Newsletter Spring 2021 Editorial Tim Cornford
In this Issue Welcome to this specially extended issue with a Newsletterfocus - appropriately for a civic society - on the Spring 2021
town's built environment.
2 The Society's Spring Talks/Website EditoriaYourl TimCommittee Cornford is delighted to announce that it Update
intends to present three talks during the Spring. I n this Issue Welcome to Complyingthis specially with Covid extended restrictions, issue these with will abe 3 Planning Matters Alan Vaughan online and therefore accessible to the vast focus - appropriately for a civic society - on the town's built environment.majority of our membership. The programme 6 A Walk in the Woods
includes the medieval port near the mouth of the 2 DoreenThe S Bartlettociety 's Spring Talks/Website
Your CommitteeDeben, is a delightedlocal player into the announce abolition of that the slave it 7 SUumpmdaert eV isits/Our Built Environment
trade, and an important local charity. Full details intends to present three talks during the Spring. are on page 2. Please note the date change for our 38 NPewla Bnunilidningg sM 20a1t0t-e2r0s: A Critical Complying withApril Covidmeeting restrictions,and AGM. We would these welcome will benew Review members for the Committee so, if you would like Alan Vaughan online and therefore accessible to the vast John Lamont majority of toour stand membership. for election or nominate The programme a friend, please contact the Secretary. 613 ThAe WStaatlek o fi tnh et hSteo cWk oods includes the medieval port near the mouth of the A summer visits programme is also proposed. Of JamesDoreen Neal/David Bartlett Houchell/
Elizabeth Sinha Deben, a local player in the abolition of the slave course, this will depend on the return of social 7 Summer Visits/Our Built Environment trade, and anlife. important The plan is local on page charity. 7 and membersFull details will be 18 The Growth of Retirement Flats
kept up to date about this and the talks Daphne Lloyd are on page 2. Please note the date change for our programme by email and on our website. 8 New Buildings 2010-20: A Critical
April meeting and AGM. We would welcome new 20 Remembering Neil Montgomery
Pevsner’s guide to The Buildings of England Review members for the Committee so, if you would like 21 The Story of a Street: Quay Street opens its 11-page article on the town with John Lamont
to stand for election or nominate a friend, please Bob Merrett 'Woodbridge is "the most attractive small town in contact the Secretary.Suffolk", according to Norman Scarfe, an opinion 1263 HTomhee SStatratt ien oSuf ftfohlke Stock -
with which it would be hard to disagree.' The AlisonJames Grant Neal/David Houchell/ A summer visitsfocus programmeon our built environmentis also proposed. opens with Of a
review by John Lamont of new building in the Elizabeth Sinha course, this will depend on the return of social
life. The plantown is (onand pagea bit of 7 Melton and ) membersduring the past will decade. be This and other articles present a picture of ways 1E8di t o riTalh e G rTimow tCornfordh of Re tirement Flats kept up to thedate town aboutis changing. this andThe contributionthe talks of P r o d ucDaphnetion Carol Lloyd Wiseman
programme byorganisations email and like on our our Society website. to how this change Photography Anthony Mather (except where stated)
is managed remains vital. 20 Remembering Neil Montgomery
Pevsner’s guide to The Buildings of England opens its 11-page article on the town with 21 The Story of a Street: Quay Street
Bob Merrett 'Woodbridge is "the most attractive small town in
Suffolk", according to Norman Scarfe, an opinion 26 Home-Start in Suffolk with which it would be hard to disagree.' The Alison Grant focus on our built environment opens with a
review by John Lamont of new building in the
town (and a bit of Melton) during the past decade. This and other articles present a picture of ways Editorial Tim Cornford the town is changing. The contribution of Production Carol Wiseman organisations like our Society to how this change Photography Anthony Mather (except where stated) is managed remains vital.
The Society's S pring Talks Because of Covid-19 restrictions one or more of these talks is likely to take place online. Access will, as usual, be free to Society members who will be emailed information about joining each talk. Normally non-members are charged a small fee but on this occasion we are making the talks FREE TO ALL. If non-members want to join any of these they should email the Society at [email protected] or check the website www.woodbridgesociety.org.uk.
Wednesday 3 March Peter Wain on 'The Rise and Fall of the Medieval Port of Goseford' Did you know that in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries there existed at the mouth of the River Deben settlements that comprised a substantial trading and shipbuilding centre? Through the work of Peter Wain and others it is clear that Goseford was a thriving port which supplied ships for the early English navy. Peter will describe the rise of the port and why it declined to nothing. He is a retired District judge living in Felixstowe.
Wednesday 14 April David Keeling on 'John Clarkson: friend of slaves and local hero' followed by the Society's Annual General Meeting John Clarkson was born in Wisbech in 1764 and joined the navy at the age of 13. Naval service took him to the West Indies where he saw at first hand the brutality of the slave trade. In 1791 he was engaged to organise a fleet to take freed slaves from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone, where he later became Governor. Later in life he lived in Woodbridge. His grave is in St Mary's churchyard and a blue plaque in Church Street commemorates him. David Keeling is a direct descendant.
Wednesday 5 May 'The Work of Home-Start in Suffolk' Home-Start in Suffolk is a volunteer-based charity working with families with children 0-12 across the county. It has been operating for 21 years and is Suffolk's largest early intervention family support provider with over 250 volunteers. It supports families struggling with difficult circumstances such as mental health problems, disability, long-term or terminal illness, bereavement, domestic abuse, behavioural problems and much more. The aim is to prevent families from reaching crisis point. See p26
Woodbridge Society online Dan Cornford
There is plenty of new content on the Woodbridge Society website to keep you occupied during the current lockdown. We continue to upload the local planning applications which your Planning Group is currently monitoring, along with links to the relevant East Suffolk Council pages and documents.
The Group has also summarised two important recent publications which may affect planning in the local area in years to come, namely the Government's White Paper on planning, and East Suffolk Council's Suffolk Coastal Local Plan. These summaries, as well as our consultation response to the White Paper, are available to download.
Note that we have reorganised the Planning section of the website to improve user access. Planning Applications and Wider Planning Issues are now separate pages found in the Planning drop-down menu on the navigation bar.
In addition, we have expanded the Newsletter Archive, with issues now dating back to 2005. The Archive is a fascinating record of recent local history and we will be adding further back issues soon. If you have any hard copy Society Newsletters from 1998 or earlier, please do get in touch.
Lastly, keep an eye on the website for the most up-to-date information regarding arrangements for Society talks and visits. And, if you haven't done so already, add [email protected] to your email contact list to ensure that communications from the Society arrive successfully in your inbox.
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P lanning Matters Alan Vaughan
How the Planning Group thinks about applications I thought members would welcome some information about how the Planning Group decides which applications to consider. Our general principle is how much the application will affect the built environment and/or the residents of the town. This means that we look closely at applications in the Conservation Area, particularly if they impact the street scene. It is unusual for us to comment on internal changes in listed two particularly controversial proposals. The buildings. Outside the Conservation Area it first is to divide the area into three is the street scene that is most important, so categories: Growth, Renewal or Protected. we have objected where the building line would be breached or where a new build is Growth Areas will be suitable for substantial out of scale with neighbouring buildings. development. Renewal Areas will include
existing built areas. There might be ‘gentle We also look at applications in Melton, part densification’, infill of residential areas, of which is included within Woodbridge for development in town centres and planning purposes, particularly in strategic development in rural areas. Protected Areas matters such as the number of houses to be include the Green Belt, AONBs, built in the town. Conservation Areas, Local Wildlife Sites and
important areas of Green Space. As far as applications outside Woodbridge
are concerned, the further away they are, the bigger they need to be and they need to have The Government wants to have over 300,000 an effect on the town before we will new homes built a year. The decision on comment. Any comment we do make will be where to build these was to be based on an about its impact on the town or its residents. algorithm. There was wide opposition to this, Recently the three biggest have been because it was thought that it would Sizewell, Brightwell Lakes/Adastral Park reallocate much planned housing growth and a plan for more flights at Bentwaters. from cities to rural areas and small towns. It Our discussion on the first was about its was reported that, if implemented, the impact on rail and road traffic. With current level of planned housing for our Bentwaters, there was concern about district would double. The algorithm has now possible noise pollution, a worry that did not been withdrawn, but otherwise the materialise. Government has not yet published its response to comments.
