When I left off a couple days ago, I was relating my exploration of Ipswich on Friday, Sept. 11, and had stopped at St. Margaret's Church. The church was founded around 1300 and enlarged by wealthy parishioners in the 15th and 16th centuries to include the tower, the hammer beam roof, transepts and clerestory windows. The tower as it now stands was rebuilt and increased in height in the 19th century. Like most of the medieval churches in Ipswich, the external decoration contrasts white limestone with black split flint in a construction style known as flushwork.
The interior, particularly the ceiling, is impressive, although for a while it was not. In the 17th century, the interior of the church changed to reflect the rise of the Puritans during The Commonwealth period. The painted walls of the church were whitewashed over. The angels on the wooden roof beam ends were removed, and the decorations on the sides of the 15th century font were damaged. In 1694 the panel paintings of the ceiling were commissioned to commemorate the accession of William and Mary. The combination of the medieval double hammer beam roof and the baroque ceiling panels provides the most spectacular and unique feature of the church.
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| Exterior of St. Margaret's Church |
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| The nave and the baroque ceiling of St. Margaret's |
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| Poppyhead ornaments at the ends of the pews and the altar |
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| Painted and carved decoration and the stained glass window in the Lady Chapel |
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| Interior of view toward the alter, St. Mary Le Tower Church |
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| Exterior and churchyard, St. Mary Le Tower Church |
I walked down to the waterfront after visiting the churches and other historic buildings for four hours and then decided I felt like heading back to the marina, feeling my energy wane. (I had neglected to stop for lunch.) From the waterfront, I used Google Maps to direct me to the place to pick up a bus toward Fox's Marina and Boatyard. A bus that would take me almost all the way had its departure point at the bus station at the Old Cattle Market. On my walk to the station, I was distracted briefly by medieval buildings and arrived to discover that the bus had already left. I assumed that it ran on a regular basis, but I was wrong. That bus only ran once a day. So, I attempted to find other routes on public transportation, but the buses I chose were either delayed or did not run for at least another hour. Finally, as my phone battery was almost dead, I decided to order an Uber. Fantastic, one was only 6 minutes away. But as I watched the vehicle make its way to me, it took many strange turns and the arrival time kept increasing. It was 11 minutes away when my phone died! I waited a few minutes, but it did not come. I had no choice but to walk on my weary feet the nearly two miles back to the boat. I hoped that I remembered the way because I now had no electronic map, and the paper map I had acquired at the public library only covered Ipswich itself. I stopped a couple times to verify directions. Two Middle Eastern men running a corner store assured me that I should just continue. I stopped at a pharmacy at a fork in the road to ask for directions. A man there assured me that the right fork would lead directly to my destination--and it was only about a mile away! This did little to cheer me up. When, having walked along Wherstead Road, still as dreary as ever even though the bins had been moved from the sidewalk to just the other side of the walls and fences, I arrived at Mantra, I collapsed on the couch and asked only for a large glass of Diet Coke and a bag of chips (or crisps). I did not move for two hours! I was able to put together dinner but could not exert myself any more than that.
The next morning, Saturday, September 12, I sensibly ordered an Uber before I left the boat and made it to Ispwich in under 10 minutes. Although I was on the waiting list, I was able to join an hour and a half walking tour led by a very knowledgeable and articulate volunteer with the Ipswich Society. Some of the buildings we visited I had seen the day before, but I loved learning about their history and architectural features and the general history of Ipswich itself. The tour ended in front of the Customs House, a historical building from the Victorian Era. There are a couple historic ships moored on the quay. On the deck of one, a professional group was performing sea shanties, and they were quite talented.
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| Sea shanty entertainment |
Peter had spent the morning mostly making arrangements to meet up with the owner of another Sundeer (the type of boat Mantra is) and with a friend from Oxford and his friend, who has a boat he is planning to sail around the Northern Atlantic starting next spring. Then he was free to meet me in town at noon. On the way to our rendezvous point, I stopped near the Stoke Bridge at St. Peter's Church by the Waterfront (our where the waterfront used to be; it's now a block away), which was open for Heritage Open Days.
Like many of the other eleven medieval churches in Ipswich, St. Peter's is noted in the Domesday Book of 1086, but it is believed that a parish church existed here since the founding of Ipswich in the 7th century. Henry I founded the Augustinian Priory of St. Peter and St. Paul here around 1130. In 1296, Edward I's daughter Elizabeth was married in the church to John I, Count of Holland, bestowing much wealth on the city for the celebration. The existing structure was built in 1460. The people of the parish had always worshipped in the large nave of the church, but in 1528, Cardinal Wolsey closed the Priory to found his College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the church serving as its chapel. When Wolsey died in disgrace in 1530, his college fell with him. The parishioners, who had to move to other parishes, petitioned to have the church restored to them in 1537. All that is left of the college is a red brick gateway and wooden door; Henry VIII had the rest destroyed.
