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Post by mossie on Mar 5, 2013 19:27:54 GMT
I have lived on and off for about 60 years in this area so am almost accepted as a native ;D Ipswich had Roman connections and a large villa complex was found in the present town. However it really owes its origins to the Anglo Saxons when it was the major trading port for the area in the so called Dark Ages. This port is still in existence today although there is no trace of the past in the modern marina. The dock area still houses three old churches including St Peters here nearly submerged in the modern development. Some sign of the more recent past is represented by this old barge which was a standard trading vessel in English coastal waters until fairly recent times. The town then grew from the port on the higher ground to the north and, towards 700 AD, Frisian potters from the Netherlands area settled in Ipswich and set up the first large-scale potteries in England since Roman times. Their wares were traded far across England, and the industry was unique to Ipswich for 200 years. Town defences in the form of earth ramparts were built, possibly by the Vikings, around 900, and there is a road called Tower Ramparts which marks the line. The rest can be guessed at from the street plan which still traces the original pre Norman conquest layout. This of course makes it a bad place to drive in because there is little organisation to the narrow streets. However it became a thriving industrial town until industry became a bad smell here. However the many merchants and industrialists had good houses and many interesting mediaeval buildings survive, some having great difficulty in still showing their form despite the modern tatty alterations. This, called the Ancient House, is perhaps the best known. to be continued
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2013 19:54:39 GMT
So far Ipswich looks great! One thing that it really pleases me to see are the pedestrian streets. I have such vivid memories of going all over Europe in the 60's and 70's when cars had invaded everything -- the great squares were parking lots and even the smallest and narrowest streets were clogged with automobiles.
I have to admit that the port does not look very medieval anymore.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 5, 2013 22:42:34 GMT
I am enjoying seeing your home town Mossie, looking forward to more!
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Post by htmb on Mar 5, 2013 23:21:56 GMT
Me, too, Mossie!
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 6, 2013 1:36:59 GMT
Exciting, with great pics & narrative ~~ more fun than Edward Rutherfurd, even! Is the very spiffy barge still in use or is it simply on exhibition? Classic shopping streets, of the kind disappearing from the US. Do people still live above the stores? I'll take the Ancient House, with a nice long lease, please. Can't wait for more.
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Post by onlymark on Mar 6, 2013 5:17:09 GMT
I could swear blind I've seen that barge somewhere, and it wasn't in Ipswich. I thought it was a Dutch barge which would make sense because of the influence of the aforementioned potters. But then a little niggle reminded me that it could be this one called 'Victor' and built in Ipswich for the linseed oil trade - www.sbvictor.co.uk/index.asp
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Post by mossie on Mar 6, 2013 14:26:16 GMT
You could be right Mark, I know this one is used for entertaining etc. I have been struggling with, and swearing at, Photo f***it, it won't upload where I think it should or uploads disappear into thin air, I wish they would stop buggering about and sack the 16 year old nerd who keeps tinkering. I'll try and do a bit more when I am straight.
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Post by mossie on Mar 6, 2013 15:06:07 GMT
Getting back to the barges, they had a gathering for some reason. The only good vantage point I can get is on the Old Customs House, so it is a bit distorted This is the old Customs House, now used as the port offices. The modern commercial port has been moved down river and looks like any other. Once upon a time Ipswich was reputed to have 365 pubs, to enable drinkers to drink all year round and not get bored. just behind the Wet Dock is the Lord Nelson sheltering in an older building Across the road is a range of antique buildings masquerading as modern One of them bears this blue plaque, these plaques are fixed to buildings to draw attention to personalities who have lived there. This lady was the first to qualify as a pilot. Moving round the corner we find another plain old house with a plaque Now another pub A house near by has a possible old pub sign, or perhaps a more recent interpretation as the Olde Englishe is so old as to be all but incomprehensible This is still in the Anglo Saxon area. although I guess these buildings are originally timber framed from about 1600 Now we move nearer the town centre, but close to the heart of the Anglo Saxon town, to one of the towns many fine old churches. This, as is so common with our old churches, was extensively "improved" in Victorian times. I'm not quite sure what period these windows are, but they are very attractive, and really complement the shops. Close up Well, I guess you've seen enough of lowly Ipswich, I shall have to try another part of the town which is a bit different.
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Post by bjd on Mar 6, 2013 15:18:47 GMT
It looks like a nice city, Mossie. What's the climate like?
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Post by tod2 on Mar 6, 2013 15:28:31 GMT
I'm Lovin' it Mossie! The town is lovely - I admired the Ancient House's scrolls and figures on the outer walls. That took some doing. That is a really magnificent Customs House - looks as good as a City Hall! I am mad about Romans!! I have been to see their footprints in quite a few places in the British Isles. I have a few fragments of Roman tile ( those red ones) in my collection of rocks and fossils. I was wondering if you could tell me if there are any saved mosaic floors from Roman times in Ipswich?
I hope you are going to show us more.
