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Swimming
in Ipswich
The
earliest reference to swimming in Ipswich is an inquest on a death
by drowning in 1329 - 1330, of John, the son of William Qwyth of
Ipswich at the Quay. The Inquest found that the "aforesaid John,
with other mariners, stood on a certain boat in the aforesaid water
and wishing to swim therein, laid aside his clothes, even to his
chemise, and of his own accord leaped from the boat into the water
and was drowned by mischance." Young sailors jumping from boats
moored in the quay in their underclothes must have been an everyday
occurrence in good weather. Two hundred years have to pass before
we get a further glimpse of swimming in Ipswich, with the official
disapproval, of swimming on Sundays! On the seventh of March 1647
the General Court of the Corporation of Ipswich declared, " To the
great dishonour of God and the increasing guilt which lies upon
this nation for the sin of sabaoth (Old spelling of Sabbath) breaking
" etc.
The
offence forfeit was 12d (12 old pence or one shilling is 5p now)
and for offending afterwards 2 shillings. For the next hundred or
so years swimmers had to brave the rivers and ponds of Ipswich but
by the mid eighteenth century a medical baths was mentioned in Cauldwell
hall road Attempts were made to turn Ipswich into a spa town like
Bath or Tunbridge Wells in the 1800's, between 1829-39 a Mr Shaw
opened a private range of baths opposite the Church of St Mary Key
which comprised vapour and Medicated baths, and hot and cold showers.
Between 1839-42 a Jabez Hare took over and also ran one at Cliff
Quay he was later forced to close it so the Wet Dock could be built.
A claim of compensation was made of £100-00 to pay for removing
the bath to another site, but the clam was rejected because the
land was the property of the commissioners. At least two more privately
run baths existed around this time.
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 Framlingham
Castle 12th century castle with impressive curtain walls with thirteen
towers and Tudor brick chimneys. Wall walk offers marvellous views.
Orford Castle Built in the 12th century for coastal defence. The
magnificent 90 foot high keep is all that remains. Excellent views across
River Alde to Orfordness
Kentwell
Hall Moated red brick Tudor manor house in a lovely setting. Large
restored dovecote and working farm. Herb and walled gardens. The historical
re-creation days add an authentic period flavour.
Melford Hall A Turreted brick Tudor mansion, little changed since
1578. Original panelled banqueting hall, 18th century drawing room and
a fine collection of furniture and porcelain. Gardens.
Sutton Hoo
7th century Royal Anglo-Saxon burial ground, including the famous
ship burial of King Redwald. Replicas of the treasure found here can be
seen in Ipswich Museum. Limited access to site.
Ickworth
Rotunda Extraordinary oval house with flanking wings, begun in 1794
and completed in 1830. Sumptuous state rooms. World-class collections
of paintings and silver Formal gardens including orangery and landscaped
park.
West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village Unique reconstruction of six buildings,
using original tools and techniques, on an excavated site of early Anglo-Saxon
settlement set in a Country Park. Visitor Centre provides explanations.
 Ipswich
Museum In addition to the permanent galleries, special exhibitions
are featured in a temporary exhibition gallery in the Museum and in the
adjacent High Street Exhibition Gallery. There are regular holiday activities
for children and a popular lecture programme. The Museum Shop sells a
range of publications and gifts not readily available elsewhere in Ipswich.
Ipswich Museum has extensive resource collections (zoology, botany, geology,
archaeology, local history, ethnography) which are not on general display
but are available to interested visitors by appointment. They are cared
for by professional curatorial and conservation staff who are experts
in their respective fields and provide a free enquiry and information
service.
Christchurch
Mansion was built by Edmund Withipoll in 1548-50, on the site of an
Augustinian priory. It is said that Queen Elizabeth I stayed at the mansion
for 6 days in 1561. A century later it was passed to the Devereaux family
through marriage. They remodelled the interior, decorating it with painted
panelling. They also
added the Dutch gables & classical pillars to the outside. On his
visit to Ipswich in 1668 King Charles II was a guest at the mansion and
played bowls on a green there. After another 100 years the mansion was
bought by the Fonnereaus, who were London merchants of Huguernot descent.
This family were responsible for the decorative plaster work & intricate
flocked wallpaper of the interior. The park still has an old stable block
within its boundaries, and 3 lodges where estate workers and household
servants used to live.
 The
household would have been managed by a butler, a housekeeper, and several
servants, some of whom would have slept in the upper rooms of the house
to be constantly available to the immediate needs of the master and his
family. In 1894 the mansion was threatened with demolition but it was bought
by a banker & Mayor, Felix Cobbold, a member of the local brewing
family. He gave it to the town together with some money to buy an art
collection. It was opened to the public as the towns museum & art
gallery in 1896. The house contains some wonderful old furniture,
porcelain,
paintings, kitchen utensils,
toys, etc from Tudor times to the Victorian
era. The adjoining Wolsey art gallery was opened to the public in 1932
& houses part of the Ipswich museums extensive collection of paintings.
The very large park of 67 acres has avenues of great trees. Paths winding
between flower beds & duck ponds, & two arboreta containing something
colourful & interesting in any season. The ponds survive from monastic
times when then they were well stocked with fish for the friars table.
To the North are undulating grassy slopes where open air concerts are
sometimes held. On fine Summer evenings the park is still as crowded as
it was in the days of the Napoleonic wars & Defoe. Few towns in England
can claim such a splendid public park & mansion so close to its centre.
Like any house of its age, Christchurch Mansion is reputed to be haunted.
It is recorded that a young housemaid, employed by the Fonnereaus, saw
the apparition of a woman and two children in a first floor corridor on
several occasions. more recently there have been reports of mysterious
footsteps, flying books and falling pictures a visitor to the mansion
claims to have seen the figure of a woman in white sweep past her and
disappear through a closed door, leaving a draught of cold air behind
her! Although most of its old buildings have been lost to development,
because of the towns long history I'm sure there are many more Ipswich
ghosts waiting to be discovered.
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