Stowmarket Town Trail walk around Stowmarket

Stowmarket is an ancient town: although its origins are impossible to date, its name has pre-Saxon roots and evidence of Roman Settlement has been found close to the present town centre. Clearly people have lived and worked here for many hundreds of years. This walk is intended to show a little of Stowmarket's history and character, and concentrates on the town centre. It is a fairly level and easy route along well paved roads and footpaths. There are a few steps to negotiate on the riverside section but an alternative route is shown on the map if you prefer to avoid them. Allow an hour or so to complete the walk – more if you take up some of the further exploration suggested. Begin your walk Market Place in 1907 - View from Bury Street in the Market 1Place, standing close to the town clock, erected by the Town Council in association with the British Legion and the Lions as a focus for Remembrance Day commemorations. This replaces the former town clock (now permanently set at 1100 hours for the same reason) looking down on the square from the building which was the Post Office between 1889 and 1938. This clock in turn was installed when the clock in the church tower became unreliable. As the town’s name implies, the market at Stow is the main reason for the settlement’s early growth. Trading still takes place here on Thursdays and Saturdays, stalls having now spread to the approach to the shopping complex in Crowe Street. Particularly on Thursdays, until at least the 1970s this space would have been crowded and alive with activity as people came in from the surrounding villages to buy, sell, greet and meet. This was especially so when sales were taking place in the two livestock markets nearby. On these days the inns, cafes, banks and shops would be at their busiest. Being close to the centre of this was also the site of hustings in the 18th century, unruly affairs where the county’s MPs were elected by public declaration (no secret ballot) of the few eligible to vote. For the same reason members of the aristocracy and gentry who managed county administration in those days would often gather in the town from all directions to confer and take decisions.

The imposing frontages of the banks help to add dignity to this traditional trading space. The building to your right with the white frontage between two with red brick upper storeys and bearing the initials NPB (added when it later became the premises of the National Provincial Bank) was built as an Assembly Rooms, housed the town’s subscription library and reading room and led through to the Corn Exchange behind. Most of the buildings around the Market Place are listed and many repay a second look.

The parish church tower and steeple rise to overlook the market place and it is in that direction that we leave, walking through the narrow Buttermarket. This was 2formerly known as Cheapside, meaning ‘alongside the market’ (cheap derives from the Anglo-Saxon word for trading). On the right of the Buttermarket is the former Rose Inn dating from around 1450 and now used as solicitors' offices. In the early twentieth century Stowmarket had over 40 inns and beerhouses, although only about a dozen are still operating today. At the end of the Henry Davy’s 1842 print of the church Buttermarket 3cross the road to the edge of the Churchyard. The churchyard originally contained two churches. St Mary’s Church, which it is thought served the people of , was demolished in 1544 during the religious upheavals of the Reformation and its dedication was later added to that of the surviving church, St Peter’s. Until Stowupland acquired its own church in 1843 its people shared the church and burial ground with those of Stowmarket. The church dates mainly from the 14th century in the Decorated style. It is large, reflecting Stowmarket’s importance as a trading centre, but is not as grand as those in Suffolk settlements which grew richer in the later Middle Ages through cloth manufacture. This did exist in Stowmarket but to a lesser extent than elsewhere, finally dying out in the 19th century.

If there is time available enter the church via the tower doorway to view the interior. The church is unusual in Suffolk for having had a spire in medieval times. This was rebuilt in 1674, blown down in the great gale of 1703, rebuilt in 1712, taken down in 1975 because it was unsafe and rebuilt in 1993 as a replica of the 1712 structure. The spire is timber framed, clad in copper and is very rare in having a open gallery.

From the church head south to walk around the outside of the churchyard with the boundary hedge to your left. Opposite the south-western corner of the churchyard 4stands the Centre. This was formerly the town's corn exchange, erected in 1872. As well as its intended use as a place for buying and selling grain this large hall doubled as an assembly hall for social and civic functions. The corn exchange closed in the 1960s and after a variety of low-key uses was restored and converted to a thriving arts and music venue in memory of the radio presenter and DJ who lived very near the town.

