nb.111 l{otrcr$er1ll0

PROGBAMME

We*resday 8th December 2010 at 7.30pm.Mr. Spencer Greystrong. The River Gipping ard the River Gipping Trust.Spencer is the Treasurer of the recently-formed River Gipping Trust, who aim to retum the riverto public view, acce$s and use.

Wednesday 12th Jaruary n11 at 7.30pmMr. Alick Barnett. Switched On - Electdcity in the East of Engiland.The history of electricity generation in the county, described by a former Eastem Bectricitylecturer.

Wedresday 9th February 2011 at 7.30pm.Mr. Patrick Crouch. Gurteens of Havefiill. -

Havefiilllocd historian Patriok has recently invest(7ailedthe history of one of the town's largestindustdal concetns, D.Gurteen & Sons, clothing manufacturers who remain in business in thetown.

Wednesday 9tr March 2011 at7.30pm.- -- --#d;dd. Stowmarkefs Pubs.

l.leil has recently gone into pnnt on he sublect. ln addltion to looking at tre public ho.rses ofStowmarket, Neilwill share with us details of fi€ sources used durirg his res€arch€s.

Wednesday 1sth Aprit2011 st 7.30pm.Mr. Garth Mclean. AllSteamed Up.Oarth has a lifetime's irrterest in sleam railway locomotives and has photographed ttesurviving examples on Britain's preserved lines.

Wednesday 14th $epternber 2011.Mrs. Mary Fewster. The Herring Fishery.liary's researches have largely been into the Norrolk Hening Fishery based on GreatYarmou{h, but revertheless much is valid on cxlr si& of the border,'ivhere l-orrresloft shared intle boom y€ars of the industry prior to the First World War.Vene: All meetings are held at he Castle HillCommunity Centre, Highfield Road, lpswic*r.

THE NEVII$LETTER

The Newsletter is produced four times a year by Suffolk lndustrial Archaeology Society.Contributkms from members are welcomed.chairman: s. worsley, 24 Abbotsbury close, lpswich, lP2 gsD. (01473 40s116).Secretary: Position currently vacant,Treasurer Position cunently vacant.Website: We do not presently have u.rr own website, but we do have a presence on tre RiverGipping Trusfs site (www.rivergippingrtrust.org.uk) and also on the Association lor lndustriajArchaeology she {www.irdustrial-archaeology.org/affiliate.suffork.htm).

RECENT PLANNI NG APPLICATIONS

Baberdt Dstict Ccrncil

B/10/00690/LBC/GCBt10t00572tFHAlGC8t10100741/FUUGD

B/10/00817/LBC/MC

B/10/01034/FHAJJDB/10/01 14g/LBC/MC

lpswicfr Borodt C,orrcil

tPt10t00522lFUL

tP/10/00571/FUL

Mid Srfblk Dstict Cclrtcil

1968/1o/EXT

Sufidk Cestal Dstict Cqrtcil

ct10t1807c/10/1808cnal2016

ct10t2414

Conversion of attached former blacksmith's forge to form additionalaccommodation at Cockfield Forge Cottage, Great Green.Demolition of former slaughter house at Cuckoo Hill, Bures St Mary,and erection of 10 dwellings.lnstallation of hydro power generation system in former wheelrace ofFlatford Mill, Flatford.Repairs and renovations at Sproughton Mill, Lower Street, Sproughton.lnternal alterations at Flatford Mill, Flatford.

Change of use from Printing Works to 2 shops with flats above at 3Friars Street.Continued use of The Factory, Star Lane, as a car park.

Application for extension of time for the implementation of the 'Snoasis'skicentre at Mason's Ouarry, Great Blakenham.

Change of use of common room and office to residential unit at TheMill, Mussidan Place, Woodbridge.Demolition of existing Drill Hall, New Road, Framlingham, and erectionof new dwelling.Alterations to extend roof to cover the valley at The Old Maltings,Chapel Lane, Wickham Market.

ABSTRACTS

Journals received recently from other organisations include the following. lf anything catchesyour eye, let the Chairman know and he will arrange for photocopies of the article to be made.

Suffrclk Revieu ltlew Series Sf, Afimn Z)10.A Little History of Wickhambrook, by John Seal.Suffolk's Travelling Fair People, by Sally Festing.Two Kessingland Stalwarts of the Fishing lndustry, by Neville Skinner.The Devereux Family, Viscounts Hereford, by Vic Harrup.

