongside two gold candlesticks and a large, 

jewelled crucifix, the whole structure symbolising the triumph of religion and peace 

over war. Wolsey sat in prime position beneath a canopy by the altar, and between 

him and the royal pews were the organists, the musicians with their trombones, 

sackbuts, fifes and cornets, and the massed British and French choirs. The latter was 

almost certainly the choir from the Sainte-Chapelle, which despite recruiting from all 

over the continent struggled to find suitably qualified musicians: in 1511 a Master of 

Singing had been dismissed for his inability to sing, failure to read at sight, 

drunkenness and sedition... 

  

Wolsey, dressed in vestments brought over from Westminster and wearing sandals 

covered with jewels, began by singing the Mass of the Trinity. The music was 

elaborate – ‘a heavenlie hearing’. The English and French sang alternately, and 

according to a contemporary report ‘Now sweet songs spring from the mellifluous 

throats of the singers, now the organ makes heard its pleasing sounds; now the 

honey-sweet song of the singers joins with the sound of the organ, so that you might 

say angelic music intermingles.’ The lengthy service concluded with Wolsey blessing 

the assembled company. 

  

The sumptuous banquet that followed was punctuated by yet more music: 24 

trumpeters announced the arrival of gentlemen dressed in gold brocade bearing 

golden platters laden with food. Strident clarion calls announced each course and 

softer music, both instrumental and vocal, accompanied the four-hour feast. The 

parties afterwards adjourned to another pavilion for more music and dancing.  

  

The whole event was hailed as a triumph, though soon the two nations were at each 

other’s throats again – but as a cultural exchange it was a great success. It inspired 

composers on both sides of the Channel, and brought several new dances to England, 

including a novel form called a pavanne that was soon to become one of the staples 

at Court.  

When Wolsey and his retinue returned to France in 1527 his minstrels played so well 

at a feast he laid on for the French Queen Mother that Francis asked if he could borrow them for 

a dinner of his own the next night. But things went badly for one particular wind-player: 

according to Cavendish, Wolsey’s biographer, he was either injured ‘with extreme labor of 

blowing’ or he was poisoned by a jealous French rival, and within a couple of days the poor chap was dead. Nonetheless, later that same year Wolsey hosted the French Embassy, who arrived in 

London ‘supported by a host of gentlemen, archers, wrestlers, musicians and tennis-players.’ The 

banquet held in their honour was, according to Cavendish, accompanied ‘with syche a pleasaunt 

noyce of dyvers Instrumentes of musyke’ that the visitors ‘were rapte into an hevenly paradice'. 

Not bad for a lad from Ipswich whose musical education probably began at his school in what is 

now the south aisle of St Mary-le-Tower church... 


Thanks to this contribution from Richard we can now pile superlative upon superlative regarding 

the sumptuous festival on the edge of the Pale of Calais in 1520. Of course, peasants in England 

had little or no knowledge of what was going on across the Channel. One can hardly blame the 

poorer French citizens in the area for sneaking into the site and partaking of those wine 

fountains. Thomas Wolsey made his mark, but at the expense of those short of a crust of bread. 


Ipswich Society Awards 2023, call for nominations 

Getting out and about now that the weather is improving seems to be the thing to do these days. Strolling into town and looking around and upwards has always been a good occupation for me and I'm sure it's the same for many members.  Which is why it's important to keep your eyes peeled and watch out for new projects which are emerging from the ground or reaching completion with topping out events and the like. 


I lived in Germany for twenty-nine years and one of the things that was prominent, certainly during the building of houses but other structures too, was  ‘The Richtfest’. 


This is the occasion when people who are building a house, or having some major renovations done on their house, give thanks to the builders and all involved in the construction work with a mini-ceremony; it typically occurs when the final beam is added to the roof.  The crown-shaped wreath is hung at the top of the roof and the builders, architect and owners have a beer and read a  Richtfest poem. 


I'm not saying it's a tradition that should be introduced into Great Britain, mainly because of the 

potential consequences of beer consumption during a working day… but I have fond memories 

of these indications of a building nearing completion. I don’t for one minute think that anywhere 

in our town will feature a wreath of this kind, but one never knows. 


It may be early days in the course of the year, but already there are projects around the town 

which are coming to our notice with the Ipswich Society Awards 2023 event in mind. 


Keep an eye out for possible nominations. The project might have been completed in the last two 

years, having been missed last year, or it has just passed us by. Please let the Hon. Secretary  

know or contact me (all contact details are on page 27).  