Along the south side of the churchyard, the red brick building was built as a National School in 1835 and is now used as a church hall. Going further around you will pass the modern library, a pleasant row of cottages and a tidy terrace of small houses built in Suffolk white bricks.

At the junction with Station Road we will turn right, but before doing so look across the road to see the raised pavement or Carnser, and above it a large white 5brick building. This is the former Stevens Brewery, established in 1827, although this building was constructed perhaps twenty years later. In 1840 a 100m (330 feet) deep well was sunk in order to obtain suitable water for brewing. This became the town's main water supply when the brewery closed, until being superseded in the 1970s. Proceed downhill to the traffic lights and cross to the other side of Station Road Station Road 1910 with the brewery on the right at the pedestrian crossing.

Before walking up Station Road along the Carnser look back across to the large red and white brick-faced building on the corner. Lynton House is a 17th century 6building, enlarged in the 18th century and refaced with brick in the 19th. It was the town house of the Tyrell family of Hall, about three miles north of Stowmarket. The Tyrells had great involvement with affairs of state in our country's history. Their name had been mentioned in connection with the deaths of William II and the Princes in the Tower. Some fine tombs to members of the family can be seen in the parish church.

After walking up the Carnser a little way you will see a tile-hung building on the corner of Church Walk opposite. This was the Blue Posts Inn, closed in 1941. Tile-hanging is not a local vernacular building technique, but there are a number of buildings in this part of the town which were treated in this way early in the twentieth century as they came into the same ownership.

At top end of the Carnser a passageway to the right now leads to a car park, many years earlier this led to the yard of the White Horse Inn which closed in 1903. Traces of the carved timbers of the old inn can be seen overhead, and the whole timber frame of the building remains, concealed behind the brickwork and tile-hanging on the Station Road frontage.

Carry on along Station Road towards the Queens Head, and just before it notice another former pub, the Horse and Groom which closed in 1910. This building 7has a very fine timber-framed structure dating from the 1400s. After the Queens Head carry along to the traffic lights at the cross-roads ready to turn right up Bury Street. It is at this point that two of mediaeval Suffolk's important roads crossed and provided a good reason for the siting and growth of this small town. If there is time, rather than turning into Bury Street carry on and explore Tavern Street which contains a largely unspoilt mixture of older timber-framed buildings and later brick structures, so typical of Suffolk's towns and villages. View up Bury Street - 1914 Back at the crossroads turn into and take the gentle climb up Bury Street, pausing to notice the two cannon-shaped bollards on either side of the first passageway on 8the left hand side of the street. These mark what was an entrance to the Suffolk Iron Works which occupied a large area to the rear. Further up Bury Street two tall gabled buildings stand on either side of the road. That on the right is a nice Arts & Crafts style shop of 1903, built for the Stowmarket Co-operative Society. Just along the next little passageway on the left hand side of the street a quaint half-timbered cottage can be seen and shows the kind of mediaeval structures that remain contained behind many of the more modern facades along old town streets. Carry on up Bury Street as far as Union Street on the right hand side. The street's name is a reminder of the 1835 Stow Poor Law Union formed of the town and 30 local parishes to levy a rate for poverty relief and to run the workhouse sited just outside the town.

Walk down Union Street to the main road (Gipping Way), turn slightly to the right and cross safely by making use of the small traffic island. Directly ahead is the 9pyramidal malt kiln of the old Union Street Maltings, which was the last traditional open-floor maltings operating in the town when it closed in the 1970s. Malt production was a major industry in Stowmarket through the nineteenth century, at one time only outstripped by Burton-on-Trent, and the town's skyline was peppered with dozens of these kilns until well into the twentieth century. Turn down Stowupland Street from Gipping Way, passing close beside the kiln. You are now in an area which was part of the mediaeval heart of Stowmarket and which has also played a great part in the early industrial development of the town. The canalization of the river, growth of the malting industry, and the arrival of the railway all had a huge impact on this area. Route map

walk around Stowmarket Stowupland Street suffered much mutilation for the construction of the Gipping Way relief road. Most of one side of the street was demolished including a range of old timber-framed buildings. Fortunately the finest of these was dismantled and re-erected opposite its former site, and can now be seen at the end of the street next to the traffic lights on Station Road.