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Post by fumobici on Mar 6, 2013 16:43:06 GMT
Ipswich looks like a wonderful town. The watery parts do remind me somehow of Holland, not sure exactly why. Great photo report.
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Post by mossie on Mar 6, 2013 19:23:23 GMT
Thanks everyone for your comments. The Dutch influence was strong in the town because of the long standing trade between the Netherlands and East Anglia, I realised that the shops where I showed the ornate windows had the "Dutch gable" feature in the roofs, and there is quite a lot of that in Ipswich. Old architecture is a complicated subject and many houses were updated as the years went by. It was very common that some have had completely new brick walls erected at the front to hide the antique timber framework, and when this was done fancy new gables were sometimes added. This makes dating very difficult unless one can get inside the house. Ipswich Roman remains are very few and not accessible, one should go to St Albans in Hertfordshire to see good Roman stuff. Our climate is really quite good, England has basically an Atlantic or tropical maritime climate. this means our weather comes from the west and south west, so relatively mild for our latitude. We are at 52 north which is Canadian latitude. That means that our rain comes generally from the west and so here on the east coast it is at its weakest by the time it reaches us. We are generally a bit cooler than the south of England, and if we get an easterly in winter it can be very cold as the Siberian flow can hit us. Nearly as bad are northerlies in winter when the weather comes straight down from the Arctic. Anyway, a few shots I forgot. the town has a thriving market which takes place on the Cornhill. This is a square in front of the town hall, which is the building on the right, with the old post office, now a bank, on the left. Across the wet Dock and the rerouted river Orwell lie this old maltings which has been converted into a business centre to help start up companies. When my eldest son started his company he had an office here for a few years. I'll sign off with one more, giving a different angle on the Old Customs House The block of flats is still incomplete, being a casualty of the property boom and bust. It was also financed by a bust Irish bank, along with another incomplete block, so the picture is not so pretty as it looks.
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Post by htmb on Mar 7, 2013 0:30:25 GMT
Mossie, I'm enjoying your report very much. I hope you plan to post more photos. Just wondering, is it easy to travel from Ipswich to Paris by train, or do you usually fly?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2013 7:25:55 GMT
The city really looks very nice and well kept. I never thought of anywhere in England as having Dutch influence in the architecture, so I have learned something as well.
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Post by nautiker on Mar 7, 2013 8:24:29 GMT
great little thread, indeed. couple of decades ago, when we went on a family holiday to East Anglia, friends in Scotland mockingly told us: 'We didn't know that one could go on holiday there...' - we had a great time anyway , however didn't visit Ipswich, however these posts make me want to catch up with it!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2013 11:40:20 GMT
couple of decades ago, when we went on a family holiday to East Anglia, friends in Scotland mockingly told us: 'We didn't know that one could go on holiday there...' I never forgot the comment I heard some Americans make once when somebody said they were looking forward to doing some golfing in England. "Oh, I didn't know that England was big enough to have a golf course!"
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Post by mossie on Mar 7, 2013 15:55:14 GMT
Bixa, most of the shops in the town centre use the upper floors for storage and some have sales floors up there. A lot of those in the outer area do let out their upper floors as flats, or use them for the owner or staff accommodation. Htmb, we have a good train service to London, about 1hr 15mins. So that and 4 stops on the tube takes me to St Pancras and another 2hrs 15 on Eurostar. It is such a bonus to arrive at Gare du Nord and step straight out into the city. I usually cross the road, get cash from an ATM and a meal at one of the brasseries which line the street, nothing fancy but adequate and my holiday has painlessly begun.
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Post by mossie on Mar 7, 2013 15:58:02 GMT
I showed a church which I called St Peters, but it may be one of the others . Anyway here is the interior of St Peters And a close up of the font, which an expert carved out of basalt about 800 years ago I don't suppose the carver had seen a lion, certainly not one with birds claws, note the opposing claw. ;D
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Post by mossie on Mar 7, 2013 16:25:59 GMT
Here is the church in the early stages of the redevelopment of the dock area. This was a big project started in 2004-5 to give Ipswich a modern waterfront to rival Salford Quays etc. It is a pity the financial criminality put a damper on it but it has turned out half decent, as they say, but is not complete. Here is another view and here the Old Customs House a few years later And here a replica of Discovery, which took some of the original pilgrims to America under an Ipswich skipper I looked at at and thought, "No way would I cross the river in that ", but then I am a coward, first class.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 7, 2013 17:31:18 GMT
Mossie, I'm with you! That looks like something I might consider to bop around the Med in!
The photos are great , I get a real feel for Ipswich!
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Post by htmb on Mar 7, 2013 21:42:45 GMT
Htmb, we have a good train service to London, about 1hr 15mins. So that and 4 stops on the tube takes me to St Pancras and another 2hrs 15 on Eurostar. It is such a bonus to arrive at Gare du Nord and step straight out into the city. I usually cross the road, get cash from an ATM and a meal at one of the brasseries which line the street, nothing fancy but adequate and my holiday has painlessly begun. Sounds like my idea of heaven, Mossie. Hop on a couple of trains with a short run on the Tube, and wind up in Paris.