The l-ocal Histodan, Vdume40, Number& A{ust2010.The Carriers of Lancasler 1824 - 1912, by James Bowen.'And the Laxey River Runs Down to the Sea': The Farming Landscape of Lonan and the LaxeyValley, by Patricia Newton.Zion's People:Who were the English Nonconformists?, Part 2, Occupations, by Clive D. Field.How Walter Henry Owen Avoided the Bailiffs: A Lincolnshire Farmer Between the Wars, byJoanna Loxton.

lrdstid ndneOog:y l.lews, No 154, A.firmn 2010.Upper Normandy, by Richard Hartree.More News of the AIA Restoration Grants, by Mark Sissons.

SS ROBIN RETURNS TO THE THAMES

September 17th saw the departure from Lowestoft of the SS 'Robin', bqrtlg for Tilbury whichwitlUe her temporary home whilst a permanent berth in London is found. The'Robin'is the

oldest surviving steim coaster in thd world - a type of vessel vital to the British economy in

Victorian times and immortalised by John Masefield in'Cargoes'as the'Dirty British coasterwith her salt-caked smokestack' (its a long time since I could recite this parrot fashion during

my schooldays). A representative of a type of ves_sel used_ from the 1840s to 1940s, she wasOriitt at Bow Creek by ihe Thames lronworks and Shipbuilding and EngineeringCompany in

1890. (West Ham Fb started as the Thames lronworks works team;they are'The Hammers'due to the use of shipwrights'hammers as the team badge). After use from the UK by twoowners, she was soid to Spanish owners in 1900, becoming the'Maria'. \n1972 she-wasdiscoveed by the Maritime'Trust, who purchased her in 1974 and placed !gr.on show in theabortive maritime museum in the St Katherine's Dock in London. From 1991 to 2008 she wasmoored at West lndia Quay, during which time ownership passed to her present owners, Davidand Nishani Kampfner's SS Robin Trust. Redevelopment of West lndia Ouay proved to be thevessel's salvation, as the site is to become the Canary Wharf station of Crossrail, the newtrans-London railway link. Crossrail have loaned money which has permitted structuralrestoration at a cost of tl.Smillion at Lowestoft, this work being carried out between 2008 and2010. Lowestoft-based shipwirghts were able to provide the same craft skills which were usedwhen she was built - whilst the decline of shipbuilding in the large ports has been virtuallycomplete, the slower decline in ports such as Lowestoft and Hartlepool means that the survivalof these skills has allowed these places to become known for their ship restorations.

The 'Robin' is to become a museum of seafaring. To preserve her from salt water, the vesselwill be exhibited aboard a pontoon, which has been built in Poland and which arrived inLowestoft on 7th June this year. The'Robin'was craned aboard the pontoon on 28th June, thisbeing covered by local tv news programmes. Her departure from Suffolk waters signifies theend of our county's connection with the vessel, but marks the start of a new chapter which willend when a permanent location for the museum is found in East London.

STOUR LIGHTER TO BE RESTORED

The Stour Lighter'John Constable'was lifted from her home near Great Cornard in June andtransported to Brightlingsea where a two-year, S100,m0 restoration will retum her to her formerglory. Attempts to preserve her in the past failed and the vessel began to deteriorate throughlack of attention. As a result she was returned to the silt of the river Stour - submerging thevessel is better for its continued well-being as opposed to suffering the action of theatmosphere. Now, however, money to allow her to be symapthetically restored has beenfound. The vessel has been named for the artist who lived by the Stour and often includedLighters - the localvariety of barge used on the river - in his paintings. ln the 1980s she was tobe found moored alongside the Quay Theatre in Sudbury. Perhaps she will return therefollowing her restoration.

FROM THE AGM

Subscription levels were raised at the recent Annual General Meeting, following the deficitincurred over the past year. The new rates will be found in the tear-off portion in thisNewsletter.

One way of keeping costs down (both printing costs and postage costs, both of which rise onan annual basis), is to issue an electronic version of the Newsletter. Experiments have alreadybeen carried out in this direction with the Newsletter you are presently reading, severalmembers indicating at the AGM that they would be happy to receive their Newsletters this way.Should you like your Newsletter delivered to your pc, please email your address to JohnFurlong, fihfurtong@btinteme who will add you to the list.