One of the most outstanding features of the exterior of St. Peter's, which is within a walled churchyard, is the 93 1/2 foot tall western bell tower, built in the 15th century. The walls are faced with knapped flint, exposing their dark cores. Inside, the church's greatest treasure, the enormous limestone bowl of the former priory font, is faced with twelve lions prowl, three on each side and none exactly alike. Displayed in the north aisle is the brass memorial to John Knapp, who died in 1604, and his wife and children.
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| The font at St. Peter's Church |
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| Knapp memorial |
A series of eight large embroidered wall panels that form one work provide a history of the town from pre-Viking times to the end of the 20th century. The panels are linked by an image of the River Orwell in each. These were commissioned in 2000 to commemorate the granting of the Royal Charter to the town in 1200 by King John.
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| Viking times |
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| Medieval times |
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| Victorian times |
Like several of the medieval churches in Ipswich, St. Peter's became redundant and was deconsecrated in 1979. It is now home to the Ipswich Hospital Band and serves as a heritage, arts and concert venue. On the day I visited, there was a craft fair in the nave.
I met Peter at the Unitarian Meeting House, which had been on the walking tour earlier in the day. Opened in 1700, it is a timber frame building plastered and white-washed inside and out. The design is typical of those built by Protestant Dissenters from the established Church of England. The pulpit is on the south wall and the communion table is in the central space. The original main entrance was on the east side, approached through the alleyway from St. Nicholas, set back from the street and hidden by houses. Because of religious intolerance, the congregations was likely to be attacked by mob with dead rats, feces, stones or other substances. In the east door is a spy hole through which someone could watch during worship to give warning of any impending disturbance.
The congregation dates from at least 1672, occupying two other spaces before building this house of worship. Originally Presbyterian with Calvinist roots, they became Unitarian during the 18th century.
After thee Unitarian Meeting House, Peter and I walked around looking for a place for lunch. We passed a statue depicting the Grandma and other characters from Giles Family, a fictional British family created by cartoonist Carl Giles at the end of WWII. The format for publication was a single-panel, highly detailed cartoon, seen daily in the Daily Express and the Sunday Express from 1945 to 1991, commenting on topic headlines. The statue of the rotund woman and other characters faces the newspaper office where Carl Giles used to work.
Continuing on our search for a restaurant or cafe, we were drawn into Ancient House, where a Heritage Days tour was starting. The tour guide had lots of information about the interior and exterior architecture, but he was not an enthralling speaker, so, with our stomachs growling, we ducked out.
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| Oriel window and city view, Ancient House |
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| Elaborate plaster work on the ceiling in one of the great rooms of Ancient House |
Finally, we reached Christchurch Park and Mansion, where we enjoyed sandwiches outdoors at the cafe Feeling better, we went inside the mansion and to the Wolsey Art Museum in the back of the house. The current exhibit is entitled The Hay Wain: Walking Constable's Landscape. It showcased paintings, sketches and other artwork by the artist from the gallery's collection and on loan from the Tate, the V&A, the Royal Academy and the National Gallery of Scotland. The exhibition showcases some of his most important works and also gave a wonderful overview of his progression as an artist.
Constable was born in 1776 in Suffolk County (of which Ipswich is the main city) in a village along the River Stour. His father was a wealthy corn merchant. John was expected to take over the family mill and shipping business. However, in 1799, he persuaded his father to let him pursue a career in art and his father, Golding Constable, granted him a small allowance. He entered the Royal Academy Schools and by 1803 was exhibiting his paintings there. Famous for his Romantic landscapes, many showing the East Anglia countryside, he also made portraits and country house paintings to make ends meet. At the time of his early career, landscapes were not considered as important as historical or mythological themes. In 1817, he began to paint on large canvases. His first major success allowed him to be elected as an associate to the Royal Academy and led to a series of monumental landscapes. He was finally elected to the Academy as a full member in 1829, at the age of 52, only 8 years before his death. Nevertheless, his paintings were not particularly well received in England during his lifetime.