Government White Paper on Planning
This was published last Autumn and we, What is critical will be the process for along with tens of thousands of individuals allocating land to the three categories. It is and organisations, commented. The not clear what this will be. We are concerned problems the Government is trying to that the Government has said it wants to address are the housing shortage and what it reduce what it calls ‘meaningless perceives as an overly complex planning consultation’, implying that it wants to process which results in delay. There were reduce involvement by local communities.
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Another concern is that local plans will have involvement in the production of planning fewer policies. That implies that local documents and neighbourhood planning. We planning committees will have less responded that the draft statement sets out discretion, reducing local accountability. processes the Council should follow, but there is no commitment to take any views or We support a number of recommendations in opinions into account. the White Paper. We welcome the suggestion for better and stronger design codes. We There have been well-known instances of support the recommendation of the Building local opinion being ignored by planning Better, Building Beautiful Commission that officers and members of the Planning each Council has a Chief Officer for Design Committee and where specific policies in the and Place Making. There is a commitment to Local Plan have been ignored. improved design, but we made the point that what is considered good design in one area We said that greater accountability and may be inappropriate in another. Design transparency are required, including the codes need to be localised. recording in the minutes of how Councillors vote on planning applications. It would be
One change that has been made recently is good to know, for example, the views of the the greater use of permitted development Council about the White Paper. rights. The White Paper asks whether using these rights should qualify for the East Suffolk Council Consultation: Ways to Community Infrastructure Levy. We said Conserve and Enhance the Historic they should. We also agreed that the Environment Community Infrastructure Levy should be This consultation is over 150 pages long and available to fund Affordable Housing. seeks views on how our historic environment should be protected. It sets out policies on
Review of the Local Plan listed buildings, conservation areas, historic The Local Plan has been signed off by the parks and gardens, extending and converting Planning Inspector. This means that this historic buildings, sustainable energy, and document should guide planning decisions goes into details such as windows, doors, made by planning officers and the Planning porches, lighting, satellite communications, Committee. The policies in the plan can be shop fronts and rainwater disposal. applicable to the whole district but some are specific to particular areas. The policies that are relevant to Woodbridge have now been added to the Society's website, so are easily available to anyone who wants to form a view on a particular application.
East Suffolk Council Consultation on Community Involvement The Council has published a 53 page consultation document on how it should engage with local communities on planning matters. We welcome this initiative.
A suitable new house in the conservation area? It covers such areas as what planning Photo: Tim Cutler documents there are, the role of the Council, We welcome this document as it will be distinguishing between the roles of the useful in considering planning applications Councillors and the planning department, involving historic buildings and conservation methods of communication, local areas. 4
needed to be brought back into use. The Assembly Rooms have been on the District Council’s Buildings at Risk Register. We had some concerns about the bulk of the building replacing the motel rooms, as did some of its neighbours, but welcomed the Maltings being brought back into use and saved from the risk of further deterioration.
Crown Hotel’s motel-style rooms The Galley Restaurant In some areas in the District, there is a The public lavatories on Theatre Street near restriction on the ability to develop without the top of Angel Lane are little used but are seeking planning permission by using the site of anti-social behaviour, partly permitted development rights. Whether this because they are set back from the road. The is done is at the discretion of the Planning owner of The Galley has submitted a plan to Authority. All those listed are conservation demolish these and replace them with areas in the old Waveney District. It seems modern ones with entrance from the street, that the old Suffolk Coastal District did not similar in design to those near the use this power. We believe that Thoroughfare. The space currently occupied Woodbridge's conservation area should be by the lavatories will be incorporated into an protected in the same way. extension to the back of the restaurant. We think this is an excellent development and Crown Hotel Assembly Rooms support this application.
Trees A significant number of applications are .Existing motel-style rooms about cutting down trees. These are often difficult to judge because there are often no images or plans of sufficient quality to make a judgment. One that did was to cut down a large cedar in Duke’s Park, as it was unsafe. It was cut down before permission was given.
26 Cherry Tree Road This house is on the junction of Cherry Tree A Banyard & Houchell staff dinner in the Assembly Rooms, Road and Kingston Farm Road. It is one of a 1954. Photo Houchell Ltd number of 1970s style houses fronting Planning permission has been given to Kingston Fields They have a consistency and convert the Assembly Rooms, also known as cohesion that defines the character of the the Maltings, part of the Crown Hotel, to neighbourhood. The application was to add a three flats and a townhouse, and to demolish floor which had the effect of damaging the the ‘motel rooms’ and replace them with four appearance of the houses when viewed from flats and a townhouse. This is a very the playing fields. We objected on these important site in the town centre, which has grounds. The application was refused.
The Society welcomes the following new members
Christiane Bowles, Robert & Lynette Chapman, David Cotter, Mark Dann, Annelise Grimsey, Jane Healey, Caroline Page & Patrick Gillard, Jan Lewandowski, Colin & Linda Ricardo, Pieter Shipster.
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A Walk in the Woods Doreen Bartlett takes us to Porter's Wood, Sandy Lane
the frantic snuffling of inquisitive dogs and a rustling leafy carpet.
Porter's Wood is a box of delights for young In my imagination, stepping into Porter's explorers, with acorns to collect, logs to climb Wood is like entering the cavernous grandeur on and wigwam hiding places. The of a gothic cathedral. A very special place imaginative will see the faces of fantastical infused with mystery, beauty and a sense of creatures etched into age-old tree trunks. the ancient. This eight and a half acre site Autumnal fungus provides shelter for fairy close to the thrumming traffic on Ipswich folk and goblins. Road is owned and managed by The Woodland Trust. It was gifted to the Trust Hidden away in a density of foliage is a over 40 years ago by a local GP, the late Dr wooden bench dedicated to the memory of Porter, and is dedicated to Trust member Michael John Robert Bell: a place to sit and John Woodward. ponder, maybe sketch, enjoy a (at present
socially distanced!) conversation or just be A labyrinth of paths, narrow tracks and quirky footbridges wriggle through this alone. tranquil space. No two walks are alike; every For me, during the last few difficult months, visit is a voyage of discovery. Porter's Wood has provided the perfect
antidote to lockdown fatigue. A treasure The dense planting of broadleaf trees filters virtually on my doorstep. Open access, no shafts of light in varying degrees according to need to book or sign in; just step within and the time and season. Sunbeams highlight a flittering of moths and butterflies; raindrops enjoy. become sparkling diamonds. A few years ago a poem, lovingly describing
the seasonal changes in Porter's Wood, was A carpet of fragrant wild garlic is the star attached to the main gate. The author is player amongst the springtime flora. It identified only by the initials RWW.
flourishes alongside snowdrops and wood anemones, and then is quickly followed by a "When you can you know you should show-stopping display of heavily perfumed Take life's stroll through Porter's Wood" bluebells. Later in the year the eagle-eyed (from "Porter's Wood" by RWW)
will spot tiny white cyclamen. All this Thank you Dr Porter, RWW and The against a glorious backdrop of natural Woodland Trust. sound: bird song, the scampering of squirrels, 6
Guided tour of Otley Hall and gardens. Summer Visits 2021 Afternoon tea.
Colin Palmer 3 Bedfield Hall, Framlingham Three visits were organised for spring/summer Guided tour of the hall and gardens. Afternoon 2020, but of course the widespread Covid-19 cream tea. epidemic ruined those plans. These were the planned visits.
1 Harwich Maritime Heritage Trail Travel by foot-ferry from Landguard to Harwich. Guided tour of Harwich’s historical highlights. Coffee and lunch.
Bedfield Hall A detailed report on the Hall can be found on https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list- entry/1198745
Suggested visits for 2021 Harwich Redoubt Fort Members’ responses to the visits planned for 2 Otley Hall 2020 were encouraging and on that basis it is proposed that at this stage we will offer the same three visits for 2021. I think that it is prudent that we await making detailed arrangements for the visits until say April when the Covid-19 situation is hopefully much clearer in our area. I anticipate that the visits will be held in July/ August/September.
I can be contacted by email: [email protected] Our Built Environment
Between pages 8 and 26 five people closely associated with the town for many years reflect on aspects of its built environment. John Lamont conducts the first review for a decade of new building; James Neal describes change from an estate agent's view; builder and designer David Houchell points to a time of significant change; architect Elizabeth Sinha is concerned about future change and Daphne Lloyd describes the growth in retirement flats. Bob Merrett takes us to the history of Quay Street. (Photo: David Mortimer)
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New Buildings 2010 – 2020: A Critical Review John Lamont It is over 10 years since Don Tucker completed a critical review of new buildings in the town, so how have we done since then? The criteria remain as before, namely that, provided new buildings have regard to scale, first-class design and comply with regard to the owner's brief for a particular functional purpose, we must accept them. Everyone will have their own views on what is good modern design or what is less acceptable.