SUFFO1X INDI.JSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCXETY

Mirutes of he AGM heH m 10tr l{rcvember ZJ1O d.Gasde Hill Commuity CenUe, lFwicft

Present: S. Worsley (Chairman), & 10 members.

1. The meeting opened for business at 19.35.

2. Apdo*>s for AbsenceJ.Furlong, S.Shaw.

3. Mirutes of Previos MeetirUThe minutes had been published in the November Newsletter. They were unanimouslyaccepted as a true record, this being proposed by R.Malster and seconded by J.Jones.

4. Mdters fuisingThere were no matters arising.

5. AccqfisCopies of the lncome and Expenditure Account had been circulated. The Society contin-ued to run at a deficit, but reserves remained adequate. lncreased meetingc costs due toconcentration on the lpswich venue had been anticipated. lt was proposed to increasesubscription levels from the existing g8 (CO student rate, $10 family rate) to S10, with S8student rate, S15 family rate. This was proposed by R.Fearn, seconded by J.Jones, andaccepted unanimously.

The accounts were accepted unanimously, following the proposal of T.Gibbs andseconded by R.Malster.

John Jones agreed to continue as lndependent Examiner of Accounts.

6. Election of the GornmifreeSteve Worsley, Tim Gibbs and Bob Malster had agreed to continue in their present roles.It proving impossible to elect either a Secretary or a Treasurer, it was proposed by J.Jones and seconded by R.Fearn that they be re-elected for a further term.

7. AryoterBusiressA vote of thanks to the committee for the effort put in to keep the society in being wasproposed by John Jones and seconded by Rick Fearn.Rising costs suggested that email issue of the Newsletter should be considered.It was thought that the society had the technology to mafte this possible, and a numberof members present were happy to receive their Newsl{tters this way. lt was suggestedthat John Furlong's email address should be made knornin via the Newsletter, so thosewishing to be emailed could contact him.It was thought that 2011 was the 30th anniversary of the society's formation - some formof event should be held which could gain valuable publicity.Whilst donations from guests at our meetings are happily accepted, it was suggested thata bowl could be placed on the table as a physical reminder that a retiring collection exists.It was suggested that an SIAS website be set up - costs are evidently not as high asthought. David Nuttall and Colin Redmonds agreed to discuss this.

8. He of l,lext MeetirBActual date to be advised. A Wednesday in November 2010 at'19.30.

9. There being no further business, the meeting closed atN.20.

SUFFOLK INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY

INCOME and EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT for the vear ended 30th SEPTEMgnR ZOt0

IncomeSubscriptions

Donations

Ilank deposit interest

Erpend itu re

l n sula nce

Alll liations

Stationerr and Newslctter

Meetin-ss - roorr hire & retl'eshments

speakers' expenses

Postagc

Bank charges

Surplus/(Deficit) for the vear

BALANCE SHEET at 30th SEPTEMBER 2010

Current assets

Cash at bank - current account

deposit account

Cash in hand

Debtors and prepayments

Less: Creditors

Net Assets

Accumulated fundBalance blought lbnvard

Surplus/(deticit) fbr the year

Extraordinary income - sale of books

Balance carlied tblward

-- \ I -I......i.....1'.:1...:?. 33::Treasuler

')lnd€riendent Eraminer's ReportI have independently'exanrined the accounts olthe Society 1br the real ended 3Oth September.?010.lvly responsibilities are to:

ldenti fi .ui'hether or not proper accounting reco|ds hai e been kept

Check that the accounts above agree uith the accounting recor.ds.

Look ibr possible significant errols in the accounts.

Check that the accounts have been properll' prepared

No matte-I5 have arisen durin-e the course of nry exa:nination rilrere I hare to give an adver5s rgpa'1.

' t\

{ V^&-..........r.i\,r.rones erh Novernber. 20r0

i;'"., Farm. Earl Stonhain" Storvnrarket. Suf fbltr.

