The Ipswich Society

IPSWICH’SBLUE

PLAQUES

JEAN INGELOW 1820 - 1897 2 Elm StreetA distinguished Victorianauthor highly regarded byTennyson and Ruskin, JeanIngelow was one of thebest-selling authors of poetry,children's stories and novelsfrom 1850 until her death.However, her fame criticallydeclined in the 20th century,though she is still celebratedin the USA.

Born in Lincolnshire, Jean moved to Ipswich, aged fourteen,when her father became manager of a banking company.Living in Elm Street for ten years in the spacious first floorrooms over the bank she began her first experiments as awriter. After bank failure and the family’s departure, the archwas created and Arcade Street was built on the site of theIngelow's garden.

MARGARETTEMPEST1892 - 1982 3 St EdmundsRoad Margaret Tempest (LadyMears) was born at 28Fonnereau Rd Ipswich, latermoving to 34 Park Rd. Sheattended Ipswich Art Schooland Westminster School ofArt, graduating in 1914. Shewas a founder member of the

Chelsea Illustrators - a society of twenty women illustrators,who successfully worked together between 1919 and 1939.

Margaret is credited with the distinctive design of AlisonUtley’s Little Grey Rabbit books, which she illustrated from1929 into the 1960s. She illustrated her own books as well asthose of a wide range of authors. From London, Margaretreturned to Suffolk many weekends to pursue her passion ofsailing.

In 1939 Margaret moved permanently to the Ipswich area andmarried Sir Grimwood Mears. They moved to 3 St EdmundsRd in January 1951, where Lady Mears continued living untilher death. A long-time member and committee member ofIpswich Art club, she exhibited her artwork until the age of 82.

V S PRITCHETT 1900 - 1997 41 St Nicholas StreetSimply calling V S Pritchett a‘writer’ is accurate because heexcelled in so many genres ofwriting. Arguably amongst thefinest of short story writers, healso published novels, travelbooks, literary criticism,reviews and an absorbingautobiography: A Cab at theDoor. This includes an accountof his parents, lodging at the address when Victor was born inDecember 1900. Pritchett was knighted in 1975 and wasmade Companion of Honour in 1993. He died in 1997. Theplaque records him as ‘V S Pritchett’, because that is how hesigned himself as a writer and how he is known to all hisreaders.

CHARLESWHITFIELD KING 1855 - 1930 Morpeth House,99 Lacey StreetFrom humble beginnings, as aclerk for a shipping firm at thedocks, Charles Whitfield Kingcreated the second largeststamp firm in the UK, (ormaybe even the world). Hiscompany ‘Whitfield King andCo’ exported and importedstamps from around the world.

In 1876 he began the venture establishing his offices and hishouse on either side of Lacey Street. Designed by his brotherand built by his father, Morpeth House, named after hishoneymoon destination, was occupied by 1887. Also at hisresidence at Morpeth house, he created a room that wasentirely decorated with stamps: featuring on ‘Down YourWay’ with Richard Dimbleby in the 1950s.

The stamp room now has only a small part above thefireplace decorated with stamps. In the early sixties thebusiness failed when the interest in philately seriouslydeclined.

RICHARD DyKESALExANDER1788 - 1865 AlexanderHouse, St Matthews StreetA Quaker, pacifist andbanker, his grand house wasbuilt in the fields to the westof the town, parts of whichare still discernible, holdinghis plaque.

An amateur photographer,many of whose images are accessible at the Record Office hewas involved in the committee of management of the IpswichMuseum in the 1850s. He was deeply concerned for the socialand spiritual welfare of the working population of the townand was a devoted supporter of the abolition of slavery.

In the 1850s he made neighbouring land available forhousing, specifying that some streets be named after leadingabolitionists.

THOMASGAINSBOROUGH1727 - 88 32 Foundation StAlthough born in Sudburythe great Suffolk artist spentformative years in Ipswichfrom 1752-1759.

