Issue 1 May 2003
May 2003
Newsletter No. 1
As most of you who receive this will have given us your address when attending one or more of our Spring Lecture Series …….. we thank you for coming and hope that you found the content - and venue - interesting. We take this opportunity of thanking ABP for the use of the Waterfront Centre. (Note: The IMT arranged for the provision of the artefacts - the property of Ipswich Museum - in the Centre.) This has been our first venture into arranging a series of evening lectures although the Trust has been organising events in and around the Dock for 22 years
Next, a reminder of our remaining Spring/Summer 2003 events in the hope that you, perhaps with some like-minded friends, may wish to attend some or all of the following:
May 14th. Wednesday, 7.30pm. at the Waterfront Centre, Capt John Swift and Martin O’Hara (both of ABP) will talk about “The Wet Dock” - its past, present and future in fascinating detail.
June 28/29th. is “Sailing Barge Family Heritage Weekend”. This follows the Gravesend to Pin Mill Sailing Barge Passage Match. Most of the participating barges will moor in Ipswich Dock after this race to await the Pin Mill SC Barge Match the following Sat. (July 5th.).
In addition to a host of barges in the Dock, some available for visits, the IMT will host the Society for Sprits’l Barge Research in staging an exhibition in the Waterfront Centre. Experts and their records will be on hand to help to tie up links between local families and sailing barges.
July 5/6th. (the following weekend) sees a “Rally of Tall Ships” in the Dock. These are the smaller (but some, not so small) sail training ships gathering in preparation for the “ASTO” race from Ipswich to Delfzijl in Holland. The Trust will stage an exhibition - again in the Waterfront Centre - featuring Commercial Sail associated with our Port in the past.
September 19/20th
. “Ipswich Heritage Weekend” when the Ipswich Society
arranges for many of the Town’s interesting - and otherwise closed - buildings to be open to the public. The Trust will, as usual, open The Waterfront Centre (beneath the Old Custom House, originally a Bonded Store, a Police Station - with cell! - and then the Dockers’ Social Club before it’s conversion to what we see today) where visitors will be able to see the maritime artefacts there together with an exhibition we shall
arrange featuring aspects of Ipswich and its maritime history.
Longer term, the IMT has two major projects in hand ……..
Firstly, a Maritime Centre for Ipswich. As you may have recently read in the Press, we are well on the way to negotiating for a “Showcase Area” for the Trust within the planned redevelopment of Cranfield’s Mill. In addition, we also expect to obtain a storage area there where local maritime artefacts can be collected and preserved for subsequent display. There is, we are certain, a huge range of items in the area awaiting this facility and we aim to find them!.
Secondly, we were very fortunate to have been presented, some years ago, with the MV “Pinmill”. Completed in Ipswich in 1910, she spent her long working life with the GER and their successors alongside “Brightlingsea”, “Epping”, and “Hainault” as a ferry and general service vessel in and around the Orwell and Harwich Harbour. She is now included in the Register of National Historic Vessels and is currently conserved ashore at Haven Marina on “The Island Site”.
Following a recent survey, we are now working to obtain a Heritage Lottery Grant to help fund her rebuilding. Do call in and see our potential Flagship - she’s easy to find, being the one with the funnel!
Additionally, we should like to “recruit” more people into the Trust. Anyone with an interest in “Matters Maritime” will be welcome to join - from those simply wishing to attend our events to anyone with interests, knowledge, artefacts and/or (but not necessarily!) some time to indulge.
In our next Newsletter we will report on the above events and give further news of developments ……