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No. 132 February 2016

PROGRAMME

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Saturday 5th March 2016, 9.45am – 4pm.

Suffolk Local History Society’s Societies’ Day at the Blackbourne Hall, Elmswell, IP30

9HU. The SIAS are SLHC members, and thus our members are able to participate in

this event. Talks by seven Local History groups will be as follows:

‘Don’t throw it away, it may be social history’ by Sue Tibbets of the Sudbury

Ephemera Archive.

‘Where does History end?’ by Vic Gray of Halesworth & District Museum.

‘Two aspects of RFC Elmswell; the lost Aerodrome, a relic of the Great War’

by Peter McGee and Graham Mack of Elmswell History Group.

‘The Hoxne Angel – the story of Harriet Pentney’ by Richard Giffin of Hoxne

Heritage Group.

‘The Thursday Group’ by Lynne Ward and Jonathan Abson of the SLHC

Record Office Volunteer Group.

‘Station House, Campsea Ashe: an update’ by Bob Webb of Wickham Market

& District Local History Society.

‘A school house, a shop and a knob of butter’ by Geoffrey Robinson of

Worlingworth Local History Group.

Wednesday 9th March 2016 at 7.30pm.

John Jones The Association for Industrial Archaeology

John is the Treasurer of the AIA, to which the SIAS is affiliated. He will describe the

many aspects of the organisation, not least what individuals can gain from the AIA and

its annual conference.

Wednesday 13th April 2016 at 7.30pm.

Sue and Steve Williams Stowmarket’s 1871 Gun Cotton Explosion.

The explosion at the Stowmarket Gun Cotton factory is frequently covered in local

histories, yet the full story is seldom told. Sue and Steve Williams have investigated

the story as part of a wider-ranging look at the history of their home town.

Wednesday 18th May 2016 at 7.30pm. (note: one week later than previously advertised)

Visit to the Colne Valley Postal History Museum, The Laurels, 109 Head Street,

Halstead, CO9 2AZ.

The museum houses the second-largest private collection of post boxes in the UK, the

result of one man’s collecting over a number of years. 125 ex-British Post Office letter

boxes are on display, together with 25 stamp vending machines, documents, uniforms

and associated artefacts. A rare opportunity to visit a museum not usually open to the

general public.

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Wednesday 8th June 2016.

Outside visit to be arranged.

Saturday 11th June 2016 at 9.30am.

East of England Regional Industrial Archaeology Conference.

Shuttleworth House and Collection, Old Warden, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18

9EA. For additional details, see elsewhere in this Newsletter. Booking forms to follow

in the next edition.

Wednesday 13th July 2016.

Outside visit to be arranged.

Wednesday 14th September 2016 at 7.30pm.

Ray Whitehead Caring for Suffolk’s Poor–SuffolkWorkhouses.

Whilst the economic boom of the industrial revolution resulted in riches for some, the

converse was destitution for many, on a scale hitherto unknown. Parishes joined forces

to build central workhouses to provide the care required by the poor laws, and several

of these buildings survive as features of the landscape. Ray Whitehead has studied this

topic for a number of years, and has written and lectured extensively.

Venue: All indoor meetings are held at the Ipswich Transport Museum, Cobham Road,

Ipswich. Parking and access is via the rear of the museum.

THE NEWSLETTER

The Newsletter is produced four times a year by Suffolk Industrial Archaeology

Society. Contributions from members are welcomed.

Chairman: S. Worsley, 24 Abbotsbury Close, Ipswich, IP2 9SD (01473 405116).

Secretary: Position currently vacant.

Treasurer: Position currently vacant.

Newsletter distributor: John Jones. Those wishing to receive the Newsletter

electronically are urged to contact John at joneshines@btinternet.com. To cut costs,

all who are able to receive their Newsletters in this way are encouraged to make

arrangements to do so.

Website: We do not presently have our own website, but we do have a presence on the

River Gipping Trust’s site (www.rivergippingtrust.org.uk).