He came to Ipswich afterapprenticeship and a time inhis birthplace becausecommissions for portraits

were more easily obtained here. The house he rented inFoundation Street was shamefully demolished in the earlysixties, but thirty-two, where the plaque is mounted is verysimilar. As well as painting he was a keen member of theIpswich Music Club, playing several instruments.

Moving to Bath in 1759 the artistic opportunities were evenmore favourable, but it is appropriate that in Ipswich atChristchurch Mansion one of the best collections of hispaintings outside London is housed.

WILLIAM KING 1786 - 1865 19 Lower Brook Street William King was born herewhere his father, The Rev JohnKing, was Master of Ipswich(Grammar) School in thisbuilding. He became aphysician, working in Brighton,but he is celebrated as afounder of co-operativedemocracy.

He created a Co-operative Benefit Fund and a Co-operativeTrading Association. He also founded and wrote the periodicalThe Co-operator (1828-1830), which helped to inspire the‘Rochdale Pioneers’ of the Co-operative Movement later in1844. It is fitting that in Ipswich, where co-operative retailingheld its own remarkably well, we should acknowledge thispioneer of the social and philosophical principles ofco-operation.

CHARLES DICKENS1812 - 1870 The Great WhiteHorse Hotel, Tavern StreetA frequent visitor to Suffolk,Dickens made references tothe county in his works andstayed in the hotel, dubbed:‘more conspicuous by a stonestatue of some rampaciousanimal with flowing mane andtail’.

In one episode in The PickwickPapers our eponymous hero, takes rooms at the hostelry,mistakenly disrobing in the small hours within the room of ‘amiddle-aged lady, in yellow curl- papers’. The ensuingconsequences contribute greatly to the delight of the novel.

Dickens opened the lecture hall for the Ipswich InstituteMechanics in 1851; he reported on our elections; toured thecounty giving recitals of his works - he even came for fishingon the River Gipping.

JOHN GLyDE 1823 - 1905 9 Eagle StreetJohn Glyde lived at thisaddress and is considered theforemost 19th centuryhistorian of Ipswich andSuffolk, the author of bookswhich are still standardreference works on broadsocial and economic issues ofthe time.

A radical thinker, he wasinvolved in many organisations working for social and culturalimprovements for Ipswich, including the founding of a FreeLibrary for the town. His bequest of books and manuscripts tothe Ipswich Corporation in 1905 is now in the Record Office.During his working life he was a bookseller, an agent fordomestic servants and a registrar of marriages.

ARTHURFREDERICKSAUNDERS VC JP 1878 - 1947 180 Cauldwell Hall RdArthur Saunders lived hereat the time he won hisVictoria Cross, the first suchdecoration ever awarded tothe Suffolk Regiment or acitizen of Ipswich. Joiningthe Royal Navy aged just 15

in 1893 he was a Petty Officer for fifteen years. He marriedEdith Everetts in 1908 and they had three children. He workedfor Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies.

At the outbreak of WW1 he joined the Suffolk Regiment beingquickly promoted to Sergeant. Within a month of arrival inFrance he saw action at Loos where, despite a shattered leg‘for conspicuous bravery … defending the remains of theBattalion and covering its retirement’ the Victoria Cross wasawarded on 26th September 1915. Arthur Saunders becamean Honorary Freemen of the Borough and a Magistrate.During WW2 he re-enlisted and became RSM in the HomeGuard.

SIR CHARLES SCOTTSHERRINGTON OMGBE PRS 1857 - 1952 IpswichSchool, Henley RoadThis eminent man of medicinehad many associations with thetown. In the 1860s the familymoved to Anglesea Road andhe was educated at IpswichSchool from 1871-1876.Sherrington played football forhis school, for Ipswich Town Football Club, and rugby while astudent at St. Thomas' Hospital, London.

After study at Cambridge, work in Liverpool and Oxford, he ismost renowned for his research into neurophysiology, forwhich he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine with EdgarAdrian in 1932. This was for their work on the functions ofneurones. Sherrington, in retirement made his home in thetown where he continued to work on his poetic, historical,and philosophical interests.