36.65

97 4.56

12.24

BRECKLAND'S FORGOTTEN INDUSTRY

At this month's CPRE Nor{olk Awards, the Breckland Society will be given an award for their

research into the Warrens of Breckland, where rabbits were raised for their meat and fur on an

industrial scale. The industry once dominated the area, where_the.sandy soil,.marginalfor ...

lgii.,iitrre, wis ideal toi ine'tormation of rabbit burrowi. The Society Pegan its research with

t6i;;,m;iltsing a*areneJs of the significance of warrens on the landscape and social and

ectnomic histori of the area, which c6ntains a higher concentration of medieval warrens than

any other area of the country. With a t12,100 grant from English Heirage, thgSocietyapbointed Ann Mason to heid the project and manage the research of over40 volunteers'Arin nas been interested in tfre sudjeit since 2000, when, as a member of the Friends ofThetford Forest Park, she helped riise funds for the restoration of of a medieval warrener'slodge in Mildenhall Woods, similar to, but less well-known, than the example in ThetfordWarren.

Rabbits were introduced into this country by the Romans, but it was the Normans who cameup with the idea of 'farming'them in mariagbO warrens. The first farms were on islands, withsites on Lundy, the Scilliei, and the lsle of-Wight in the 1Ah century. Tl-," ealiest record of awarren in Brebkhnd dates from 1252, and relates to the sale of rabbits from Brandon Warren.Research has identified 26 warrens in Breckland, from Beachamwell in the north to Culford inthe south. Warrens could be several miles wide and were protected by turf banks to prevent

escapes. ln the middle ages, the meat would be used at the table of the lord of the manorwhilsi the fur was used to trim luxury garments. By the 18th century, the annual cull on Tanywarrens was in the order of 20,0@ ireatures, with the meat sent to London, the_Cambridgq

.

Colleges, and local markets. The fur was processed locally, in two factories in Brandon, whichemfldyed more than 500 between them in'the early 20th century, and shott-lived factories in

fneitto:rd and Swaffham in the 1930s. lt was then ient to Luton for that town's hat industry, andalso exported. The industry employed 8000 in the early 20th century,but decline set in and thelast processing factory, that of S&P Lingwood in Brandon, closed in 1973'

The reasons for decline are many; rernoval of rabbits' protected status by the Ground GameAct, 1880, meant it became legaito hunt the animal, and cheap imports began to anive fromEurope. The arrival of myxomatosis in the 1950s reduced the rabbit population and affectedthe quality of the meat ani skins. A decline in the wearing of hats reduced demand for skins,whilst, post-war, rabbit meat was associated in the popular mind with austerity.

Due to the final demise of the industry being within living memory, the researchers from theBreckland Society were able to interview s-rviving workers from the processing factories andwarrens. Whilst the project has officially terminated, material will continue to be added to theBreckland Society's website (www.bre6soc.org.uk) and the search is on tor funding to allow abook on the topic to be published.

GREAT STORM SURVIVOR TURNS AGAIN

ln 1987, Geoffrey Wheeler and his wife Enid acquired the tower mill at Bardwell in a workingcondition, the aim being to run the millduring retirement. Within weeks, the plan had changedas the mill stood in the direct line of the Great Storm of October 15-6th. The hurricane removedthe sails and fantail from the mill and the iron windshaft was broken, beyond repair.

The mill had been built in 1829 or 1830 and in 1925 the sails were removed but millingcontinued for a few years by oil engine. lt was restored between 1979 and 1985, when grindingby windpower was resumed. ln the aftermath of the storm, the Wheeler's, aided by the Friendsof Bardwell Windmill, raised funds for the restoration of the mill. On 1Zth August new sails,constructed by Jonathan Wheeler, son of Geoffrey, who had passed away in 1995, werecraned into position, on what would have been Geoffrey Wheeler's 81st bitthday. They wereput into motion the following day (Friday the 1fth!).

NINE DECADES OF COUNCIL HOUSES

ln 1920, two years after the end of the 'War to End all Wars' and fitting well with the prevailing

climate which demanded'Homes fit for Heroes', lpswich Corporation handed over the keys tothe first council house tenants. The proud occupants of Allenby Road, a loop off the HadleighRoad opposite the current entrance to Sainsbury's, paid 151 per week in rent for their spacious,by the standards of the time, dwellings.