ABSTRACTS

Copies of the following Newsletters and Journals have found their way to the

Chairman. Should their contents be of interest to members, please contact the

Chairman who will arrange for photocopies to be made.

Industrial Archaeology News, 175, Winter 2015.

2015 Conference Report by Roger Ford et al.

Priceless but Vulnerable Asset: Valuing and Sustaining Britain’s Industrial Heritage,

by Mike Neville.

The AIA in Brighton, by Trina Fitzalan-Howard.

Preserving the Nuclear Industrial Heritage at Dounreay, by James Gunn.

The Salt Pans of Sicily, by Tony Crosby.

Local Heritage Lists, by Tony Crosby.

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Suffolk Mills Group Newsletter No.116, January 2016.

Vincent Pargeter, 1943 – 2015. Obituaries by Chris Hullcoop, Tim Whiting, and

Mark Barnard.

Mills on the Map – Orford post mill.

Suffolk Mills Fifty Years Ago (2), by Brian Flint.

The Local Historian, Vol 46, No 1, January 2016.

Cursneh Hill: using antiquarian texts to explore local legends, by Elizabeth Round.

Antrobus the cleric and Peter the cock: civil war, ministry and animal baptism in mid-

seventeenth century Cumberland, by James Mawdesley.

‘On the far side of the hedge’: Gypsies in local history, by Jeremy Harte.

The 1756 War Office survey: a source for local historians, by John S. Hartley.

The fortunes of Sandy Baptist Church in the later nineteenth century, by Peter Steere.

Opinion: a new way of getting local history into print, by Stephen Roberts

(CreateSpace).

THURSDAY LUNCHTIME TALKS

Ipswich Arts Association has been very successfully running a programme of

lunchtime talks on Thursdays for seventeen years, and not infrequently the topic is of

interest to our membership. The 2016 programme included three such talks, but

unfortunately one was the January lecture and so is now in the past. Anne Mercer,

curator of the Long Shop Museum in Leiston will be speaking on the Museum and the

Garrett family on 10 March, whilst Dr. Anne Folan will present her talk ‘Did the

Sewers Save Lives?’ on 14 July. The talks take place at Museum Street Methodist

Church, Ipswich, from 1.00pm to 1.50pm, and admission is free with a retiring

collection.

Christ Church, Tacket Street, Ipswich, is the venue for ‘Thursday Forum’, a more

recently-instituted programme of talks, between 1.10pm and 1.50pm. The topics

seem to be advertised only a month in advance, so those interested should keep an eye

out for the flyers displayed in the Tourist Information Centre (or look at Christ

Church’s website – www.christchurch-ipswich.org.uk.). Your Chairman caught

Roger Kennell’s talk on Pretty & Sons’ corset manufacturing business at the

‘Thursday Forum’ in mid February. Again free admission with a retiring collection is

in operation. Both events offer tea and coffee beforehand for those able to arrive

early.

RECENT PLANNING APPLICATIONS

Babergh District Council

B/15/00167 Installation of kitchen extractor unit at The Mill, Walnut Tree

B/15/00168 Lane, Sudbury.

B/16/00043 Internal alterations at Kersey Mill, Hadleigh Road, Kersey,

Ipswich Borough Council

IP/15/01040/OUT Mixed use development to comprise 222 residential units,

transport museum, commercial employment space, convenience

store, café and health club at Cliff Brewery, Cliff Road.

IP/16/00034/FUL Alteration of front elevation at Christie’s Warehouse, Wherry

Quay.

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Mid Suffolk District Council

3486/15 Demolition of existing workshops and erection of two

dwellings at Waveney Valley Joinery, Nuttery Vale, Hoxne.

4145/15 Installation of external flue at Model Farm, Park Road,

4255/15 Combs.

4188/15 Outline application for 52 dwellings at J.Breheny Construction

Contractors Ltd., Flordon Road, Creeting St. Mary.

Suffolk Coastal District Council/Waveney District Council (amalgamated website)

DC/15/4439/FUL Use of part of building previously consented for restaurant

space to two apartments at Whisstock’s Development Site, Tide

Mill Way, Woodbridge.

