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| Merchants discuss a deal |
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| Defending our shores! |
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| Give us a beer! |
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| In period costume |
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| PADI Diving instructor! |
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| It was a hard life as a sailor! |
Sometimes in life we miss the things that are right under our noses. Last weekend Ipswich celebrated it's Maritime History with the annual festival centred on the waterfront.. We were blessed with marvellous weather, the hottest days of the year, and thousands upon thousands of visitors flocked to the event. Also to be found on the quayside was the Ipswich Beer Festival and this event organised by 'CAMRA' (Campaign for Real Ale) is in its 30th year and the 2nd on the waterfront in conjunction with the Maritime Festival.
It wasn't just the waterfront that was showcasing it's history but Ipswich as a whole. Town centre streets were transformed into street markets with all sorts of traders setting up stalls who together with entertainers served to create a wonderful atmosphere and spectacle.
Walking away from the waterfront towards the town centre I had completely forgotten what historical treasures 'My Ipswich' actually possesses. Just a stones throw from the quayside (well possibly if you were an Olympian) is the church of St. Peter's. Mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, people have worshipped on that spot for at least 900 years. Situated on the corner of College Street where another of Ipswich's historical sites is found, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey's Gateway, I had never in a lifetime of living in the town ever been inside it. True, I do visit The Thomas Wolsey pub close by on St.Peter's Street most Friday evenings, but not St. Peter's Church so this was an opportunity to rectify this and inside I went.
As I entered the west doorway there was a display of hanging charters depicting Ipswich through the ages. These take you from the 7th century AD Anglo-Saxon town known as Gippeswick through to the present modern day town. Just inside the doorway at this west end of the nave is found The Tournai Font, or to be precise the enormous square bowl measuring 3 feet 8 inches and made of a carboniferous limestone, known as Tournai marble, quarried from the banks of the River Scheldt in Belgium. I was aware of the existence of this font but had absolutely no idea of its origins or historical significance. There are only believed to be ten Tournai marble fonts in England and two of them reside in St. Peter's Church. Nowadays the Church of St.Peter's is not used for religious ceremonies but is used as the home of the Ipswich Hospital Band with whom my cousins John and Anne are members.
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| St. Peter's Chuch |
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| Ipswich Hanging Charter (Not literally!) |
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| St. Peter's Street |
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| Cardinal Thomas Wolsey |
Walking up St. Peter's Street one of the oldest town centre streets and just past the aforementioned Public House of the same name you find a statue in memory of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey who died in 1530. Many of the buildings here are heritage listed and one can imagine the scene in bygone years when merchants would make their way from the docks to the centre and the Corn Exchange to sell their wares.
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| Carl Giles' 'Grandma' |
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| Ancient House |
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| Pargetting on the Ancient House |
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| Town Hall on Cornhill |
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| Ipswich Madonna and Child. |
As I reached the town centre I came to an area recently renamed as Giles Circus in honour of the world famous cartoonist Carl Giles who lived and worked out of a small studio close by. A statue of one of his most endearing cartoon characters 'Grandma' sits at this junction. Straight on from here is the Corn Exchange and Cornhill where the Town Hall is situated, and to the right lies the Buttermarket, another of Ipswich's oldest streets and where I once worked whilst in the travel industry. Arguably Ipswich's most iconic building is found here the splendid Ancient House, once the hiding place for Bonnie Prince Charlie as he sought to avoid Oliver Cromwell's clutches. The exterior of the Ancient House is a fine example of English pargetting and is one of the most photographed buildings in East Anglia let alone Ipswich.
One of Ipswich's least known historical attractions is that of the statue of The Madonna and Child situated just off Westgate Street as you leave the town centre. This statue marks the spot where originally The Chapel of our Lady of Grace stood wherein a mahogany statue of The Madonna and Child was found. In medieval times this was visited by many pilgrims. In 1538 under the orders of King Henry VIII the chapel was closed and the statue taken to London to be burned. It is believed that it was rescued by sailors who took it to Nettuno, Italy where today an ancient statue of 'Our Lady of Graces' is to be found. The current statue was erected on its former site in 1989.
This was yet another of my home town's sites that I was vaguely aware of but, which I rather ashamedly admit I really knew little about. It had been a very interesting afternoon and has made me more acutely aware of what 'My Ipswich' has to offer not only to the visitor but to those of us born and bred in the town.
On the book publishing front I have agreed a publishing contract and hope that 'The Diaries of Me...A Traveller' will be available in print within the next two months. I will, you can be assured advise you of when and where you can purchase a copy...pretty please.
