Morpeth House
Lacey Street curves away
from the town end of Woodbridge Road (opposite St Helens School and the
Mary's
sign), then runs more or less parallel to Woodbridge Road with a
variety of house periods and styles which culminates in the rather
extraordinary Morpeth House. In 1887 when it was built the house was
surrounded by
fields and woodland and Lacey Street only had three houses on it but
now there are nearly 50. Charles Whitfield King built the house and the
striking art deco-style building opposite which were to become the hub
of a worldwide philatelic business.
Whitfield King was a very successful businessman and sold millions of stamps from Ipswich. He employed 17 people in the building including sorters of stamps, addressers, cleaners and an engineer to keep the building in tip top condition. He was also a keen horticulturalist and cultivated the two acres of garden, including 1,500 varieties of orchid. The house frontage shown at the top is impressive enough with its named gateposts, central front door and two bay windows. However, step back and there appears to be a second, if not a third house rising behind it:
The building to the left which hides behind the garden wall is, we think, the octagonal former Billiard Room, which boasted a roof lantern to let in the light. However, it proved not to be weatherproof at a later date and had to be replaced with a slate roof.
Whitfield King was a very successful businessman and sold millions of stamps from Ipswich. He employed 17 people in the building including sorters of stamps, addressers, cleaners and an engineer to keep the building in tip top condition. He was also a keen horticulturalist and cultivated the two acres of garden, including 1,500 varieties of orchid. The house frontage shown at the top is impressive enough with its named gateposts, central front door and two bay windows. However, step back and there appears to be a second, if not a third house rising behind it:
The building to the left which hides behind the garden wall is, we think, the octagonal former Billiard Room, which boasted a roof lantern to let in the light. However, it proved not to be weatherproof at a later date and had to be replaced with a slate roof.
The Stamp Room within
Morpeth House was created by Charles Whitfield King: a former library
that was wallpapered in 1892 with 44,068 stamps (total face value
£699 16s 9d) by a decorator engaged exclusively for 3 months
working 11 hrs a day. The original owner of the house had a bookcase
removed in 1894 and the extra space was used for another 5,474 stamps.
The stamps were arranged in mosaics and interesting shapes over the
walls. Sad to relate, this eccentric gem was not treasured by later
owners and all that survives now is over the mantelpiece: a decorative
'1892' with a mosaic pattern surround.
From an article in the Philatelic Journal of Great Britain Mar 1, 1892:
"Mr. King's business premises (the white building facing Morpeth House) are a model of order and neatness. The chief office, occupying nearly the whole of the ground floor, has a ground space of 36 feet by 15 feet, and is in all respects a fine room. Along one side runs a mahogany desk 30 feet in length, and facing this are numerous tiers of drawers, chock full of stamps. In the middle are two large tables, whereon the heavy orders are filled... The upper floor of Mr. King's business building is sacred to counting and sorting. When a parcel arrives from abroad it is turned out here, and its contents counted and sorted by the deft hands provided for the work. All round this room are ranged shelves groaning 'neath the weight of parcels of albums and boxes crammed full of stamps in the shape of made-up packets and sets.
Mr. King can claim that he lives in a house which was erected under his own supervision, and from his own plans. In early life he had foresight enough to provide himself with a builder for a father, and has since been able to turn this foresight to account... Morpeth House is a spacious, not to say palatial, dwelling, and in every sense a fitting abode for a Stamp King. Every room is well fitted and tastefully furnished. Mr. King has a good eye for a picture, and his walls are covered with interesting paintings. Curios, too, are not out of his line, his latest acquisition in this way being the bed upon which the Empress of Germany slept during her stay at Felixstowe. Our Special Commissioner sampled this bed during his stay at Ipswich, and he came away deeply impressed with the Empress good taste in the matter of beds."
Ownership of the house:
1887, Charles Whitfield King (b. 1855)
1930, Charles Whitfield King (b. 1887)
1945, James Whitfield King (b. 1921)
1959-1977, Ms Goddard Dance School (octagonal billiard room used as dance hall and Stamp Room as dressing room)
1977-2004, home of the Capey Family (8 children)
2004-now, home of the Gwinnutt Family (Martin, Emma, James and Becky)
From an article in the Philatelic Journal of Great Britain Mar 1, 1892:
"Mr. King's business premises (the white building facing Morpeth House) are a model of order and neatness. The chief office, occupying nearly the whole of the ground floor, has a ground space of 36 feet by 15 feet, and is in all respects a fine room. Along one side runs a mahogany desk 30 feet in length, and facing this are numerous tiers of drawers, chock full of stamps. In the middle are two large tables, whereon the heavy orders are filled... The upper floor of Mr. King's business building is sacred to counting and sorting. When a parcel arrives from abroad it is turned out here, and its contents counted and sorted by the deft hands provided for the work. All round this room are ranged shelves groaning 'neath the weight of parcels of albums and boxes crammed full of stamps in the shape of made-up packets and sets.
Mr. King can claim that he lives in a house which was erected under his own supervision, and from his own plans. In early life he had foresight enough to provide himself with a builder for a father, and has since been able to turn this foresight to account... Morpeth House is a spacious, not to say palatial, dwelling, and in every sense a fitting abode for a Stamp King. Every room is well fitted and tastefully furnished. Mr. King has a good eye for a picture, and his walls are covered with interesting paintings. Curios, too, are not out of his line, his latest acquisition in this way being the bed upon which the Empress of Germany slept during her stay at Felixstowe. Our Special Commissioner sampled this bed during his stay at Ipswich, and he came away deeply impressed with the Empress good taste in the matter of beds."
Ownership of the house:
1887, Charles Whitfield King (b. 1855)
1930, Charles Whitfield King (b. 1887)
1945, James Whitfield King (b. 1921)
1959-1977, Ms Goddard Dance School (octagonal billiard room used as dance hall and Stamp Room as dressing room)
1977-2004, home of the Capey Family (8 children)
2004-now, home of the Gwinnutt Family (Martin, Emma, James and Becky)
There was a plan in 2008 for 11 dwellings to be built on the three-quarters of an acre garden of Morpeth House; needless to say local residents - particularly those whose gardens overlooked this rural oasis with its mature trees were not too keen. Perhaps now the pressure to develop in such a dense way has lessened and this quirky house and garden can be left alone in its semi-seclusion. This little by-way of Ipswich's economic history shows that the Whitfield King stamp business at its height was known - and indeed traded - the world over.
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