DC15/4449/FUL 2-storey detached dwelling (existing builder’s store/workshop

to be removed) at The Old Coachworks, 173A High Road,

Trimley St. Mary.

DC/15/4755/TCA Reduce crown of sycamore tree by 30% to increase airflow to

sails at The Post Mill, The Green, Saxtead.

DC/15/4908/FUL Erection of new headquarters building for vehicle hire operator

at Kesgrave Quarry, Main Road, Kesgrave.

DC/15/5013/FUL Proposed 2-storey side extension at 2 Railway Cottages,

Felixstowe Road, Nacton.

DC/15/5031/OUT Outline planning permission for office/residential use at land at

Old Station Works, Westerfield Road, Westerfield.

DC/15/5055/FUL Change of Use from mineral use to parking at Kesgrave

Quarry, Main Road, Kesgrave.

DC/15/5183/CCC Extension to Flixton Quarry, Homersfield Road, Flixton West,

Bungay.

DC/16/0007/FUL Change of Use of land formerly comprising part of the Leiston

Works Railway, returning it to that of a railway line at 7 Main

Street, Leiston.

DC/16/0149/FUL Side and rear extension at The Smithy, Main Road, Marlesford.

DC/16/0151/FUL Variation of condition of permission C13/0767 for the

demolition of Quayside Mill, Quay Side, Woodbridge, and

erection of 7 dwellings.

DC/16/0152/FUL Use of part of building previously consented for restaurant

space to one apartment at Whisstock’s Development Site, Tide

Mill Way, Woodbridge.

DC/16/0167/FUL Removal of modern brick fire surround at The Old Smithy,

Eyke Road, Campsea Ashe.

CENTENARIES 2016

1716

France established the Corps Ingenieurs des Ponts et Chausses, the first national

department of transportation.

Henri Gautier published Traites des Ponts, the first volume entirely concerned with

building bridges, which remained the standard text on the subject throughout the 18th

century.

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Birth of James Brindley (died 1772). Pioneering British canal engineer (Bridgewater

Canal, Trent & Mersey Canal, etc.).

Birth of Pierre Tresaguet (died 1794), French road engineer who in the 1770s

developed a system of road construction similar to that later made famous by Thomas

Telford.

The firm which became W. & A.J. Turner, Tanners of Bramford Road, Ipswich, was

founded in Ipswich. During the 19th century, production was based in Bures, the

move to Bramford Road taking place early in the 20th century. Closed 1987.

1816

Birth of (Sir) Daniel Gooch (died 1889). Became the first locomotive engineer to the

Great Western Railway when only 21 years of age in 1837, remaining in the post until

1864. Made a baronet for his work on the Atlantic cable. Returned to the GWR as

Chairman in 1865, one of the few examples of an engineer becoming an

administrator.

Birth of (Sir) James Brunlees (died 1892). Engineer, best known for his river

crossings. His method of piling allowed the construction of the lengthy Kent, Leven

and Solway Firth viaducts in what is now Cumbria, whilst later he was responsible for

the Mersey Railway’s tunnel between Liverpool and Birkenhead. Was engineer

(1872-86) to the first Channel Tunnel scheme. President of the Institute of Civil

Engineers, 1882-3.

Birth of William Barber Buddicum (died 1887). Railway engineer, developed the

‘Crewe type’ locomotive. Set up a locomotive works in Rouen, France, and as a

result is better remembered on the continent than his native land.

Birth of Thomas Russell Crampton (died 1888). Railway engineer. Locomotives to

Crampton’s patent were popular in France, less so in Britain. He also laid the first

international submarine cable between Britain and France.

Birth of Henry Robertson (died 1888). Partner in the Brymbo Iron Works near

Wrexham.

Birth (December 13) of Werner von Siemens, (died 1892), German electricity and

tramway pioneer.

Birth of Henri Dupuy de Lome, (died 1885), designer and builder in 1872 of an

airship driven by the muscle power of eight men. It actually worked, but was not

continued with.