Tony Marsden, Vice-Chairman 


Serendipity corner 

Regular readers may recall an excellent article by former County Archaeologist Keith Wade in 

the Newsletter of July 2019 dealing with the area between St Peter and St Mary-at-Quay, called 

by some ‘St Peter’s Port’ – a potential candidate as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, if heritage 

organisations start to focus on the international historical importance of the Ipswich story. The 

article can be viewed via the Society’s website and it includes possibly the only illustration of 

Wolsey’s College. Keith did mention to the Editor at the time the poor quality of the copy-of-a-

copy etc., but the latter was pleased to publish it. Indeed a copy of the article accompanied our 

Chairman’s letter to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris which was sent in the ensuing weeks. 

In 2023 those organising the Wolsey 550 celebrations have endeavoured to trace the original 

footprint of Wolsey’s College, the remains of which have largely been obscured by industrial and 

road development in Ipswich, apart from the Water Gate in Key Street: the last survivor. 

Not only that, but recent issues of our Newsletter have dealt with the first Wolsey Pageant. 

Society member Carole Sims donated a copy of Wolsey Pageant, June 23rd-28th 1930: souvenir 

programme. The book runs to 114 pages and is priced on the cover ‘one shilling’. This was the 

publication referred to in David Saunders’ letter to the Editor in our April issue. It contains much 

information about the performance including performer credits and a full script. The book 

probably deserves an article of its own. However, it also contains a reproduction of the Wolsey’s 

College illustration – perhaps the best one available to us. The Cardinal is on the left. 


Book reviews 


The Ipswich Mint by John C. Sadler, £65 (available at discount price of £30 to Ipswich Society 

members; please contact the Society’s Hon. Secretary). 

I had an interesting conversation with Ipswich numismatist John Sadler earlier this year. John has 

written three volumes about coins minted in Ipswich, primarily Ipswich pennies. He has 

established that the Ipswich mint was in operation, not from 973AD as others have suggested, 

but probably from 200 years earlier. This was during the reign of the relatively unknown Beonna, 

King of East Anglia, about 758AD. He also confirms that the mint closed in 1207AD, at the end 

of the reign of King John. 


During the reign of Beonna Ipswich was enjoying something of a boom, probably due to its 

accessibility from the sea – unlike Woodbridge at the head of the meandering River Deben, or 

Manningtree on the River Stour, which was too shallow – Ipswich was a deep-water port. 

Ipswich was able to trade, not only with other East Anglia coastal ports but also across the North 

Sea into the Low Countries. Not surprisingly, Ipswich pennies, minted for over 500 years have 

been found close to British coastal ports and as far away as southern Norway, Denmark and other 

Baltic countries. 


You will be aware that excavations are taking place at Rendlesham, the probable site of Anglo-

Saxon King Redwald’s palace. John Sadler has been dating and valuing the coins from the 

excavations – with the exception of gold which is sent straight to the British Museum – for the 

archaeologists since the dig began. Incidentally, John tells me that, broadly speaking, gold coins 

are not found in Ipswich and this metal was not used at the Ipswich Mint. 


Having initially trained as a signwriter, John’s career was spent at Titchmarsh & Goodwin 

applying lacquer to new furniture. But his hobby was all-invasive and for the last twenty years of 

his working life he valued coins for Lockdales, the auctioneers in Martlesham and occasionally 

for other auction houses. John wrote the first of his three volumes: Ipswich Mint; Eadgar to 

Aethelred II (973-1016) in 2010 and followed this with his second, Cnut the Great to Edward the 

Confessor (1016-1066). The third and final volume, Edward the Confessor to King John 

(1066-1207) is a much weightier book at 560 A4 pages which gives an indication of the 50 years 

of research which has gone into John’s writing  which is illustrated by numerous photographs 

and John’s excellent drawings. 


Each book is a comprehensive catalogue of Ipswich Pennies, also other coins and tokens struck 

in the town. Probably the most interesting chapters concern the history of Ipswich. Especially the 

‘wasting’ of Ipswich by the Normans as well as the Danes in volume III. These books are for the 

specialist collector, Volumes I and II have sold out and there are only a few of the 250 printed 

copies of Volume III remaining. 

JN 


Stipple, snuff and no sharp edges: memories of the Ipswich cabinet trade, 1900-2000   

by Heather Ling, (Ipswich Society members’ price £35; please contact the Hon. Secretary). 

If ever a book caused me to go ‘Wow’, getting the first site of Heather’s book was it. It is a huge 

275 pages of excellent research with photographs of some substantial pieces of furniture and 

notes on the people who lovingly created them. With chapters on Tibbenham’s, Titchmarsh & 

Goodwin, Alston’s and R.E.H. Kennedy, it is a comprehensive history of furniture-making in 

Ipswich through the eyes of the people who made it. 