From 1944 he held the honorary office of President of theIpswich Museum.

MARy WHITMOREMBE 1884 - 1974 Town HallMary Whitmore (nee Fisher)was an Ipswich suffragette,socialist and for many years apolitician. Her interest inpolitics started with thesuffragette movement, whenthe Ipswich branch of theWomen’s Social and PoliticalUnion was formed. Shebecame a Labour Councillor in 1930 and Ipswich’s firstwoman Mayor in 1946. She was one of the founder membersof the local Workers Education Association. At a civic functionin 1948, she warmly welcomed people who had recentlyarrived from the Caribbean to the town. Mary Whitmore wasawarded the MBE in 1951 for her contribution to publicservices in Ipswich.

1 Nathaniel Bacon2 Thomas

Gainsborough3 John Glyde4 Jean Ingelow5 William King

6 VS Pritchett7 Robert Ransome8 Leslie Barefoot GC9 Edith Maud Cook10 Richard Dykes Alexander

11 John Harbottle12 Leonard Squirrell13 Felix Thornley Cobbold14 Sir Charles Scott Sherrington

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LOCATION OF PLAQUES IN

The Ipswich Society was founded in 1960 and is a communityof people who care about the appearance, character andwell-being of the town, its past and its future.

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15 Arthur Frederick Saunders VC JP16 Charles Dickens17 Charles Whitfield King18 Edwad Ardizzone

19 Constance Andrews20 Nina Layard21 Mary Whitmore MBE22 Margaret Tempest

Other plaquesA Chaucer’s familyB Thomas EldredC Admiral Benjamin

PageD Thomas WolseyE Cor Visser

N IPSWICH TOWN CENTRE

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17Mopeth House, 99 Lacey Street

14Ipswich School,Henley Road

223 st Edmunds Road 13

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1282 Spring Road

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LESLIE BAREFOOTGC1887 - 1958 The Walk H.J Leslie Barefoot GC wasthe architect of thepedestrian shopping streetsin the centre of Ipswichknown as Thoroughfare andThe Walk, the latter of whichis the site of his plaque. Born in Dulwich he servedwith distinction in WW1. In

1920 he came to Ipswich with his family and designedlaudable buildings throughout East Anglia, becomingpresident of the Suffolk Association of Architects.

Rejoining the army in 1939 with the Royal Engineers hevolunteered to form a new unexploded bombs unit. The 1941citation for the George Cross states: ‘for most conspicuousgallantry in carrying out hazardous work in a very bravemanner.’ He was the first army officer to receive the awardand is commemorated, with other GC recipients, by a plaquein Westminster Abbey.

NATHANIELBACON 1593 - 1660 Manor House, St Margaret's GreenNathaniel Bacon was amember of the Bacon familywhich achieved greatprominence under Elizabeth I.

A key figure in Ipswichpolitical life in the mid-17thcentury, Bacon became itsleading lawyer: the Recorder;

MP and historian, being the compiler, 1654, of the Annalls ofIpswiche, The Lawes Customes and Government of the Same.

During the Civil War he was a supporter of the Puritan cause.This made him very important regionally and nationallyduring the war, although he was opposed to the execution ofthe King and the proclamation of the Commonwealth.

EDITH MAUDCOOK 1878 - 1910 90 Fore Street Edith Maud Cook, born hereon 1st September was aballoonist, a parachutist andaccording to the RAFMuseum website is statedas the first woman pilot inthe United Kingdom. Making hundreds of balloonascents she demonstratedthe use of parachutes years before her solo flights in 1910,however she did not obtain a pilot's licence.

In July 1910 as reported in The Times: ‘Miss Viola Spencer (apseudonym) in a parachute descent at Coventry on Saturday,alighted on a factory roof … Spencer fell onto the roadwayinjuring herself severely.’ Edith died on 14th July as a result ofher injuries.

In her book Before Amelia Eileen Lebow relates accounts ofwomen pioneer aviators: Edith Maud Cook is praised there asan adventurer and a very courageous woman.