Scholars Court from Oak Lane car park
Oak Lane Car Park In the review a decade ago Whitehall Place New Library was condemned as 'looks like the entrance to This is a good use of a redundant school Eurotunnel' and the three-storey apartment building and ensures the continuation of this block to Lanyard Place as 'very prominent facility for the town. The conversion is well and overpowering.' It was hoped that the handled, although the new porch, sign and building due to replace the old library would entrance steps and ramps are rather be 'high quality.' Alas this was not to be, cumbersome and do not achieve the same Scholars Court by the same architects as the quality as the original Victorian building. Lanyard Place apartment block is similar in Why not? I hear you ask. Lack of effort or design. Some effort is made to complement talent on the part of the architect? Is the the street scene by breaking down the scale answer fee cutting, where there is not of the facade facing the car park with a two- enough left in the budget to do a proper job storey gable with a projecting bay window or maybe just boredom, having spent eternal on the left hand side and a brick block on the amounts of time getting the scheme through right hand side, both above a colonnade at the planning process? Note a rather crude pavement level. Additionally the mass of the junction of the new three storey apartment facade to Little St John’s Street has been block with the original school building. On faceted into three bays to break down the the plus side the scheme has created a scale and impact of the building together pleasant external entrance space between with bay windows and flat gauged brick the library and the Oak Lane car park with arches to the windows and the use of solid reasonable paving details. Again that sense brick Flemish bond for facing work. In truth of place for a popular venue. this is not a bad effort by the architect for a commercial building, but it is pretty middle Clarkson Court, near Notcutts of the road and certainly not first-class. (He with links to the slave trade.) This is another development reviewed ten With the completion of the three schemes years ago and the high hopes Don Tucker around Oak Lane it would be fair to say the had for it have been realised with the area as a whole has been improved by the building stepping down the slope, thus new buildings that face it, but in terms of reducing the height and massing, creating a new townscape it is run of the mill. This was sense of place by extending the landscaped a point made at the time by the Society's open space beyond Framfield House surgery. then Chairman in a letter to the EADT, in The scheme is well detailed with roof which he asked why it was that the town overhangs and has an Arts and Crafts feel only got second-rate new buildings. This about it, creating a pleasant residential question remains unanswered today. environment. 8
Whisstocks, the Longshed, the new Museum mention at all from an architectural standpoint. The developer, based in Norwich and funded by a South African bank, and their architects, the Charter Partnership in Ipswich were encouraged to design a contemporary building and have failed. The appearance and form together with the detailing and choice of brick is very poor. Something-neo (or fake) might well have been preferable, as with the traditional Quayside Place block opposite, perish the thought! The scheme has the distinction of including the town's worst-ever designed forecourt, where the architects seem hell Photo: David Mortimer bent on maiming pedestrians with the provision of raised kerbs placed at random to This site was the single most important one trip and injure the unsuspecting. A few due for redevelopment in the town for 100 planters have been added to further the years and followed an extensive planning architects' disgrace. Surely we deserve and public consultation. Architecturally the better? result is a disappointment and does not do justice to its setting next door to The Quay Church Tidemill. For some reason the architects, the Charter Partnership in Ipswich, stuck slavishly to the footprint of the existing buildings which had little or no architectural merit. Possibly this was at the request of the planning authority or our own Society, but it was wrong and it inhibited the possibilities for the scheme. The architects should have been given a blank canvas. The apartment block has adopted a neo-riverside warehouse look and the two sheds for the Longshed and the new museum relate poorly to the scheme as a whole, particularly the apartment block. Of course the town benefits from the provision free of charge of two sheds and an open space as part of the riverside walk, but there is little or no architectural benefit which at best is mediocre. These issues were well known at the time, so again the former Quay Church entrance Chairman's point about why we get second rate design remains unanswered. This is A glazed entrance porch has been added particularly dispiriting given that this between the Church and No 2, Quay Street. scheme should have been the town's crown. This is a clever bit of infill using a glazed hallway to link the two buildings. The Nunn's Mill glazing is transparent and creates a This scheme, which was linked in planning contemplative space, appropriate to a terms to Whisstocks and was seen as church, and displays the stone surround to contributing to the financial viability of the an old entrance doorway and a gravestone to scheme as a whole, hardly deserves a their best advantage. The architect has used
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counterpoint to contrast the new glazing the architect is at least accountable for the with the old brick and stonework. With the design to the public and those that use the glazing and exposed structural steel it is 'Hi- building. Tec' in character (think Willis Faber in
Ipswich by Norman Foster or the Lloyds The Riverside building in the City of London by Richard Further downstream from Whisstocks, the Rogers) and is a welcome touch of modernity Deben Rowing Club is a simple traditional in the town. timber boarded building that makes a
modest contribution to the Riverside scene. The Deben Pool and Leisure Centre It is next door to one of the town's most interesting and idiosyncratic buildings, the Woodbridge Boatyard, which has a unique outline and is undergoing long awaited repairs by the new owner. Top marks!
Deben Leisure Centre frontage. Another howler from a design point of view. Improved facilities for the town, like the Longshed and Museum at Whisstocks, are to be applauded, but why is the design of the building so lacklustre? The choice of The Belvedere at Robertson’s Boatyard.. materials is lamentable. The roof fascia and Further upstream at Robertson's Boatyard, first floor string course are both crude. The Plaice Architects have made a welcome front elevation to Station Road is woeful and contribution with the new Belvedere barely reaches the standard of a petrol filling building which enhances the boatyard station. character both in scale and appearance. Note
the slight curve to the facade facing the Why? The Council's main focus is on the accessway: a subtle visual trick which ever provision of facilities and to achieve this they so slightly softens the impact on the choose an operator with a proven track neighbouring buildings. Here again the record so they are not left with operating owners have refurbished the existing Sprat difficulties or onerous long term building Shed and extended the yard area for boat maintenance liabilities. The issue of design storage along this sensitive stretch of the is a long way down on the list of priorities, so river. Top marks again. the town gets an out-of-town designer
(probably not an architect) who is part of a package deal with the operator who has little Next door at 1, Lime Kiln Quay Patrick design ability or incentive to produce a Allen Architects have designed a design that is any good. The Council should contemporary new house set on a ground insist on a design prepared by an architect, floor solid brick podium which raises the preferably local, that should safeguard the first floor glazed pavilion, which houses the outcome of a good design of quality. I say living areas, so that the river views can be local architect simply because in that way enjoyed to their best advantage. 10
and contemporary windows and are an improvement on the retro-traditional (Victorian) terrace at the front.
A contemporary theme is developed further next door in Bullride Mews with a terrace of five houses with again a retro-modern feel of timber cladding, modern windows and alternating brick and projecting canted metal -clad facades with matching porches. The detailing is rather laboured. In both cases one feels that the architects have been No 1 Lime Kiln Quay reluctant to take a more forthright step towards a truly contemporary design which Opposite there is a derelict timber barn and might have been more appropriate than a red brick cottage with decorative details halfway house. Who knows, this might even which has been converted to a single house, have been welcomed by the good citizens of all to a good standard. the town who are not all dyed in the wool traditionalists. All three buildings, the Belvedere, No1 and the conversion opposite, have created a sense The conversion of the front part of the of place to this end of Lime Kiln Quay and original Bullride building into The New enhanced this section of the riverside which Street Market is an enterprising step with is such a valuable part of the town and much the careful restoration of the existing roof enjoyed by walkers from Wilford Bridge to structure and brickwork retaining the Kyson Point. This is where architects impressive entrance gate and groom's cottage contribute to the common good beyond the at the front. Top marks again. brief from their client and their duty to them. Sadly many architects neglect this duty. Market Hill The refurbishment at the Old Court House New Street & The Bullride opposite The Bull Inn with the two houses 64-66 New Street has been built in two behind is a good example of traditional street blocks. Nos 64-64A at the front facing New infill where, in this instance, it is Street is an infill terrace of two houses. Note appropriate. However the new Mulberry that the right hand house has an additional Cottage opposite in Chapel Street is tragic. false front door. Why we have to resort to this Maybe the Society should have a 'Dunce of sort of nonsense in 2020 is beyond me and the Decade Award.' The car port on the right quite ridiculous. Rather than imitating a hand side of the gable end facing Market Hill traditional Victorian terrace, something looks as though it is going to fall over into contemporary would have been welcome. A next door's garden. An elementary design much better example of a new traditional error that even the kindergarten would have terrace was built at 42-50, St John’s Street on rejected if this appalling effort had been put the corner as you approach the traffic lights, before the toddlers. Obviously the planners where the design and detailing is more akin and the Society did not spot it off the to an original. drawings at the planning stage. Nul points!