Throughout the twentieth century Ipswich held a reputation as the centre for reproduction 

cabinet-making; it started with Frederick Tibbenham who set up business at Tudor Court, 

Woodbridge Road in 1903. Together with his works manager, Ernest Gribble, they created the 

most prolific reproduction cabinetmaking firm in the world. Don’t be confused by the term 

‘reproduction’, Tibbenham’s were making furniture together with the fixtures and fittings 

(panelled rooms, carved staircases) for some of the country’s most prestigious historic houses, 

the major London stores (Liberty’s in Regent Street) and hotels as well as the Cunard Liners 

(Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth). 


Heather has created a comprehensive record of furniture-making in Ipswich using the memories 

and written records of those who worked in the industry.  To explain the title: Stipple is a 

finishing technique used, in moderation, to create an ageing effect. Snuff is a tobacco-derived 

substance used by the Cabinet Makers who were not allowed to smoke in the workshops. No 

Sharp Edges implies that the clean-cut crisp edges on a newly assembled piece were softened 

and rounded in the polishing shop, another ageing effect. I was impressed by Heather’s book and 

recommend it to you.  

JN 


A new way to support the St Clement’s restoration project 

Members will be aware of the great strides made over the past couple of years to bring one of the 

historic treasures of Ipswich, St Clement’s, back into use for its local community. Phase one of 

the project, during the winter of 2021/22 removed the old, uneven floor and replaced it with a 

gleaming new floor of marine timber, appropriate for the mariners’ church, making it suitable for 

many uses. 


This year we have moved on to phase two, including a new water supply and drainage, safety 

and electrical works, and installing toilets below the bell tower. It is an expensive project, and we 

have fortunately had some grants and donations to help. Of course, the more money the Ipswich 

Historic Churches Trust can collect for the project, the further we can work through our wish list. 


The aim is to make this a community hub, for entertainment arts and events for a few more 

hundred years. 


Individuals, groups and organisations can now donate directly to support the restoration of St 

Clement’s through the Parish Giving Scheme website. Named individuals can also sign up so 

their gift can benefit from Gift Aid, or it can even be anonymous. It is also possible for donors to 

set up a regular monthly payment. 


Have a look at the parishgiving.org.uk website. If you want to help, look for Ipswich Historic St 

Clements.  The registration number is 33A63307. It couldn’t be easier. 

David Vincent 


Introducing… Heritage Open Days 2023 Walks and Talks  

organised by the Society.  September 11-15, 2023.  Dates for your diary:- 

Tuesday September 12, 1pm: Phil Roberts talks on Cardinal Wolsey at the Museum Street 

Methodist Church; 

Wednesday September 13, 10.30am: Ipswich Maritime Walk led by Tony Marsden (book via 

secretary@ipswichsociety.org.uk); 

Wednesday September 13, 7.30pm: John Norman talks on Ipswich’s Tudor Buildings at the 

Museum Street Methodist Church; 

Thursday September 14, 10.30am: John Warren talks on the Ipswich Dissenters at the Ipswich 

Unitarian Meeting House; 

Friday September 15, 10.30am: Blue Plaques walk led by Tony Robson (book via 

secretary@ipswichsociety.org.uk). 


Packard’s Ipswich Series printing inks 

I read with interest the account of Copperas Reach and its use in the creation of printer’s ink in 

the January Newsletter (Issue 232). I had recently been reading Tony Copsey’s biographical 

directory, Ipswich Book Trades (2011)* as it mentions Edward Packard and Co.’s Ipswich Series 

of inks. So I decided to investigate a little bit further. Edward Packard senior (1819-1899) had 

qualified as a chemist apprenticed to Francis Cupiss, who not only provided horse medicines but 

also established a letterpress in Diss in 1830. In fact, Cupiss was still in business until 2022 when 

the owner retired. The original Columbian Eagle Press dating from the 1830s was still in 

operation until the end. 


Fast forward fifty years to September, 1889 and a notice appeared in the trade journal The 

Printing Times and Lithographer (PT&L) that Edward Packard and Co. had ‘commenced the 

manufacture of printing-inks and varnishes, on an extensive scale for exportation’. Whether 

Edward Packard Senior had a hand in this is hard to say. The day-to-day management of the firm 

was handed over to his sons: Edward Packard Junior and Henry Wood Packard around this time. 

Perhaps more pertinent to this new initiative are the reports of a fire in March 1889 in which the 

businesses premises on Ipswich Dock – alongside Coprolite Street – were entirely destroyed. 

