Ipswich, dinosaur shit capital.

[mossie]

I took a walk recently along the old dock area which I have shown before. 80% of the area has been re-developed into yuppie flats and our so called university, I suppose the best thing I can say about it is that it is 100% tidier and cleaner that it was when I first knew it. To access it I had to walk down a little street to the waters edge, this street used to run past the premises of Fisons, a leading supplier of fertiliser. This grew up from the discovery a few miles away of substantial deposits of fossilised dinosaur shit, which Mr Fison was able to process into a very good fertiliser, which was sold far and wide, not only to local farmers, but also exported to other parts of the country and farther afield via barges from the dock, which the factory adjoined. The street is named "Coprolite Street" to give the raw material its polite name.

Not a good introduction, but a part of the docks history and as I walked along what had been Cliff Quay I was looking for the site of the old Gasworks. beside this used to stand the mixing plant where the quaintly named firm of Crow Catchpole produced tarmacadam, using the tar which was a waste byproduct of the gasworks. This was taken over by the conglomerate Tarmac Ltd, out of which sprung the even bigger Carillion, subject of another corporate collapse, after enriching the usual suspects. Here, when I began my road surfacing career, was where I often came as the firm I worked for bought a lot of their product.

Now this cafe is really serving the students in the university accommodation block which is built over it, I like the exhortation to the students.



Just further back is this decoration below blocks of the boring flats



In the dock these two look as if they need bigger cans of paint



While close by some unlucky person had set up camp



While yards away across the dock, these rich mens toys were being pampered



looking up the dockside the previous timber yard and other industry had all been swept away by the blocks of flats with the university occupying the grey and white chequered monstrosity at the far end



A pair of cormorants were fishing in the dock, never still or close enough to enable me to get a good snap



Looking down river one sees the swing bridge which gives access to the central area and which marks the boundary to the current working dock area



I will return for some more some time

[mossie]

Across the dock sits HMS Trumpeter, which is a Royal Navy training ship for Cambridge University, upmarket Sea Cadets



Here is a general view, taken as a test of my camera shooting into the sun, hopefully it passes



On my way out of the dock area I pass this window display showing the evolution of the Thames Barge, which was the main trading vessel of this part of the world. serving the East coast of England including the port of London and across to Holland. As used by Mr Fison to transport his product, but they carried anything and everything. Ipswich was a major port for them and many were built there



Here is another part of the display



Across the main road is one of the old dockside churches which is being smartened up and turned into an arts centre. I was assured that the roof of the chancel had originally been built for Cardinal Wolsely's chapel and had been repositioned here after the King had him executed. This is one of the first hammerbeam constructions. Unfortunately the angels which originally decorated the ends were destroyed at the Reformation, when England progressed from Catholic to Protestant under Henry VIII



The nave roof suffered a similar fate



The old font also suffered and is now tucked up in a corner by the entrance



Walking back to catch the bus home I pass the old Masters House, and finish my little stroll

[bjd]

Ipswich certainly looks like a nice place to live. The fact that there are still working docks means that it's not just a picturesque little town.

In the exhibit photograph showing the barges with "Ernest Piper" at the bottom, do you know what city that is in the background?

And those church roofs are still impressive. I'm amazed that they were rebuilt years afterwards rather than being scrapped and burned.

[bixaorellana]

This is a great look at the history of your city, Mossie, along with its evolution. You must have shown us at some point in the past, but I had not realized how thriving and busy the Ipswich docks are.

From bottom to top: that is exceptionally fine architecture and sculpture in the church, with the damage to the font seeming particularly tragic. Fascinating information about the extent of use of the Thames barges. The Trumpeter shot also surprised me with how big and growing Ipswich is. This thread really adds to the picture you've built up with your other threads on Ipswich. You know how much I admire your photography and the shot of the two men painting just made my day -- superb picture. Re: coprolite, which is also used as a stone in jewelry ~ I knew a jeweler who told me that when it's being ground it still gives off a dung odor. I don't know what it looks like, but can't help picturing it as brown.

[kerouac2]

It's funny that my first reaction to the title was "wouldn't dinosaur shit be an important research tool?" But then I thought about fossile fuels. We have been burning prehistoric oil for hundreds of years without a second thought. I bet that in 500 years, people (if they still exist) will be mining our plastic bottles for amazing new uses.

I love the name "Coprolite Street."

Your pictures are amazing as usual, Mossie. You can make any place look interesting.

[mossie]

Reviewing this I realised that there was no external view of the church, so will indulge myself by including two. The first you have seen an earlier snap in an earlier post. I regret I don't know the name of this one.



Here is a more straight on shot taken from the road at the entrance, quaintly named Star Lane



This is the central one of three 14th or 15th century churches along that road running parallel with the docks, where the original town was centred.

The easternmost is St Clements, which is due to be transformed into an arts centre, a fine old church. It was locked when I visited so wasn't able to do any interior shots, perhaps another day, although i collected my current cold lounging about taking these snaps.



From further westward the other two churches line up nicely



At the west end stands St Peters, now a music centre and which I have posted some snaps of before



I love the delicate tracery of those windows. Just up the road is this fancy round building



Leaving the churches one heads up into the town by the old St Peters Street, with some rather arty shops



and I head for the town centre in search of coffee, passing the main town square, The Cornhill. Here in the process of being transformed into some weird architects impression of Stonehenge. So far they have scratched out a few holes, no doubt to locate underground services, and vandalised the only two decent trees the town centre possessed



So bye bye to another rather unromantic look at Ipswich