To the rear of 64-64A the architect, Peter The Old Police Station Wells, has taken a more enlightened Another good use of the old 40s-50s police approach with the three houses at 66, 66A station but why not try something different and 66B. These might be termed retro- for the extensions either side which are not modern with mono pitch roofs, cedar cladding even a good example of the original they are
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trying to copy next door? This is a good good schemes to be found with some serious example of where the planners should have thought being given to the visual aspects and sent the developer back to the drawing board green issues, but not in our neck of the to try harder. Maybe our Society thought the woods. extensions should replicate the original? Deben Meadows and Deben Mill, Melton Cedar House and The Grove, Pytches Road The Deben Meadows scheme remains in the At the re-development to the rear of Cedar retro-mill style looking out towards the river. House with about nine large detached houses The architect, Peter Wells, follows the the developer has made an effort to depart template laid down further up the road at from the normal retro-pastiche of modern Deben Mills. It is essentially traditional, housing estates. Here a combination of probably at the developer's instigation. One projecting timber gables, render and can't help feeling that a chance has been brickwork strike a gesture towards retro- missed to go modern as the location is far modern, although overall it remains enough away from all but a few houses. essentially traditional in character. A British popular visual taste remains timid. reasonable effort. Deben Mill is essentially a banal environment with the exception of the Queen’s Drive, Bredfield Street business units where a good quality of design At the bottom of North Hill the only saving was achieved. grace of this estate housing is the retention and conversion of the original Queen’s House Single Houses (sort of neo-Edwardian). Woodbridge School 'should have done better' with this great site with mature trees and landscape. So their end of term report reads only 1 out of 10!
Woods Lane, Melton In this large housing estate the developer has given full rein to retro-pastiche in all its glory of neo-Victorian village imitation Noddy houses. It is inevitable that Woodbridge would not escape the ravages of estate housing which was given consent after a long planning wrangle, the first one since The Olive House, 5 North Hill. the battle of Melton woods in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Why are large swathes of Several one-off single houses have been built the countryside given over to this stuff and in the town including Marton House in Sun why do they look the way they do? The Lane: note the fashionable unsupported brick architectural profession and the volume gables framing recessed glazing and timber housebuilders long ceased to be on talking boarding with large metal clad dormers. The terms. This left a large vacuum which was developer of 5 North Hill has attempted a neo filled by local authority design guides with -modern style with only limited success. their twee interpretations of traditional Further down the road 36C, Prospect House housing. The developers fell upon these as in Bredfield Street is a very good example of gospel (adding their tuppence-worth that this restrained contemporary design with well is what the public really want) and set about proportioned elevations, timber-clad porch producing standard house plans to be and rear extension with well chosen bricks to repeated everywhere. The towns and replicate traditional Suffolk whites. countryside all over the UK have paid a high Excellent. Plaice Architects achieved an price for these anaemic schemes. There are award-winning internal re-building of a
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modest terrace house at 10 Quay Street. landscaped open space opposite Melton Again excellent are a contemporary make- station. The entrance sign is rather over of a 60s detached house at 12, Sandy pretentious and out of character with the Lane, Broomheath (winner of a Quality of building.
Place Award) and the total refurbishment of Conclusion Selwyn Garden House which Ron Tucker Ten years ago Don Tucker felt that, but for a had noted was a great example of post-war few obvious rogues, the standard of new residential architecture. Top marks all buildings in the town was relatively good. round. This time round the situation is reversed
with only a minority achieving a good Riduna Park standard. I have endeavoured to give some clues as to why this is the case. Several large schemes have been lost opportunities, in particular Whisstocks, which should have been a landmark for the town. The next one in the pipeline is the Council's own scheme for Melton Hill. The early signs do not bode well because the Council has opted for a developer-led model placing the emphasis on a market-based exercise of expensive apartments for the well-off. This is a long New Council Offices, Riduna Park way off the early promise of the community- led aspirations during the early days of The new business park is a well designed public consultation. It is not too late and, in scheme by Poole & Pattle Architects in terms of achieving a building of quality, the Ipswich and here the District Council may Council should seek advice on how best this have benefited inadvertently by leaving the could be done. Only time will tell. developer and their architects to design the crescent shaped offices with a timber facade John Lamont is one of the panel of judges for East & screening. The result is a pleasant low key Suffolk's annual Quality of Place Awards.
The State of the Stock In the first of a group of three articles James Neal looks at change through the eyes of a recently retired estate agent.
I must start by declaring an interest. If this Not only do fashions and tastes change but odd, PC world allows me to say so, I am a the differing owners also ensure that life foreigner having been born in Melton. After a can be full of surprises spell in Martlesham followed by a further stint in Melton I eventually moved into the Woodbridge is blessed with an enormous town around forty-five years or so ago. range of housing from the prefabricated
An Estate Agent is in a very privileged homes of yesteryear, via the concrete panels position, gaining access to the homes and associated with Airey Houses, the privately lives of so many people from all walks of life. built estates such as Warwick Avenue and The diversity never ceased to amaze me and Edwin Avenue, through pastiches of even revisiting the same property (sometimes Georgian and other house types, the pretty on many occasions during my fifty-two plus cottages lining the historic streets to the grand period houses with their huge hidden years of working) clearly demonstrated the gardens behind Cumberland Street. evolving nature of the stock.
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Warwick Avenue
However, the advent of property websites A view along Cumberland Street gives anyone with access to the internet an insight to people’s lives with video tours, 3D On the town’s outskirts, Broom Heath stands floorplans and images a-plenty for those who as an area of considerable beauty are short of ideas or just wish to see how the interspersed largely with substantial family other half live! I am sure you could easily homes in generous plots, some taking become an internet ‘house-porn junkie’ if the advantage of the views down to the river. inquisitive part of you took hold!
Very often, the interior of a property does not match the exterior. We can think of the It is hardly surprising that Woodbridge has ‘horrors’ of stone cladding and object to it but always been a magnet for those looking to were the Georgians any less pretentious escape the hurly-burly of a frenetic life, yet when providing brick façades to update a still needing the benefits of good services and timber framed building? Or designers facilities to complete a fulfilling lifestyle. creating a version of a stockbroker belt house by planting timbers with no structural Holiday homes or second homes have been integrity to the exterior of a property? acquired over the years and some owners will
plan well in advance for their futures, be it Internally, it was not uncommon for rooms to retirement or some other driver to make that be small, for bedrooms to be interlinked and decision. The attraction of the river and for the pail closet to be at the end of the improvements to road and rail links are all garden. Bathrooms were then added to many important. It must be remembered that, houses as a single-storey addition and in during times when the market has slumped, some houses I saw table-top baths in second homes have been a luxury which downstairs rooms. You won’t see that on owners have relinquished. Grand Designs. The time when coal fires were lit in bedrooms is long gone too and not In days gone by there was a natural solely due to the old wrinkled retainer no movement of homebuyers from within the longer being employed. Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex areas,
supplemented by the influx of those leaving Changes to glazing materials, the London for pastures new. During housing introduction of heating systems, the use of booms, you could guess the location of insulation, cat 5 or 6 wiring, lighting points, visitors to your office by the time they called kitchens with islands - yes, you really can in on a Saturday afternoon. The later it was, own an island now! – all demonstrate change the deeper into Essex had been the starting for the better. The reallocation of space point! within a building leads to rooms being enlarged or combined, better reflecting the way we live today. Yet from the outside of a Woodbridge is however changing. It is no property many of these aspects will go longer the norm to have to wait for twenty unnoticed. years or so to be accepted locally before 14
sticking your head over the parapet to fight for a cause or just impose your will. Life today is all about the here and now. The time of sympathetic planning policies designed to blend in rather than clash is long gone. Areas once regarded as sacrosanct and free from the possibility of development are fair game for construction.