Edward Packard and Co. had premises in Ipswich and at 155 Fenchurch Street, London. The new 

business was undertaken by the newly appointed Mr C.H. Midgley, who had previous experience 

in the print supplies trade. At a time when the fertiliser trade was facing stiff competition from 

abroad, particularly the USA, Midgley was a strong advocate of ‘British Ink for British Printers’ 

(see November 1889 issue of PT&L). The full page advert shown here appeared regularly in the 

PT&L in 1890. 


By April 1890 they had established an office at 95 Bath Street Glasgow, where they proposed to 

keep stocks of their printing products under the management of William V. Graham. However by 

September of that year Packards had re-located their London office to 17 Lawrence Lane, 

conveniently near the Great Eastern Railways Parcel depot. But more revealing is that Mr 

Midgley announced that as of 11 September he had severed all connection with them. He stated 

he intended to set up in business on his own account selling of print machinery and sundries. He 

also offered his services as an agent for “the sale and purchase of businesses, and the negotiation 

of partnerships in connection with the printing trade”. 


Bernard O’Connor has written about the problems of the coprolite-based fertiliser trade in 

Suffolk (The Suffolk Fossil Diggings 2009) and quotes an account of the 1889 fire. However he 

doesn’t mention this attempt to branch out into manufacturing printing ink – which as it lasted 

barely a year is hardly surprising. Their involvement in shipping – which had started many years 

earlier under Edward Packard senior – is treated more fully. 


Charles E. Goad Ltd make no mention of printing ink facilities in the detailed plan of Packard’s 

dockside premises, Ipswich. This was produced for insurance purposes in 1909 and the premises 

are identified as belonging to Edward Packard and Co. Ltd. – and the Ipswich Steam Shipping 

Company Ltd. It principally refers to the processing and storing of chemical manure. 

Nevertheless, I hope this brief account gives an idea of how an Ipswich business set out to 

explore adapting their product range when their principal trading market was no longer viable. 


For The Printing Times and Lithographer (1875-1891) 

see https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Portal:Printing_Times_and_Lithographer; 

Bernard O’Connor has the website http://bernardoconnor.org.uk and his book, The Suffolk Fossil 

Diggings, (2009) is available in various formats; 

Maps of Ipswich by Charles E. Goad Ltd can be downloaded from Wikimedia Commons at 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Goad_fire_insurance_maps_of_Ipswich; 

Photographs of the Columbian Eagle Press can be seen on their facebook page:  

https://www.facebook.com/CupissLetterpress. 

Fabian Tompsett 


[N.B.: Packard’s London office is shown on the advertisement, but it’s nice that they are also at 

‘Steam Works: – Ipswich, England’ and now we know from the 1909 Goad map that this refers to 

the Ipswich Steam Shipping Co. Ltd.] 


*Copsey, Tony. The Ipswich book trades : booksellers, bookbinders, engravers, librarians, music 

sellers, newsagents, papermakers, printers, publishers, stationers at Ipswich until 1900 : a 

biographical dictionary. 2011, Ipswich. Distributed by Claude Cox. Can be consulted at Suffolk 

Record Office, The Hold. -Ed.] 


Members’ Outing

Wednesday August 2; Guided Walk - Colourful and Creative Characters 

A walk with well-known town guides Chris and Lois Terry around Ipswich town centre to 

discover some of the famous, fascinating folk with Ipswich connections. 

Date: Wednesday, 2 August; time: 7pm  to approximately 8.30pm. 

Start and Finish: St Stephen’s Church (formerly Tourist Information Centre) in Arras Square. 

Cost: £4 per person to be paid, in cash, on the night. 


Places are limited and must be booked in advance. To reserve a place, please contact: Lois and 

Chris Terry on Tel. 01473 727256 or 07779 639450. 


Rendlesham revealed 

The remarkable archaeological project subtitled The heart of a kingdom AD 400-800 has spawned an 

exhibition at the Sutton Hoo centre which runs until 29 October. This is the story of an Anglo-Saxon royal settlement in Suffolk, the largest and wealthiest of its time known in England. On display are 1,400-year-old artefacts, many never before seen by the public, which help tell the story of Rendlesham’s royal connections and its international importance. Entry is free with site admission. 


An accompanying booklet has been published by Suffolk County Council. We hope to include a longer article in our October issue. 


Rare Ipswich Co-op Harvest mural listed 

There can’t have been an issue of this Newsletter over the past couple of years that hasn’t 

featured the controversial plan to demolish the string of Co-operative stores on Carr Street to the 

east of Cox Lane in order to build a school.  