The provision of council houses in the town resulted from a debate in the council, initiated byMr. R.J. Jackson, on December 18th 1912. As a result, 99 acres of land between Felixstoweand Nacton Roads was acquired for the purpose. The council were attempting to relieve ashortage of accommodation in the ever-growing town, and to provide new dwellings to re-housethose whose properties were demolished under slum clearance schemes. During the 1930s,the Ministry of Health endorsed the clearance of no fewer than 2,307 slum dwellings in thetown. 1,640 council houses had been built by 1929, the number today being over 8,000. TheRushmere and Whitehouse estates were developed following the Second World War, andbuilding the Chantry estate commenced in 1951. Slum clearances continued into the 1950sand 1960s, the Bramford Road clearances of the latter decade resulting in the CumberlandTowers development, the town's only example of the then omnipresent tower block, a form ofhousing largely absent from lpswich. Between 1973 and 1975 the Cambridge Drive/BirkfieldDrive area to the south of the Chantry estate formed the last major council development in thetown, at a cost of t1.3million. Since the seventies, the development of social housing haslargely been left to the Housing Associations, with lpswich Borough Homes improving itsservice to its tenants rather than build new homes. The Housing Act of 1980 had given tenantsof more than three years standing the right to btry at a discount, which resulted in a drop in thecouncil's housing stock and also could be seen as a disincentive to invest in building newdwellings.

Despite its being the largest town in the county, lpswich cannot claim to have been first toprovide housing for its inhabitants - that honour goes to Thingoe Sanitary Authority, who hadbuilt eight houses (semi-detached) as early as 1893. They can still be found on the nofih sideof Stowmarket Road in lxworth. Their construction followed the passage of the Housing of theWorking Classes Act of 1890.

SUFFOLK INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCI ETY

Subscriptions for the year commencing October 1st 2010 are now being accepted.Unfortunately increased overheads have resulted in the need to raise (for the first time for anumber of years) subscription levels. The following were approved at the recent AGM of theSociety:

Full Membership t10.00.Student Membership t8.00.(aged 25 or under and undergoing fulltime education).FamilyMembership t15.00.(includes husband, wife, and any children up to age 18).

Please return the tear-off portion over, together with the appropriate remittance (cheques to bepayable to'Suffolk lndustrial ArchaeologySociety') to the Chairman:

Mr. S. Worsley,24 Abbotsbury Close,lpswich,Suffolk,IP2 gSD.

7

WINE MERCHANT'S THREE CENTURIES

One of lpswich's oldest businesses, wine merchants Bardwell & Jones, have severed theirconnections with the county and moved their operation to London. Originally part of theCobbold brewing business, the firm has been in various ownerships since the Tolly Cobboldcompany was sold in 1977. lts latest owners, llford-based Coe Vintners have decided toconcentrate operations on one site, and the lpswich premises on Fore Street have closeddown.

Thomas Cobbold set up his brewery in lpswich in1746, having earlier operated from Harwich.Wines and spirits were imported into lpswich from the earliest days of the business, Cobboldsowning its own vessels which, in the nineteenth century brought claret and cognoc from Franceand rum from the West lndies. ln 1957 the Cobbold business merged with TollemacheBreweries, and between them, the two companies owned five wine businesses. Until 1970, thefive were managed separately, but were than unified under the name of Bardwell & Jones. Atthis period, the wine business represented 45a/o of Tolly Cobbold's total sales.

The Tolly business passed to the Ellerman Shipping Group in1977, to the Barclay Brothers in1983, and to Brent Walker in 1986. With the banlruptcy of Brent Walker in 1994, ManagingDirector Richard Cobbold, of the tenth generation of the founder's family, acquired the businessfrom the administrators. Bardwell & Jones themselves entered administration last year, whenRichard Cobbold approached John Coe of Coe Vintners and engineered the take over. Sadly,the result is the loss to the town of one of its longest established firms and one withconnections to one of the best-known.

SUFFOLK MEMORIAL TO BRITISH GENIUS

A stone column was unveiled in Somerleyton in June as a permanent memorialto locally-based Sir Christopher Cockerell, inventor of the hovercraft. Cockerell moved to the village in1951 and set up in the Ripplecraft boatyard where he designed and built the first such vehicle inthe world. The parish council and the hovercraft coiumn committee gained approval in 2004 tobuild the memorial near the village green alongside the 81074 St Olaves to Lowestoft road, andwork commenced in 2008.

SUFFOLK INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY

I wish to renew my membership of the S.|.A.S. for 20'10 - 2011 and enclose t .

in payment.

(Signed)Name

PhoneemailDate.

Please return this slip with the appropriate remittance to the chairman:Mr. S. Worsley,24 Abbotsbury Close.lpswich.Suffolk,IP2 gSD.