Cornhill 1
The Post Office
The Cornhill, at the heart of the old town, is named to
commemorate the
enormous wealth conferred on the town's merchants by grain trading and
exports.
In the post-medieval period the sheep was the dominant economic force
in
East Anglia. The huge 'wool churches' such as that at Lavenham are
testament
to this dominance. (In Ipswich we have the triumvirate of St Clement's,
St Mary's and St Peter's dockland churches to mark the importance of
this
asset to the town.) However, the lighter soils and sparse rainfall (if
it
wasn't for the rivers, rural Suffolk could be classified as a desert by
one climatic yardstick) are more suited to arable crops than husbandry.
One of the finest buildings in Ipswich (above) was
erected by the
Corporation
in 1881 on the site of the old Shambles on Cornhill, where once all
surrounding
streets had been untilised for market trading. Many strange things have
happened on Cornhill, from the ritual burning of religious martyrs to
the
bating of bulls (it was believed that this sport would tenderise the
meat
before slaughter in the nearby Shambles.). Another strange thing
happens when a purpose-built structure,
complete with its name in the stonework, changes its role. So, Ipswich
is
the proud owner of a grand central Post Office with Doric columns, fine
statuary and its name chiselled into the cornice. Except that the post
offices
are now tucked away in small shops in Tower Ramparts and Carr Street
and other organisations now occupy this
great temple.
It was only in March 2012 that we thought we would train a zoom lens on
the stone confection which surmounts the building.
2012 images
Curiously we discovered very small lettering up
there (how was anyone supposed to read it?) at either side of the
magnificent figures and crest:
'GENIUS ... SCIENCE'
This postcard of the Post Office dates from about 1909.
The carefully
posed postal force are clearly very proud of their motorised mail van;
such vehicles didn't fully replace horse or hand-drawn carts until
1926. The statues over the entrance of the 1881 building represent
Industry, Electricity, Steam and Commerce.
If we compare the top of the Post Office with the crest on the nearby
Town Hall, splendid though it is, sadly there is no lettering to be
seen:
2012 images
Manning's
-
The attractive public house next to the Golden Lion
proclaims its name
twice - the older
block caps set in relief on the upper wall above echo The
Halberd Inn and have the possessive inverted comma. MANNING'S is
somewhat
overshadowed by the Golden Lion Hotel (to the left of this picture),
but
remains a fine old inn which has been threatened with closure on more
than
one occasion. The 1926 picture shows Ipswich mounted police on duty
outside
Mannings during the general strike.
[Update 5.1.10: Information
from CAMRA's Suffolk Real Ale Guide (see Links):
A narrow fronted 16th century town pub known as the Victoria in 1874
(Manning & Co. are listed as publicans in Kelly's Directory of that
year), Manning's Victoria Inn in 1952 and 1956 (EL Bishopp listed as
publican both years). Upstairs the building still contains some fine
Jacobean panelling and other historic features, some of which are
listed. ]
[Update 30.10.10: "My
grandfather Berie Cooper was the proprietor of Mannings from 1908 -1914
living upstairs. After the WW1 in 1918 he returned to run the
restaurant but the family had grown and they moved to 5 Lower Brook
Street (next door to the Suffolk Victoria
Nursing Institute). He left/sold Mannings in 1924 we think as a
result of dwindling business due to the Depression." Our thanks toi
Barrie Weaver for this information.]
Lloyds Bank and Lloyds Avenue
Arch
The area between Post Office and pub was blockpaved in a reddish colour
in modern times and became known as 'Red Square' for a while - perhaps
because
of the predominantly Labour nature of Ipswich Borough Council (unitl
2004)
and the town returning (with one exceptions in recent history) a Labour
MP
to parliament. The scandalous neglect of a once flourishing open market
has finally resulted in its move from the Civic Centre car park to the
Cornhill
and demand for more space for stalls from potential stallholders.
Apparently,
before the upper portion of Princes Street (dealt with in the Cornhill
2 page) could be used to accomodate more market stalls, an Act of
Parliament
had to be passed. This was achieved in 2004.
Facing the old Post Office is the Loyds Avenue arch.
Once blocked off from the lane behind, which was
widened to create
Lloyds
Avenue, the only access was via an alleyway through the original
buildings,
now replaced by the frontage created by Thomas W. Cotman, architect of
the
Crown and Anchor Hotel, further up
Westgate
Street. To the right of the main arch, once a busy thoroughfare thick
with
cabs and traffic until pedestrianisation, is the doorway to the main
banking area.
A fine porch is flanked by Corinthean-style columns, resplendant with
three grotesque masks and the clean lettering 'BANK' incised in a
decorative
curved cartouche. Compare with the Barclays 'Bank'
sign in Princes Street opposite and examples in Beccles,
Lowestoft and Felixstowe.
Comemorative plaques on the Cornhill (Thanks to Mike O'Donovan for these images)
The first two are in Lloyds Avenue and the third is set into the block
paving near the Town Hall entrance.
1.
2.
1. 'LLOYDS
AVENUE
ARCHWAY
1931
RESTORED
AND
PAVED FOR PEDESTRIAN USE
SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
BOROUGH OF IPSWICH
1982
Sir Frederick Snow & Partners Consulting Engineers
Sadlers & Sons (Ipswich) Ltd General Contractors'
2. 'Ipswich
The Ancient County Town of Suffolk
Dedicated to world peace as a Sri Chinmoy Peace Town
Ipswich joins hundreds of communities throughout the world which have
dedicated
themselves to the cause of peace and international friendship as peace
blossoms.
"Man seeks peace because his earthly
existence desperately needs it. Man
welcomes peace because he feels that
in peace alone is his life of acheivement
and fulfillment." -Sri Chinmoy
"There shall come a time when this
world will be flooded with peace. Who
is going to bring about this radical
change? It will be you - you and your
brothers and sisters. You and your
oneness-heart will spread peace
throughout the length and breadth of
the world." -Sri Chinmoy
This dedication was signed by Councillor Hamil Clarke MBE, Mayor of
Ipswich(1998-99), on 31st of March 1999,
on the ocassion of the visit of the Oneness-Home Peace Run to Ipswich
during its global journey,
and inaugurated by Councillor Don Edwards, Mayor of Ipswich (2000-01)'
3.
3. 'THIS PLAQUE WAS
LAID BY
THE MAYOR OF IPSWICH
COUNCILLOR W.A. QUINTON
ON THE 15TH NOVEMBER 1988
TO MARK THE COMPLETION OF
THE TOWN CENTRE PAVING SCHEME'
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