Apart from the range of periods reflected in the shop facades, the mural often called Harvest 

would have been threatened with destruction by the development. Created in 1963-4 by 

Hungarian émigré artists Gyula Bajo (1907-1984) and Endre Hevezi (1923-2017) working for 

Co-operative Wholesale Society Architects Department, it is one of only four such Co-op murals 

in the UK. This colourful mosaic is 9 by 3 metres in size and is in modernist style. Two Greek 

mythological figures are shown: Demeter, goddess of the harvest and agriculture holding a sheaf 

of corn and the messenger Hermes, who was sent to the underworld to save Demeter’s daughter 

Persephone from Hades, so that the seasons could be restored and famine prevented on earth. 

Hermes floats horizontally; he has a winged helmet and white wings on his boots at the left. The 

wheatsheaf is a popular emblem of the Co-operative Movement, as ‘a stalk of corn cannot stand 

alone, but many stand together’ 

The provision of distinctive public art was a notable initiative in the post-war period by major 

retailers such as the Co-operative Stores. The Co-operative movement is an important product of 

working-class culture during the late 19th and 20th centuries. With the movement’s general 

decline across the United Kingdom, monuments such as these have significant social and historic 

interest, and every attempt should be made for them to be appropriately conserved. 

On 12 April 2023 it was announced that the mural has been listed Grade II, the proposal 

supported by the 20th Century Society. The news represents another success for the 20th C. 

Society’s long-running Murals Campaign, which has seen upwards of 30 murals nationally listed 

and others saved through relocation, since it launched in 2009. The listing designation only 

covers the mural, with the former department store building being deemed of insufficient 

architectural and historic interest. 


Whether the costs of removal and conservation of the delicate mosaic will be borne by the 

Department of Education is yet to be seen. Perhaps it may deter the development of the school. 

RG 


Our back cover  

A seven-panel mural depicting 130 women from British history and culture has been commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) as part of a three-year project to enhance female representation in its collection. Work in progress, by Jann Haworth and her daughter Liberty Blake, was inspired by the album cover for the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which Haworth co-created with Peter Blake in 1967. It draws together many stencilled, life-size depictions of cultural figures – some never before represented at the NPG – into a single image. 


Work in progress resulted in the NPG doubling the number of women on the walls of its 

post-1900 galleries to 48% when it reopened in June after major refurbishment. When the doors opened, more than 200 portraits of women made after 1900 and more than 100 portraits by women made after 1900 will be displayed. The women depicted range from the 1st century onwards and encapsulate a wide spread of professions and backgrounds, from Boudicca to Dame Mary Beard. The mural also depicts 26 important figures who, until now, have not been represented in the gallery’s collection, from the nurse Dame Elizabeth Anionwu and the vaccinologist Dame Sarah Gilbert, to the comedian and disability rights activist Barbara Lisicki and the 19th-century freedom seeker and abolitionist Ellen Craft. ‘For the viewer, the mural presents an opportunity to see life-sized figures from throughout history, impossibly crowded together,’ said Blake. ‘The idea that Elizabeth I might stand shoulder to shoulder with Lady Caroline Norton in a crowd is amusing, invokes curiosity, and helps people learn more 

about the contributions of some of the women who have played a part in shaping the world that we live in.’ (Information based on the Guardian article 8.3.2023)


We at The Ipswich Society felt it was time for us to similarly celebrate the women of our town who have received Blue Plaques since the inception of the scheme in 2000. Our Vice-Chairman, Tony Marsden, was inspired to create our mini-poster (shown on the back cover) using the photographic images from our archive, some manipulation and colourisation to produce what we hope will be a striking and imposing salute. 


Incidentally, the Ipswich Women's Festival Group website and trail celebrates thirty-one Ipswich women throughout history (www.ipswichwomensfestivalgroup.co.uk). The group is always interested to hear of further candidates for inclusion.    

RG 


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 

Thursday July 13: Cruise down the River Orwell to Harwich on the barge Victor – tickets at 

https://victor-barge.eventbrite.co.uk 

Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 July: 33rd Ipswich Beer and Cider Festival, St Clements Church. 

Wednesday August 2, 7pm: ‘Colourful and Creative Characters’ an Ipswich walk led by Chris & 

Lois Terry (details on page 24). 

Wednesday October 18, 7.30pm: Winter lecture – Mike Scarlett talks on the Buildings of the East 

of England Co-operative Society 

Note: September’s Heritage Open Days ‘Walks & Talks’ are listed in full on page 21. 


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.


See article: page 26

Treated collage by Tony Marsden

Issue 234 July 2023

© 2024 The Ipswich Society, Registered Charity Number: 263322

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