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Post by htmb on Mar 7, 2013 21:47:18 GMT
Mossie, are there a lot of luxury boats in the harbour, or am I just seeing the same group of boats in different pictures?
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 8, 2013 2:44:11 GMT
Oh, I love the cheery market and the business district right on the water!
Ha ha on the church identification, a big problem I had w/my Puebla pics. St. Peter's is lovely and the font is truly outstanding. The lions must have been copied from a medieval bestiary where the pictures were from third or fourth hand description. That doesn't take away one bit from their delightful artistry.
Scandal? What was the financial criminality & how close is the docks project to completion?
If the Discovery is commemorated in the harbor with a replica, that probably means it made the return voyage. Iron men in wooden ships!
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Post by mossie on Mar 9, 2013 15:07:01 GMT
To answer the questions. There are quite a lot of fancy pleasure cruisers moored in the marina, they don't seem to move a lot, just status symbols for the must have generation. It has breathed new life into a very rundown part of town, the flats were aimed at city workers who take the easy train commute to the City. I guess the development is about 80% complete but there are still empty flats, the development was wrong footed by the financial bubble. As for criminality, we had, as the rest of the world, the disgraceful saga of the banks and all the financial misdeeds, which have caused so much misery to so many people. Closer to home a gang swindled some banks into giving mortgages on quite a few flats , which crooked professionals had grossly overvalued. But the bankers still draw their obscene rewards I am all for a revolution and bankers swinging from lampposts ;D ;D
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Post by komsomol on Mar 9, 2013 22:08:50 GMT
This is a very good report. It looks like there is quite a bit of construction in Ipswich. Are people proud of this or do they think the town is being ruined?
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Post by lugg on Mar 11, 2013 16:33:28 GMT
I really enjoyed your report Mossie, it is an area that I have rarely visited and then only fleetingly . Parts of it remind me of Hereford; as there are many half timbered buildings here too. The ancient house is lovely- I cannot recollect ever seeing pargeting before and do not know of any examples here in my home county so that was especially a real treat. I too am curious about how local people feel about the new developments. Here in Hereford there is massive re-development taking place on the site of the old cattle market and local feeling is mixed. Many are worried that the old shopping centre will be adversely affected. I can understand why but I am really looking forward to not having to travel 25/30 miles to a decent cinema.
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Post by mossie on Mar 14, 2013 20:15:21 GMT
I threatened there would be more. I took a little walk through town this morning seeing as how our weather has cheered up a bit Getting off the bus I go through this mall to reach the main street A typical tatty collection of chain store shops one can find in most English towns. There are many empty shops as chain after chain collapses under the weight of debt and the ever increasing rent demands by faceless landlords. This mall has been sold on twice to groups of speculators, which again seems par for the course and one root of this country's malaise. Cheering up I walk along to the Cornhill where the market is in full swing, I normally patronise this fruit and veg stall Facing the market is Lloyds bank, which has been here since the year dot, the road which exits under the opening on the left is Lloyds Avenue Down one side of the square are this hotel and bar Wandering down the street one finds this The Willis building, one of the first designs by Norman Foster, clad entirely in black glass and with a roof garden. Built in 1971-4, he was certainly ahead of his time and has designed significant buildings worldwide. Right opposite is this one reminding us that once upon a time horse power led the way. And next door is the Unitarian Meeting House Some more from the next street, showing the typical "Dutch" gable and a black and white Here also is this statue to the Russian, naturalised Englishman, Prince Obolensky. He played rugby for England in the late 1930's, but joined the RAF and died in a flying accident in 1940 It is not all Elizabethan type buildings, this one claims to have been built in 1700 But we soon revert to type with a house where Cardinal Wolsey was reputed to live until he fell foul of Henry VIII. A grateful town council have put up a memorial to him By now I was in sore need of coffee and I bet you are too. Thanks for bearing with me.
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Post by htmb on Mar 14, 2013 20:27:11 GMT
Quite the opposite of "bearing" with you, Mossie. Your photos and descriptions are delightful! I was wondering what the building was in your recent "reflections" posts. Now I see it's the Willis building. I love all the different styles of architecture, old and new, in your photographs!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2013 22:46:43 GMT
While of course the old parts of town are more humanly appealing, that Norman Foster building has not aged at all. I would like to say that it looks terrific, except that I "mistrust" any building that has no identifying name or sign. I want to have an idea about what is going on inside.
Please continue with the photos, Mossie.
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Post by lola on Mar 15, 2013 23:24:31 GMT
What a great report, Mossie. It really takes us there. I like the looks of your town. Lovely buildings. It looks very livable.
I guess the sail barges are wind powered only?
There's a "Cornhill" in London, necessarily changed lots from olden times. Does the name mean anything in particular, do you know, besides being a hill?
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