Continue along Stowupland Street keeping Harlequin House with its red and white diamond pattern brickwork to your left and turn left into Union Street 10 East. Here on the left is a 16th century cottage with a brick gable facing the street. Another fine timber-framed house stood alongside this until the 1950s when it was purchased, dismantled and re-erected in Rickinghall. At the far end of the Street opposite the Royal William public house is Malcolm Terrace, the red and white brick frontage of which conceals the mediaeval timber frame of a large house which was divided up and re-faced in Victorian Times.

At the Royal William turn right and walk along to the road junction in front of the Methodist Chapel of 1836. This area of terraced houses began its development in the early 1800s after the canalization of the river to , continuing after the railway opened in 1845. Turn right at the chapel and return to Stowupland Street by walking along Regent Street. On the right here you will see another rare survival in the black weatherboarded building which is an eighteenth century industrial building used for much of its productive time as Bond Street and Regent Street corner - 1912 a tallow candle factory.

On reaching Stowupland Street turn left and walk as far as the river bridge. The was originally forded here, and this became the head of 11 the navigation when the river was canalised – notice how much smaller the river is upstream of the bridge. The canalised river, known as the Stowmarket and Ipswich Navigation was opened in 1793 and involved the construction of fifteen locks on the eighteen mile route down to Ipswich. After starting with three barges, by 1800 forty were in constant use. Maltings, warehouses, timber yards and coal depots were constructed on both sides of the river in what became known as Navigation Wharf and Timber Green.

At the bridge, take the footpath through the landscaped riverside area in front of the flats, and turn left at the next bridge to walk along Station Road to the railway station forecourt. Stowmarket Quay 1838 by Henry Davy

Stowmarket Station was completed in 1849 to a design by Ipswich architect Frederick Barnes . The design is a reinterpretation of the Jacobean style, and 12 using local red and white bricks to advantage, and in a way which has been imitated in many other buildings around the town. Architectural historian Alec Clifton- Taylor has described this as ‘Britain’s finest country railway station’

After turning round and Riverside maltings - 1920s returning to the river 13 you will see another former maltings with two surviving kilns, The building is Listed and has found a modern use as an entertainment venue. On reaching the Station Road river bridge turn left and down the steps to the riverside path. The alternative route marked on the map may be more suitable if you have difficulty with steps. From the bottom of the steps the old tow-path follows the river all the way to Ipswich – an information panel next to the steps gives further details. This stretch of river was bounded on both sides by maltings and was also used for pleasure boating. Cross the river at the modern footbridge, and spare a glance for the road bridge just downstream to see its concrete balustrade panels with artwork inspired by the industries of the local area.

A Pelican Crossing will help you safely over Gipping Way towards the Scouts’ Hall on the other side. Follow the road around the right hand side of 14 the building and into a narrow footpath to the left of number 51 Milton Road North. This will bring you into the grounds of the Old Vicarage where you should continue along the path keeping the Old vicarage on your left until reaching the front gardens. This interesting old building has a fifteenth century core with additions from every succeeding century. Between 1627 and 1655 it was the home of Dr Thomas Young, Vicar of Stowmarket, tutor and close friend of . Milton is reputed to have visited his old tutor here and to have planted a mulberry tree in the garden. The existing mulberry tree in front of the ornate bay window is presumed to be from a cutting of the original tree. In the mid 19th century the vicarage was occupied by Rev A G Hollingsworth who wrote the first, and possibly least reliable history of Stowmarket after the discovery of some old documents in a church chest. He also carried out extensive works to the vicarage including adding the ballroom lit by the large bay window. The former ballroom now forms the council chamber for Stowmarket Town Council which owns the building. In the early 1970s the then Urban District Council sought to demolish the Old Vicarage and replace it with a car park – fortunately wiser counsel prevailed. Leave the front gardens by turning right onto Milton Road South, and then right again into Ipswich Street.