I fully appreciate it is right that change should be embraced; that the town should evolve; that properties should be refurbished Broom Heath looking towards the town and river. so they are conserved; that individuality Photo: David Mortimer. should be expressed; that innovation should be encouraged; that the environment should clearly grated with large swathes of residents be respected. who were trying to respect and enhance their environment. A development such as that I would however caution that it should not be would not have appealed, in my view, to the at any cost. The charm and character of the type of buyers who traditionally choose wonderful town of Woodbridge results from Woodbridge as their home town. its setting alongside the river, its range of different architecture lining the quaint, For Woodbridge to survive it will need to narrow streets. It has not, in the main, been take note of future trends but may well not created by adding shock value for the sake of need to embrace them all. it or allowing vast estates of identikit housing. The town must be selective and respect its heritage. Woodbridge has thrived thus far The outcry over the so called ‘cheese wedges’ because of its individuality and long may planned for the end of the Thoroughfare that continue. Designer and builder David Houchell points Tim Cornford to a period of big changes to the town. father Gavin 'Happy' Houchell set up in Sutton. Later it became Banyard and Houchell and more recently a company registered as Houchell Ltd.
In 1946 David's father bought Grove Farm on Grundisburgh Road (remembered in street names Grove Road and Grove Gardens) and turned it into what is now the Building & Design Centre.
"The firm had some high-profile clients during the post-war years," David recalls. "We worked on Sir Peter Greenwell's David took on the management of the Sudbourne Estate, Chillesford Lodge with its Houchell building business in 1982 having polo ground attracting celebrities to play and previously worked there in his new watch, Butley Priory, and Seckford Hall then architectural business. The firm began life, owned by the Bunn family. But we also did a though, nearly 50 years before that when his lot of work for Councils, building new houses 15
in streets such as Peterhouse Crescent, for a newer building that he thinks is a good Naunton Road and Bullards Lane in addition to the town in design and functional Woodbridge, St Andrew's Close in Melton terms and he names the Riverside and at Duck Corner in Hollesley." Restaurant. "I find being inside it such an
"I have lived my entire life in and around uplifting experience, being surrounded by Woodbridge and the older I get the more I glass and able to look out at such an feel how blessed we are to live and work in attractive and (usually) busy part of the this town with its combination of a magical town." river, a fascinating history, some beautiful buildings, an attractive conservation area, a And what about buildings he has worked on: very pleasant shopping centre and plenty of what is he proud to have been associated open space." with? "I think of two contrasting homes. The
first is a family house on the corner of I want to know how David thinks the town Grundisburgh Road and Conach Road which has changed. Interestingly for a man who has was a new-build on an empty site and the spent his life designing and building, he other is The Old Warehouse in Brook Street. replies, "There have been many changes in This latter has an interesting history. It my lifetime but the biggest to my mind was used to be a Methodist chapel. Worshippers when the town centre roads became one-way arriving on horseback tethered their horses in 1953. I think back to when the on the ground floor and services were held Thoroughfare was the main road (in both on the first floor." directions) between Yarmouth and London and how, cumulatively, the by-passing of the David closes with a word about staff. "This is town with the A12, the one-way system and a family business and the choice of staff is the creation of the relief road past the station fundamental to our success. We are here to and Elmhurst Park have made the town look after our clients' most important more attractive for shopping, business and investment and we need to provide quality tourism." workmanship with a respectful and pleasant manner. I'm somewhat fussy about taking on We talk about individual buildings. I ask him the right staff."
Elizabeth Sinha, Director of Mullins Dowse Architects, talks to Tim Cornford about the town's character and future. “Our practice combines a great deal of local looks back. "We started life in the late 1940s knowledge and expertise with a youthful in the Thoroughfare when Arthur Mullins enthusiasm and outlook." Elizabeth sets out set up the business. Thirty years later he her stall early on in the conversation then was joined in partnership by Keith Dowse who in turn joined forces with David Scofield and then Giles Pebody. The practice continues to evolve, with us becoming a limited company and moving to our present premises in Quay Street 8 years ago."
The firm has completed more than 6,000 projects locally of which over 670 have been in the town itself. Notable and visible work includes the Notcutts shop (more than half a century ago), the dining hall at Woodbridge School and the science block at The Abbey
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School, the Jubilee House extension to the for more and new houses. It's a national Seckford Almshouses and the refurbishment issue and it won't go away. to The Crown. House prices in Woodbridge make it an "We undertook the technical design of the attractive proposition for a developer and Woodbridge Community Centre and were careful development that brought truly involved in subsequent extensions and affordable housing for local families alterations to it and we have done currently priced out of the market would be refurbishment work to the Shire Hall over positive but there aren't many infill spaces the years. left within the town.
Less visible but no less important are the We have seen in Framlingham the visual countless domestic projects we have effect of extensive development on the undertaken: extensions and alterations as periphery of a small town. For Woodbridge well as new houses. Jubilee House is a good the boundaries of the river and the A12 are example of what we strive for: a sympathetic fixed (the latter at least for now) so the link to the setting and surroundings, strong Woods Lane development is probably just the functionality and a sensitivity and subtlety first in that area. of execution. We particularly enjoy working with listed buildings and we try to design for Over development brings its own pressure on the long term." infrastructure therefore we must not think only of houses when we think of So how important is the town's character? "I development. have no doubt that it is very important. Its historic character exemplified in its On the other side of the debate the national buildings and layout provide a rich tapestry decline in High Streets is something that and its place and road names are often a Woodbridge has so far avoided but this will direct link to what the town has been. But come if we do not continue to use our local that doesn't mean to say that the town shops, particularly as they are under intense should not develop and adapt - but in a pressure at this time with repeated controlled way." lockdowns. Well planned development can lead to more people living locally and more Elizabeth says that she and her colleagues business for the shops.” (there is a total of nine staff) are noticing change. "This area has long been the target Elizabeth offers one thought about protecting for couples seeking a second home. What we the town. "The conservation area has know is that many of those eventually recently been expanded and may need to be become first homes, swelling the town's expanded further in light of possible changes retirement population. But also with the to planning law.” arrival of Covid-19 we have seen more younger families moving out of London to this area. Perhaps they have family or even So what about the proposed changes to holiday links with Suffolk and Woodbridge planning laws? "I have a lot of concerns. I combines a good environment, good believe that in general the planners do a schooling, shopping and facilities and good good job and the current system functions. transport links." We do not agree with every decision they make but the level of proposed de-regulation So what does she see as the risks associated is potentially disastrous. Work undertaken with further development in a town that is under permitted development rights is already quite crowded? "The great risk is frequently of low quality in both design and over-development. There is great pressure construction.”
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T he Growth of Retirement Fla ts The second in the series of Letters from Woodbridge written by Daphne Lloyd during her time as Recorder for Woodbridge. This was written in February 1989. You will notice that there has been a lot of to object to an application to build retirement building in Woodbridge when you return. flats, provided that the application meets The most noticeable new buildings, perhaps, planning conditions. As a wider issue the are three large complexes of retirement flats, County Council is also concerned as there is all close to the centre of the town. They are at present a very rapid increase in the being offered for sale on long leases but can population of East Anglia which is putting only be occupied by people over the age of 55. pressure on all services, not just those for the elderly. Nevertheless, the Council is receiving Many developers are building these now. less financial support from central They are an attractive proposition, according government. to Bernard Rosher, the estate agent in New Street. Normally a developer has to provide Suffolk Place, the first apartment building to one and a half car park spaces for each flat, be completed, is part of a development but with retirement flats he must provide including cottages, flats and town houses, only one car park space for every two flats, which was built on the site of Hennessey's and so he gets a better return for his money. garage. It overlooks the Thoroughfare and And with an ageing population there are Lime Kiln Quay Road, and is a large three- plenty of people over 55! The flats seem to be storey building, roughly L-shaped, which has proving popular with buyers also. House been cleverly designed to look more like a prices round here have risen very fast, so number of separate houses. It has 39 flats, 14 that older people with a house to sell can with two bedrooms and 25 with one. It has 54 realise a large sum which will both buy a flat residents, who have already formed an active with no need for a mortgage and leave some Residents' Association to organise weekly capital to live on. social activities.