LEONARDSqUIRRELL 1893 - 1979 82 Spring RoadA most distinguished andwell-loved Suffolk artist LeonardSquirrell spent his childhood inSpring Road. After training atthe Ipswich School of Art, hewent on to the The Slade inLondon.

An outstanding topographicalartist he depicted the landscapes of Suffolk and East Anglia atits exquisite best. He also produced works abroad. A superbetcher and pastelist, he is best known as a watercolourist: ofrailway carriage prints; glowing railway posters andoutstanding watercolours for commercial companiesincluding Rolls Royce. Equally at home with local companieshe produced masterpieces for Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies andFisons. All his work is much sought after.

ROBERT RANSOME 1753 - 1830 Old Foundry RdRansomes, as far asmanufacturing was concernedwas possibly the most famousIpswich name around theworld. Robert Ransome cameto Ipswich in 1789, setting upan iron foundry near the quayand later at St Margaret'sDitches, now Old FoundryRoad, the name of whichcommemorated the site.

Still under family control the foundry moved in 1849 to thedockside eventually becoming Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies,making agricultural equipment, forklifts and even aeroplanesin WW1. Ransomes & Rapier was formed in 1869 whenengineers and relatives of Robert established a new firmmanufacturing railway equipment and other heavy productssoon to be renowned throughout the world.Robert was amember of a group of influential Quakers. He was verysympathetic towards his workers and was instrumental inbringing gas lighting to Ipswich.

FELIx THORNLEyCOBBOLD 1841 - 1909 The Reg Driver CentreChristchurch ParkBorn at Holy Wells Mansionand educated at IpswichSchool, Felix was a great son ofIpswich. After Eton andCambridge he became alawyer, a brewer, a farmer, abanker, a JP and MP.

He gave the site and funds for public baths in Fore St; a clockand carillon to St. Clement’s Church and his Mayor’s fundprovided great sums for the East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital. By 1906 he was MP, a seat which he held until his death. Hebequeathed Gippeswick Park to the Borough; considerablesums for the purchase of works of art in the Mansion andmuch land to the county.

A most memorable generous act was, when ChristchurchMansion was threatened with development he bought it forthe Borough: he later gave townsfolk parties there. He trulywas ‘a munificent benefactor’.

CONSTANCEANDREWS b1864 Arlington’s Brasserie,Museum StreetConstance Andrews, a leadingIpswich suffragette, wascommitted to social justiceand the campaign for Votes forWomen. She formed the localbranch of the campaigninggroup The Women’s FreedomLeague. This inspired a groupof women who demonstrated, held meetings, organisedpropaganda events and carried out acts of civil disobedience -all to gain support and put pressure on the government togive women the vote on equal terms with men.

In 1911 she organised the ‘No Vote, No Census’ protest inIpswich, when about thirty women spent the night in the OldMuseum Rooms to boycott the Census. Later she spent aweek in Ipswich prison after refusing to buy a dog licence -part of a No Vote, No Tax campaign. She was met at theprison gates by a large crowd of supporters, and processed ina carriage through the streets to a celebration breakfast at 16Arcade Street.

NINA LAyARD 1853 - 1935 Unicorn House,Foundation StreetNina Layard was anarchaeologist and writer. Sheis credited with the firstexcavations of the oldDominican Friary inBlackfriars, Foundation Streetin 1898. Her work on theValley Brick field in FoxhallRoad, has beenacknowledged as highlysignificant, and her paper on the Hadleigh Road Anglo-Saxonsite was presented to the Society of Antiquarians in London,where she was one of the first women to become aFellow. Following a newspaper appeal by her, publicsubscriptions were raised for the memorial to nine IpswichMartyrs (now) in Christchurch Park (1903). She also publishedSeventeen Suffolk Martyrs and other local history books. Shewas a founder member and first woman president of thePrehistoric Society of East Anglia.