Birth of Robert Sinclair (died 1898). Engineer of the Eastern Counties Railway (1857

– 62) and then the Great Eastern Railway (1862 – 66).

Birth of Sancton Wood (died 1886). Architect to the Eastern Counties Railway, and

also designer of Bury St. Edmunds station and Ipswich station.

Death of Richard Reynolds (born 1735). Manager of the Coalbrookdale Ironworks

1756 – 1772. Married Hannah Darby, daughter of Abraham Darby II.

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Death of Charles Stanhope (Third Earl of Stanhope, born 1753). Built an

unsuccessful screw-driven steam boat in 1793, and planned the Bude Canal in north

Devon which was not completed until 1823, after his death, due to delays caused by

the Napoleonic Wars.

William Cobbett published the first affordable periodical, the Political Register,

priced at 2d.

Wire manufacturers Josiah White and Erskine Hazard completed the first wire

suspension bridge in the World, a 408 foot span over the Schuylkill in Philadelphia.

The Leeds & Liverpool Canal was finally completed, having been commenced in

1770. It was (and is) Britain’s longest canal at 127 miles.

The Coggeshall iron foundry business of William Kirkham and Charles Newman

commenced.

Samuel Courtauld III set up a man-powered silk mill in Panfield Lane, Bocking. His

father George had been throwing silk using water power since 1798 in Pebmarsh.

Work began on building Buttrum’s mill in Woodbridge, which was completed the

following year. The product of Wickham Market millwrights Whitmore & Binyon

survives and is open to the public.

1916

Death of Thomas William Worsdell (born 1838). Locomotive superintendent, Great

Eastern Railway, 1881 – 88. His locomotives were widely used in East Anglia until

the 1960s.

Death of Ernst Mach (born 1838), Moravian physicist who investigated ballistics and

noted the change of airflow over an object as the speed of sound was approached.

High speed aeroplanes now have their speed described in ’Mach’ numbers, rather than

in kilometres per hour. (Mach 1 = the speed of sound).

Death of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (born 1840), US-born inventor who became a

British subject in 1900. Designed an automatic fire sprinkler, a hair-curling iron, an

improved mousetrap, and, most famously, the Maxim machine-gun which was in

daily use at the time of his death.

Death of William Pretty II, proprietor of the William Pretty & Sons corset

manufacturing company of Ipswich.

William Neville Ashbee, FRIBA (1852 – 1919), retired from his position as Head of

Architecture on the Great Eastern Railway due to ill health. Was the designer of the

stations at Norwich Thorpe, Colchester, Felixstowe Town, Newmarket and

Manningtree.

On 15 September the first tanks went into battle at Ginchy, on the Somme. Their

crews had been trained on the Elveden estate in Suffolk, and one of their commanders

was Lieutenant Arthur Blowers, born near Saxmundham.

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The last of sixteen transporter bridges to be built in the world, located within the

chemical works of Joseph Crosfield & Son Limited across the River Mersey at

Warrington, was completed. It is still in existence, albeit not in use.

The King George V Bridge, Keadby, an impressive Scherzer rolling-lift bascule

bridge, was opened across the River Trent to the west of Scunthorpe. It carries a

double track railway and the A18 road.

The Dunlop Company, tyre manufacturers, erected their new factory, Fort Dunlop, on

a 300-acre site to the east of Birmingham.

The Norwich engineering firm of Boulton & Paul transferred production from the

Rose Lane Works, west of the river, to a new 14-acre site, the Riverside Works, at

Easter.

Petroleum company Shell commenced refining at Shellhaven on the River Thames.

Closed in 1999 and now a container terminal.

In January the breweries and public houses of Carlisle, a centre of the munitions

industry, were nationalised.

In October, the Wheat Commission took control of buying, selling and distribution of

all cereals in a bid to maintain bread supplies.

Raydon (water) mill on the River Brett was rebuilt in this year.

The tower mill at Office Farm, Metfield, was partially demolished in this year.

The Manganese Bronze and Brass Co. Ltd. opened their Handford Works in Ipswich,

initially producing materials used in the manufacture of munitions.