There has been a lot of concern in Woodbridge about these retirement flats, as they will undoubtedly attract even more older people to the town, who will put a strain on the health and social services in the future. The problems may not be too far away. So far, five residents of these flats need help with household tasks and have Home Helps organised by the Social Services Department. Community help had to be mobilised urgently for one of the first residents to move into the flats. She was a disabled lady in her 80s who was left in her flat by her removal firm, quite unable to Suffolk Place. Photo David Mortimer open the packing cases containing her The second development, Elmhurst Court, belongings! has been built on about half of the site of the Turban Foods factory off Quayside, and has I was surprised to learn that, although Town 29 flats. (The developers claim that they are and District Councillors are concerned about awaiting planning permission to build the increasing number of elderly people in another group of flats on the rest of the site, Woodbridge, the District Council is not able but the Planning Department knows nothing 18
of this!) The flats went on sale in January around £5 to £6 per week, and they may also this year (1989) and already the nine larger have to pay general and water rates and ones with two bedrooms are sold. When I ground rent. There are some differences visited at the beginning of this month the between the three buildings, but all of them turf had just been laid in the garden and the offer 'comfort' - good insulation and good newly-planted primulas and shrubs looked quality internal fittings. They also offer decidedly chilly in the east wind. Elmhurst 'freedom from worry' suggesting that many Court is a large red brick building of two and prospective buyers are finding that the three storeys, with what to my mind seems a decoration and maintenance of a family-sized complicated and disproportionately heavy house and the upkeep of a garden are more roof. than they can manage.
The third development is a little further All three developments offer 'security'. They from the centre of the town. It is called have someone on duty at least some of the Tanyard Court, and has been built on a time to give help if needed, plus pull-cords to triangular site on the south side of Station summon help in an emergency, and entry Road, replacing Skinners Motor Body Repair phones to keep out unwelcome callers. Shop and Kays Engineering. The Bernard Rosher thought that theft and Community Hall car park forms one mugging was not much of a problem in this boundary, where an old wall and a few trees area, but that many old people had become have been demolished. I watched a JCB fearful from what they learn in the press and make short work of the trunk of the last on television about conditions in other areas. remaining tree when I visited the flats on For these facilities, plus exterior the first of this month. The complex has 32 maintenance and decoration and the upkeep flats, all with two bedrooms. Half have been of the public areas and the garden, the reserved, and the first resident moved in on residents pay an annual fee to the the first week of February. There is no large management company of between £500 and building - the flats are grouped in fours, two £800. The snag is, of course, that this fee is up and two down. Along Station Road, the reviewed annually and will almost certainly base of the triangle of development, the flats go up each year. There have been cases of have been given a variety of features and very large increases which the residents, finishes, and look like a series of cottages. I despite vigorous protests, were powerless to think they fit in very well with the resist. neighbouring architecture. Suffolk Place and Elmhurst Court stress in their advertising that they are 'luxury' apartments. Certainly their main entrance foyers, public rooms (pale carpets, flower arrangements, etc) and their carpeted corridors suggest a certain type of luxury hotel. The emphasis in Tanyard Court is on 'independence'. Each group of four flats has tiled passageways and staircases, and the garden is the only shared facility. Unlike Suffolk Place and Elmhurst Court, there are no lifts, and so the upstairs flats would not be suitable for people in wheelchairs. Tanyard Court
The flats in these developments cost between I think Tanyard Court would be my choice if I £67,000 and £87,000. In addition, residents had to move into one of these flats tomorrow - pay for their own heating, estimated at assuming that I could climb the stairs! But
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David and I agreed that, if we had to move, Athenrye Court, Cumberland Street; we would have to buy two flats next door to Fellbridge Court, Bredfield Road: Private one another, one for us and one for our retirement flats run by the Hanover Housing hobbies! And David would have to give up Association. Warden. playing the 'cello! The Old Court House, Market Hill: Private Two years after writing that letter, Daphne retirement bed-sitting rooms run by the added this list. Abbeyfield Society. Warden, alarm system, lunch provided. Accommodation in Woodbridge for
older people 1991 Residential Care Accommodation Sheltered housing Glebe House, The Avenue. 'Part 3' local authority accommodation run by Suffolk Elmhurst Court, Quayside; Tanyard Court, County Council Social Services. Single Station Road; Suffolk Place, Lime Kiln Quay bedrooms, officer in charge, care assistants, Road. Privately owned 1 and 2 bedroom flats, all meals, personal care. warden, alarm system. The Kyle House, Burkitt Road; Riverhill, Ipswich Road. Private retirement homes, Mussidan Place, Theatre Street; Morley owner in charge, single and double rooms, Avenue; The Grove, Pytches Road. Tenants care assistants, all meals, personal care. of Suffolk Heritage Housing Association, previously of Suffolk Coastal District Highlands, Edward Fitzgerald Road. Extra Council. 1 and 2 bedroom flats, bungalows, Care Home run by The Abbeyfield Society. warden, alarm system. Single rooms, matron, care assistants, all meals, personal care. Seckford Almshouses and Jubilee House,
Seckford Street; The Poors Almshouses, New Haughgate Nursing Home, Haugh Lane. Street; Carthew Court, Station Road: Private nursing home, owner in charge, Ancient charities established to aid the poor. single and double rooms, all meals, personal Flats, bed-sitting rooms, administered by care and nursing care, ie SRN on duty 24 trustees, warden or matron, alarm system. hours a day. Neil Montgomery Neil Montgomery died in January this year. Members will remember that he was chairman of the Planning Group and gave regular updates on planning matters at our meetings. He served the Society in that capacity from 2009 to 2014, and was on the committee from 2008-2016. He played a major role in setting up the Society’s Blue Plaque Scheme.
When he chaired the Planning Group some of the major applications considered were Whisstocks, Nunn’s Mill, the new houses in Brook Street, the conversion of the Baptist Church in Chapel Street and the changes to Quay Street Church.
Neil was a town councillor for many years and was Mayor in 2003-4. He was also a Governor of Woodbridge Primary School. As a councillor, he was a significant force in getting the skateboard park developed.
Shingle Street Poem The Spring 2019 issue of the Newsletter contained a poem about Shingle Street beginning 'Bury me lightly when I'm dead.' I appealed for information about the author. Mrs Gracie Beale (nee Roberts), formerly of Hollesley, has been in touch from Oxfordshire: the poem is a family favourite and she knows that it was published in Punch magazine on 11 June 1947 and listed as Anon. Gracie's parents copied it from the magazine and the family has kept it ever since. (The Editor)
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T he Story of a Street: Quay St reet Bob Merrett
Quay Street in 1560 Construction of river walls higher up the
The earliest comprehensive description of estuary proceeded at a later date. Without a Woodbridge is to be found in the 1560 Extent river wall the riverside area at Woodbridge of the Manor of Woodbridge late Priory. It is would be liable to flooding which is no doubt from this document, written in Latin, that why most of the land below Le Throughfare the map below has been derived. The road was used for agriculture. layout is based on the 1881 OS map and translations from the Latin are in italics. At the northern end of Le Myll Waye there were three dwellings and three commercial buildings. At the southern end there were two commercial buildings. The commercial buildings are numbered 1 to 5 on the map left.. Number 1 was a capital messuage lately built on with a shop hall and a chamber. Number 2 was a barn with other small building. Number 3 was a cottage built on with a kitchen, bake house, stables and a barn. Number 4 was a stone building, roofed with tiles, called a warehouse. Number 5 was one building called a warehouse.
On the other side of the Old Kings High way there were two Keyes (quays) which are not shown on the map. On Bele’s Keye there was Map showing the approximate locations of the a single warehouse and on Stubb’s Keye buildings mentioned in the 1560 Extent. there were two warehouses.