After our time at the exhibition, we found that the Heritage Days tours had ended, but we were able to tour the mansion on our own. Christchurch Mansion is a Tudor brick house built 1548-50 by the southern gates of the city by Edmund Withypoll. Christchurch Park was originally the grounds of the Priory of the Holy Trinity occupying many square miles outside the city walls. During Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, the monastery grounds were put up for sale and purchased by Paul Withypoll and the mansion was constructed by his heir and son. It was owned by several noble families before being purchased by the Ipswich Borough Council in 1884. Now, it is a museum with period rooms, full of furniture, clothing, musical instruments and toys as well as paintings by local artists, including Constable and Thomas Gainsborough.
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| The dining room |
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| Part of the mansion's kitchen |
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| A bed with a moine (bedwarmer) on top |
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| The music room of Christchurch Mansion |
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| Bedchamber |
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| Library |
After our meanderings through the mansion, Peter and I got an Uber back to Fox's Marina and Boatyard (mostly boatyard). We met with a man named Lance who, together with his partner, has purchased a 64-foot Sundeer (Ours is only 56 feet.) which is now on the hard at the boatyard. We chatted for a while. Chris, a close friend and sailing companion of Andrew, one of Peter's Oxford buddies who has his boat in a nearby marina, dropped by also. Lance showed us around his boat, which needs an enormous amount of work done, although she is seaworthy enough for him to have sailed him earlier this year from the Philippines, where she was purchased.
The next day, Sunday, September 13, we had a truly impressive lunch with Lance, Chris, and Andrew at the restaurant at the marina. The four guys each had an enormous meal of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, gravy, potatoes and other vegetables and I was impressed with my meal, gnocchi with several types of mushrooms in a herbed cream sauce. (I am always pleased when the vegetarian selection is given as much thought and care in preparation as the carnivore meals.) We enjoyed lively conversation about my aversion to boatyards and their sailing stories.
After lunch, I took a nap--because boredom makes one sleepy. I woke up to find that Peter had already moved into boat repair mode, with cushions and other furnishings displaced. Having already been in outside-Ipswich for a few days, my incompatibility with boatyards reached a breaking point and I started to consider coming home. The next day, Monday, I booked a plane ticket for two days later and Peter scheduled for the boat to be hauled out on Wednesday. He continued with his endless boat work and I cleaned up the boat inside and, now knowing how much was needed, I walked to ASDA supermarket to purchase just two bags of groceries. We had dinner that evening at the hotel restaurant across the street with Gus and Helen.
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| Peter working on something electrical |
Tuesday, September 15, saw us up early. We were lucky that there was only light wind, which made it easier for us to take down and bag the mainsail, the genoa and the storm sail, which we accomplished by noon. I made lunch, did some more cleaning and packed my bags. I set aside vegetables and other items for use in preparing meals to give to Helen since Peter usually lives on eggs and sandwiches when he is on board by himself.
At 3 p.m., we cast off and motored down river to the Suffolk Yacht Club, where we could pump out the holding tank and leave the three bagged sails with a sailmaker for cleaning, minor repair and storage. For dinner that evening we ate the last leftovers, curried lentils and rice. Later, Gus and Helen came by to pick up the food and chat.
Peter and I woke up at 7 a.m. on our last day together for a few weeks, Wednesday, September 16. We had breakfast, took showers and washed towels in our machine on board (There are no laundry facilities at Fox's.) before I was met by an Uber at 9 a.m. Greenwich Daylight Time. A short Uber trip, an hour-long trip by train to London, a 40 minute ride on the Elizabeth line to London Heathrow, a flight to Denver and then another to Sacramento, where I was picked up by our neighbor Andi, saw me home by 10 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time--only a 21-hour trip! Andi's spouse Kim met us at the house and helped get my luggage inside. I do not sleep at all, or not well if I do, on planes, so I was exhausted and went directly to bed.
Meanwhile, in near-Ipswich, Mantra was hauled out in the early afternoon. Her bottom was cleaned and she was moved and blocked in her place for the fall and winter. Peter is living aboard for a few days despite her being out of the water, her natural element.
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| Mantra on the travel lift |
I will fly back to England on October 6. Peter, Matthew and I will stay with Rob and Susan in Kingsclere until Peter and I depart from Heathrow on the 9th for our one-month safari in Kenya and Tanzania.
For now, I am luxuriating in the heat, clear blue skies and consistent sunshine at home for three weeks. Although I miss Peter, I do not miss the only occasional glimpses of sunshine that Peter has named "cloudshine." The garden needs a lot of work, so I will be happily busy outdoors.
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| Part of our backyard |
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| Cloudshine |
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| Another example of cloudshine |
The blog will be back in the spring of 2027.
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