Proceed along this main town centre street as far as Old Fox Yard on the right hand side. The Fox was a coaching inn, and from here a coach named 'The 15 Regulator' ran to and Ipswich daily throughout the eighteenth century. Through the archway you can enter the former inn yard which survives relatively intact and is now converted to a small specialist shopping complex. Outside regular shopping hours you may find that the gate to the yard is locked shut.

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Ipswich Street in 1912 before the days of motor traffic On the opposite side of Ipswich Street stands the rather austere United Reformed Church which was built in 1955 to teplace the New Congregational Chapel of 1861 which was destroyed in 1941 by the only German bomb to fall on Stowmarket. The original chapel on this site was built in 1719 and was the first 'independent' meeting house to be erected in Stowmarket. In the 1840s the assistant minister was John Curwen, inventor of the 'Tonic Sol-fa' or Do-ray-me singing method which he developed during his time in Stowmarket. There is a small exhibition about the history of the chapel and John Curwen in the entrance lobby of the building, and the interior of the church is worth a look.

From the United Reformed Church continue along Ipswich Street to Marriots Walk on the left hand side. At this point you can see the best and the worst of 16 Stowmarket's main street. The town suffers badly from an inheritance of banal 1960s commercial architecture and the results of a misguided, partially completed road-widening scheme. In the 1960s street widening was seen as a means of relieving the congestion caused by the main road and its rapidly increasing heavy goods traffic passing through the heart of the town, with little consideration being given to the loss of historic buildings or damage to the appearance of the town. The remaining historic town centre was effectively saved by construction of the A14 by- pass in the early Ipswich Street with Stowmarket Institute on the left - 1920s 1970s.

Walk up Marriotts Walk until you reach the Camping Land, a tree-covered green space. Before the high diagonal brick wall was built to annex land to 17 Abbots Hall and well before the trees were planted, this is reputed to have been where the ancient Suffolk game of camp or campen was played by townspeople. This was a very rough type of football, often played parish against parish, which fell out of favour towards the end of the eighteenth century, partly as a consequence of the death of two players in a match in the area. The Camping Land was also the traditional site for Stowmarket's 'Cherry Fair' held every year on the 10th and 11th July until the 1820s. Cross the Camping Land with the high wall to your left until reaching the main gateway of Abbots Hall and the pair of cottages at the top of Crowe Street. Abbots Hall is a fine small mansion dating from 1709, and which is now occupied by the Museum of East Anglian Life along with 70 acres of surrounding land. In 1220 the manor of Stowmarket was given to the Abbey of St Osyth in Essex, and remained in its ownership until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538. The manor was not a religious centre but largely used for its income from land rentals, tithes, markets fairs and other manorial rights.

From the gates of Abbot’s Hall, continue a short distance to the museum entrance which is also the Tourist Information Centre, giving advice to visitors and residents and selling books on the history of Stowmarket, maps and souvenirs. The museum complex also contains a café (free to enter) providing rest and recuperation at the end of your walk, or you could return to the town centre to find a range of other sources of food and drink. The museum has a national reputation and is well worth a visit. Its 70 acre site contains original farm buildings including the large tithe barn further along the footpath, parts of which have been dated to the early thirteenth century and the early years of the abbey's ownership. There are extensive exhibition galleries, a number of historic buildings have been moved to the site, a lovely riverside walk, and a wide range of activities throughout the year.

This concludes the trail which we hope has given you an introduction to the town and whetted your appetite to discover more.

Text and design by The Stowmarket Society www.stowmarketsocietysite.wordpress.com

Cover image

Detail from ‘Market Place’ by Carl Borges www.carlborges.co.uk

Published by Stowmarket Town Council: www.stowmarket.org - 2018