What we now call Quay Street was referred Quay Street 1560 to 1840 to in the Extent as either the Le Myll Waye leading from the market place towards the According to George Arnott, the eminent lord’s water mill or Thasea (to the sea). At local historian, an entry in the 1589 Court the bottom of Quay Street there was a Rolls of the manor mentions Key Lane. junction with the Old Kings High way. The Sometime later Key Lane became Quay exact route of this highway cannot be Lane. By 1881 it was called Quay Street. By determined accurately but it appears to have 1827 all that remained of the Old Kings High roughly followed what is now Station Road, way ran from the bottom of Quay Street to Quayside and Lime Kiln Quay Road. Beyond the lane alongside the Naverne Brook. The the junction with Le Mell Lane the Old name most often given to this section of road Kings High way ran alongside an extensive is Quayside. Beyond the Naverne Brook all marsh into which flowed the Naverne that remained of the Old Kings High way Brooke. This marsh abutted a causeway was a footpath alongside marsh land. leading to the lord’s water mill (the tide mill). To avoid confusion the names Quay Street and Quayside will be used throughout the During the period between the Norman rest of this article. Conquest and 1560, river walls were built along parts of the lower reaches of the The Crown Hotel, on the east side of the estuary to turn the saltmarsh, which lined junction with the Thoroughfare, was a 17th much of the estuary, into arable land. century coaching inn. Between what was 21
then Quay Congregational Church and the In 1569, Robert Nottingham, Surveyor of Crown Hotel there was a bowling green and Customs, had established Woodbridge’s first a drift way leading to Crown Meadow, a Custom House in rented property on one of large field which ran down to Quayside. the quays. According to the 1661 will of Crown Meadow would have been used to Thomas Redgrave an 'iron house' on one of provide pasture and respite for the coach the quays was used as a Customs House. horses arriving at the inn. Sometime in the eighteenth century the
Customs House was moved to the building on Crown Meadow was also called Lady Field Quay Street opposite the Congregational because it is where the Lady Day Fair was Church. Below the Customs House there was held. It was also used for town celebrations a yard and then a terrace of five dwellings such as at the end of the Napoleonic war. In which abutted the Anchor Inn at the bottom 1814 the Ipswich Journal reported that, “The of Quay Street. ringing of bells, the soul cheering music of the fife and drums and the deep thunder of The earliest detailed map of Woodbridge was artillery greeted the arrival of the morning. produced by Isaac Johnson in 1827. The part All was noise, and glee, and jollity; and, that showing Quay Lane is below. It clearly shows the amusements of the day might not be that development along the western side of distracted by the dull occupation of business, the lane had been constrained by a mansion the shops were closed at 12 o'clock. The and gardens which ran all the way from celebrations finished with a dinner for the Cumberland Street to what is now Station poor and games on Crown Meadow." Road. On the eastern side of the lane, a significant part of The Crown premises was
laid out with gardens. None of these features Below the Crown Hotel was Quay Congregational Church. This was formed in had changed by the time of the 1840 Tithe July 1651 by the Rev Woodhall, together Map and its apportionment. with fifty-five 'brethren and sisters.' In 1689, John Bass purchased the piece of ground on which the present Woodbridge Quay Church stands. The first church to be erected on the site could seat 500. The present church was erected in 1805 on the site of the old one. The northern side of the church abutted the entrance to Crown Meadow. On the southern side there were two houses, one with a large garden which ran down to Studd's Quay Counting House, which itself abutted the Ship Inn on Quayside.
On the western side of Quay Street there was a large building which abutted both Cumberland Street and Quay Street. The entrance to the building, which appears to Extract from Isaac Johnson's 1827 map of Woodbridge have been a house, was on Cumberland showing Quay Lane and the surrounding area. Street. The grounds of this building went half way down Quay Street. There was a Loading and unloading the vessels at the building in these grounds which was near to quays at the bottom of Quay Street was a what became a seafood restaurant the laborious process. To quench the workmen's Captain’s Table (now The Table). There was thirst there were three Inns nearby: the then a gap before reaching the Customs Ship, the Boat and the Anchor. The Anchor House. and the Ship were either side of the bottom 22
of Quay Street, while the Boat was by the further up Cumberland Street. A J Garnham causeway leading to the Tide Mill and the continued to use the adjoining property. ferry. Both the Boat and the Ship are now
private houses. A comparison of the 1840 tithe map and the 1881 OS map shows that the layout of the That part of the Ship Inn which abutted buildings on Quay Street below the Post Quay Street was built of stone and it is thus Office changed significantly. The part of the likely to be the stone building, roofed with Post Office that ran alongside Quay Street tiles, called a warehouse recorded in the had been reduced in length in order to create 1560 Extent. Across the road a large part of a yard. Two new buildings had been erected the Anchor Inn is timber framed and is thus between this yard and the house which is likely to have incorporated the building now The Table. Both of the new buildings called a warehouse in 1560. ran alongside Quay Street and they had yards at the rear. The Poor Rate Returns for 1748 to 1830 do not provide any detailed data for Quay Street In 1888 Ingram Smith moved his carpentry, because all the entries for Quays and Lanes joinery and undertaking business into what were aggregated into a single entry. is now 3 Quay Street (The Table), the
unnumbered building currently occupied by Quay Street from 1840 to the present an optician and the property between them. As early as 1871 there were negative By 1927 the firm had become a general comments about Quay Street. A newspaper builder. In 1949 3 Quay Street became the article in that year stated that "the entrance office of Ingram Smith's expanding company to Woodbridge from the station is perhaps and he purchased what remained of two of the most deplorable in the country.” the maltings in Crown Place to expand his joinery shop. In 1971 he moved his office to the Crown Place maltings and sold his properties on Quay Street.
Both the former Post Office and Garnham's Garage were demolished in the 1960s and were replaced by two angular redbrick buildings which, over the years, have attracted many derogatory comments.
One of the buildings had two commercial units on the ground floor. The entrances to both were on Cumberland Street. On the The former Post Office and Garnham's property prior to their demolition in the 1960s. upper floor there were flats with an entrance on a rear courtyard with restricted car The West Side of Quay Street parking spaces off Quay Street. It has not
In 1874 the Woodbridge Post Office was been possible to determine how the established in part of the building on the occupancy of the commercial units has corner of Quay Street and Cumberland changed but from 2006 they were used by Street. By 1925 the adjoining property was the National Westminster Bank and an being used by A J Garnham, Jobmaster and oriental restaurant. Since 2018 considerable Funeral Carriage Proprietor. The entrances work has been done to create a Blue Salt to both buildings were on Cumberland Restaurant on the ground floor and to Street. By 1934 the Post Office required increase the number of residential units by more space so it was moved to a new building adding an extra floor to the building.
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The second building, 1 Quay Street, was also Number 7 Quay Street abuts the southern angular and red brick. Until 2004 it was a side of the former Customs House. Most of tyre and exhaust centre and then two shops the building is post 1840 but the part of it were created in the premises. Trading ceased which abuts the former Customs House is in 2019 and the future of the building timber framed. Thus, it is possible that remains uncertain. The 1987 Town Centre number 7 incorporates part of the Old Local Plan observed that "the building Customs House. According to the trade contributes little in the way of architectural directories, number 7 has variously been style and quality" and that "the demolition of used as a confectionery shop and as a tea this building and the redevelopment of the room. It is currently The Woodbridge site for residential units (flats) of a high- Antiques Centre. This is the only shop which quality design would be favourably received. has been continuously recorded on Quay Alternatively, the conversion of the building Street since 1840. Between number 7 and into a commercial use (shops or offices) would the Anchor Inn there is an attractive terrace be acceptable, particularly where the of two- and three-storey buildings. They treatment resulted in a visual improvement appear to be the same as they were in 1840. to the townscape of Quay Street."
The Old Customs house, number 5 Quay Street, is in the centre of this photograph. To the left of it the View down Quay Street in the early 1970's. The two Woodbridge Antiques Centre is number 7 red brick buildings occupied the site which had previous been the Post Office and Garnham's garage. The East Side of Quay Street
The opening of the Ipswich, Woodbridge and At last, in 2020, planning consent was Lowestoft railway in 1859 would have granted for the demolition of the existing heralded a decline in the number of coaches building and replacing it by a three-storey using the Crown Tavern and within 10 years building comprising four two-bedroom flats applications to renew licences to operate a and one single bedroom flat and associated turnpike had to be examined by the vehicular access and parking. Turnpike Trust Commission. If a licence was renewed it was on condition that all existing Number 5 Quay Street, the former Customs debts should be discharged as soon as House is set back from the road and has the possible and the road then handed over to a potential to be a more imposing building. On Highway District. Given this background the 31 March 1882 Woodbridge ceased to be a owner of the Crown Tavern would have soon port for the purposes of the Customs realized that the pasture used to refresh the Consolidated Act 1876. Thereafter coaching horses would soon not be needed Woodbridge came under the jurisdiction of and could be put to better use. Ipswich and the former Customs House became a private house. The 1881 OS map gives clear evidence that
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Planning permission has recently been granted.
The Crown Meadow had also been transformed by 1881. Roads had been laid out to create Crown Place, a mixture of residential and commercial developments. There was access to it via Quay Street and Quayside.