EDWARDARDIZZONE CBE,RA 1900 - 1979 Albion Wharf,the Waterfront Edward Ardizzone was awriter and illustrator, mainlyof children's books. Born inFrench Indo-China in 1900his family lived in Ipswichfrom 1905 to 1914, where hewas educated at Ipswich

School. While his parents were on foreign service he wasbrought up with his two sisters by their grandmother at herhouse in Gainsborough Road.

He is noted for having illustrated the covers and contents ofchildren’s stories. However, his best-known work is the Timseries featuring the maritime adventures of the eponymoushero. The most famous of the books Tim All Alone won theBritish Library Association’s Kate Greenaway medal forillustration in 1956.

It was in Ipswich, as he later wrote that he ‘… learnt to knowand love the little coastal steamers that I have drawn so oftenin the Tim books.’ Ardizzone recognised the true beauty andpracticality of industrial usage in the early 20th century.

JOHN HARBOTTLE d 1577 Jarman House, 2 - 4 Northgate StreetThe wealthy, influential wool merchant and landowner lived inan imposing Tudor mansion on this site. Chamberlain in thetown in 1542 later he was co-leader of the Suffolk contingentof Kett's rebellion.

According to historians it would appear that the Suffolkupheaval differed from the Norfolk rebellion mainly in that itattracted fewer yeomen tenants and artisans.

Although the rebel leaders achieved little, their families wereinstalled in the folklore of Suffolk: among them the Harbottles.They are remembered not for what they accomplished but fortheir audacity, bravery and according to Dairmaid McCulloch:‘adroitness in surviving the upheavals...’ at his death Harbottlewas termed an esquire.

Thomas Wolsey 1475 - 1530 47 Nicholas StreetThe most distinguished of all Ipswich people. Wolsey,Cardinal, Archbishop of York and for fourteen years HenryVIII’s Lord Chancellor was, after the King himself, the mostpowerful man in the realm. The plaque is mounted on CursonLodge close to the David Annand statue commemorating thegreat man unveiled in 2011. The building is of appropriate ageto remind us that a similar structure, Wolsey’s birthplace,stood on a site on the opposite side of the street.

The family of Geoffrey Chaucer21 Tavern Street. Plaque on the right side wall, Tower StreetThe Malyn family of Ipswich and London, vintners, took thename of Chaucer, derived from the trade of leather working,with which they were also associated. The Chaucer/Malynsincluding Geoffrey Chaucer’s grandfather, owned andoccupied premises on this site in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Thomas Eldred d 1622 97 Fore Street. Plaque on the side wall facing eastAn Ipswich merchant and mariner, Eldred sailed with ThomasCavendish on the second English circumnavigation of theglobe 1586-88 - Drake’s voyage 1577-80 having been the first.Eldred’s house has been demolished but the houses standingacross the street today remind us of the period and the style.

Admiral Benjamin Page1765 - 1845 13 Tower StreetThe plaque on this building commemorates the Ipswich-bornadmiral who lived here on his retirement after a distinguishednaval career. He was made an honorary freeman of theborough in 1835. His portrait and paintings of six navalactions in which he took part, which he gave to the town,hang in the library room of the Town Hall.

Cor Visser 1903 - 1982 44 Fore StreetBorn in Holland, the artist settled in Ipswich after WW2during which he was the official war artist to the Dutchgovernment in exile. He lived for some years on a boat inIpswich dock, finding inspiration particularly in docksidescenes, before making his studio and home in Fore Street in1962. Ipswich Museum collections contain some of his works.

OTHER PLAqUES...

Our hope is that the plaques willmake the streetscape and our history

more interesting.

Most of our plaques are in andaround the town centre, but we now

have six which are a slightly longerstroll from town.

However, those focusedon the town centre are where most

passers-by might see them; theyform a trail which could easily revealto visitors some secrets or gems of

the town.

There are further plaques, erectedby other organisations to be seen,these are also listed in this leaflet.

To join us or for further information please visit

www.ipswichsociety.org.uk

The Ipswich Society