By the time of the 1881 OS map an extension This photograph of the Crown Hotel was taken had been added to the southern end of Quay towards the end of the coaching era. The man in the Street Congregational Church. Part of it was centre of the photograph was Poll Reynolds, a self- a porch which provided direct access to the appointed traffic warden. He died in 1910 aged 32 church from Quay Street. Behind the church and is buried in the old Woodbridge Cemetery. a strip of land formerly part of Crown Meadow had been procured to extend the such a change had occurred. The north-east church's burial ground. wing of the Crown Hotel had been demolished and a bank built on the site. The In 1896 the Quay Street Congregational Crown Hotel's bowling green had been Church was renovated, new seats were reduced in size to allow a building, which installed along with a new pulpit, a new appears to be a maltings, to be built ventilation system and gas lighting. The alongside Quay Street. The walls on the organ was also overhauled and cleaned. ground floor were brick and they supported a During the 1980s the burial ground was timber upper storey. The southern end of the reduced by half. Part of it had been converted building has the characteristics of a heating to a car park and the rest was sold to a stack used in maltings. The windows on the builder who used it for a yard before erecting ground floor were a later addition and two houses on the site. indicate a change of use.
The biggest change to the church occurred in Sometime before 1937 the maltings was 2006 when it was reunited with a group converted into an annexe of the hotel, called which, in 1787, had left to worship at the the Assembly Rooms. An entry in a trade house of Jonathan Beaumont. In 1810 he directory for that year states that adjoining built the Beaumont Baptist Church in the Crown Hotel there was "a large assembly Cuttings Lane (now Chapel Street). The hall accommodating 300, with a dance floor; worship was congregational and the chapel the hall is also used for meetings, shows, etc." had strong links with the Quay Street The Assembly Rooms have been derelict since Church until 1904 when it became a strict the 1970s but they are still part of the hotel Baptist Chapel. In 2006 the Beaumont complex. Baptist Chapel was reunited with the
Congregational Church and the Chapel By 1977 the land which used to be the Crown Street building was converted to a private Hotel's bowling green was used to create residence. The combined church is a member motel style accommodation and parking. In of the Baptist Union and is known as 2020 planning permission was sought to Woodbridge Quay Church. A total transform this part of the hotel and the refurbishment and extension of the building derelict Assembly Rooms. The objective is to started in October 2012 and was completed a demolish the motel style accommodation and year later.
replace it by a new block of flats and a mews
house, and to convert the former Assembly Rooms into town houses and apartments. Adjoining the south side of the church there
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were two houses, 4 and 6 Quay Street, both L ocal resident June Roberts built before 1840. During the 1980s these reminisces about Quay Street were combined and became The Royal Bengal Restaurant. Number 6 had a large Enjoying my usual walk, I went down Quay garden and by 1881 part of it had been used Street and noticed that the red brick for two semi-detached houses set back from warehouse attached to The Crown is being the street. These houses are in the centre of turned into flats or houses. It made me think: the photograph below. What was left of a when we came to Woodbridge in 1972 the wedge shaped garden was used to create a warehouse was turned into a dance hall as it narrow access way leading to a single storey had a lovely sprung floor. My husband and I office and car park. Below this entrance enjoyed one or two dances there but, there is a single-storey building, with light unfortunately, it was not successful as a blue walls, which runs down to Quayside. Dance Hall and became a warehouse storing Only part of this building, the section mattresses etc. between two white gable ends, is pre 1840. It was then Studd's Quay Counting House. Before then, in the early 1900s, my father, Subsequently extended, it has been used for who was a commercial traveller selling a number of commercial ventures. expensive clothing from a shop in London, used to travel by train to Woodbridge station. He stayed at The Crown Hotel in Quay Street and the porter used to drag the skips (large baskets) full of clothes up the hill from the station to the old warehouse. My father used the warehouse as a stock room to display the coats, costumes and dresses. Buyers from Clacton and various other places used to come and see the displayed articles. He used to stay for a week The south end of Quay Street c1900.. All illustrations at least. courtesy of the author.
Home-Start in Suffolk
Because of Covid-19 restrictions the Society has twice had to cancel a talk about Home-Start. Alison Grant, Family Support Manager for Home-Start in Suffolk describes their work.
I would like to introduce you briefly to Mary. She was referred to Home-Start in July 2019 by the Family Support Practitioner (FSP) working with the family. She was struggling with the behaviour of her four children, Alison Grant (photo courtesy of Simply C Commercial especially Josh (10) who was being assessed Photography) for autism. The relationship between Mary made to Home-Start to support her and her partner was becoming strained. emotionally and with implementing strategies from the course. This would Mary agreed to work with the FSP and support Mary’s mental health as she complete a parenting course. A referral was reported really struggling some days.
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After weekly visits with the FSP for six Mary's was one of 560 families we supported months, Home-Start support was closed. in the past year. We have a network of over Mary felt she had strategies that were being 250 volunteers across the county from many effective with both Josh and the other walks of life and ranging in age from 20 to children. 88. My job is to head up a team of seven Coordinators based in our three Suffolk In April 2020 Mary contacted Home-Start. offices. I work closely with our Training and The family was struggling due to the Recruitment Coordinator and I receive all pandemic and Mary felt they were at family referrals and begin the assessment breaking point. Her main worry was and allocation to the relevant office. We financial. Her partner had been furloughed develop a support package for every family and they had no income. She had not based on their needs and we match received vouchers to support the family as volunteers to families for home visiting, the children usually had free school meals. telephone or virtual support. Home-Start was the first organisation she thought of. She had enough food for one day Offering practical and emotional support, our and requested support to apply for help to a volunteers help families with a range of food bank, something she had received needs including long-term illness, disability, before. mental health needs (both children and parents), isolation and much more. They help They had taken their car off the road as they with cooking, budgeting and day-to-day tasks could not afford the fuel. They live rurally as well as helping family members to access and, as they could not afford to buy food for appointments and community groups. the week, they were buying only what they Volunteers provide non-judgemental support needed each day and generally picking up and are people for parents to talk to and be reduced items at the end of the day. With on hand for offering suggestions if asked. the children not in school, Mary was having to provide extra meals. Her electricity was We aim to support families at difficult times costing £20 more a week because the in their lives, helping to make them more children were at home using laptops and resilient, to develop coping strategies and other electronic devices and the house enabling them to grow in confidence to needed heating. manage the challenges they face.
Home-Start worked with Mary and her Volunteers are at the heart of Home-Start. family for 12 weeks. A weekly telephone call They go through a rigorous recruitment from a volunteer gave her the opportunity to process and then a six-day training talk things through and receive suggestions programme to ensure that they are confident and encouragement. These calls, timed for in their role and clear about the boundaries when the children were in bed, provided and expectations that are vital for successful Mary with emotional support. The volunteer and rewarding volunteering. Since the helped plan meals with the available outbreak of the pandemic we have set up and ingredients and also looked at budgeting successfully delivered online training to with the Universal Credit that the family ensure that we can continue to offer support now received. No further food parcels have to families in need. We work closely with been requested. partners in social care, health and other
voluntary organisations to ensure that
In August Mary’s partner returned to work families are supported in the best possible and then the children returned to school. way. Mary no longer feels she needs support, but knows she can refer herself to Home-Start if To contact us about volunteering or donating needed. please visit us at www.homestartinsuffolk.org
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The Woodbrid ge Society The Society's chief interest is in the quality of the environment in which, as residents, we live. It brings together people who are interested in Woodbridge's well-being, the preservation of its historic character and the way it develops in the future. The Society: * raises with the authorities matters of concern to do with the town; * promotes high standards of planning and architecture and monitors planning applications; * stimulates interest in the history and traditions of the town; * publishes a twice-yearly newsletter and organises talks during the autumn and winter. Our talks are, like the newsletter, free to members and are presented at the Abbey School. The Society is a registered charity and is able to claim gift aid on donations Officers and Committee President Tony Hubbard MBE 386869 [email protected] Chairman Position vacant Secretary and Membership Secretary Kirk Weir 385909 [email protected] Treasurer Lindsay Dann 382459 [email protected] Tim Cornford (Newsletter Editor) 387586 [email protected] Anne Day 387894 [email protected] Warwick Faville 385763 [email protected] Jeremy Hawksley 387848 [email protected] The Society’s email address is [email protected] Julian Royle (Interim Co-chair) 384858 [email protected] Eddie Taylor (Interim Co-chair) 386504 [email protected] Carol Wiseman (Newsletter Production) 383666 [email protected]
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Published by The Woodbridge Society and printed by Bettaprint Woodbridge Limited 1 Carlow Mews, Church Street, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1EA Copyright The Woodbridge Society 2021 Contributors reserve their individual copyrights
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