Issue 31 Aug 2016
Newsletter August 2016
Newsletter No. 31
IMT Image Archive goes on-line We seek your help and knowledge!
The IMT Image Archive was launched on the Flickr website on 28th May at the PhotoEast event at UCS with 1823 of the images for the archive being made available on-line. The site has proved immensely popular with over 35,000 views over the weekend of the launch, and 184,000 views to the middle of
August.
If you have not visited the site it can be accessed by visiting the IMT webpage www.ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk and clicking on the ‘IMT Image Archive’ button or by going direct to the Flickr site at https://www.flickr.com/photos/imt_image_archive/albums .
At the same time as the launch we produced ‘Occasional Paper – No 3’ entitled ‘On-line Image Archive’. This can be downloaded from the IMT website and gives the background to the Image Archive and identification of the collections. [If any member not on the internet wishes for a printed copy of the paper please leave a message on 07531 083576, or pick up a copy at one of the Autumn talks.]
How you can help….
You, our members, have a wealth of knowledge which we would love to tap into. The images are a record of the past and there is a mass of historical information contained within them. But for others to benefit in the future from them the information needs to be identified and documented.
When you look through the images do you have any stories or information which would add to what other people learn or understand when looking at the image. For example, do you know anything about one of the people in an image which you would like to share with others?
Can you add some information about the scene shown or the vessel? A name or something special that is not generally known. An example might be the images of the fire at Pauls No 4 silo in the docks and perhaps a relative of yours worked there and you could add some information.
OR quite simply can you suggest a more suitable descriptive title for the image than that already on the site. The majority of the images have a numerical reference number - a descriptive title would help others when searching through the archive. Examples of images which have already had comments and descriptive titles added can be found in many of the collections, but specifically the ‘Des Pawson Collection’ and the ‘Mark Grimwade Collection’.
I hope you get the idea – we would like to increase the historical value of these images by adding information whilst there are people around who can remember the events, ships and anything else depicted, or have been told about them.
So, how do you add information to an image?
There are two ways –
- Either IMT members can add comments or ‘tags’ to an image directly on the site. The comments and ‘tag’ entry boxes are visible by clicking on a picture and scrolling down. To add information you need to have a Yahoo account or register on the Flickr website, and then ‘Follow’ the IMT Image Archive. We have restricted direct comments on the Image Archive pages to IMT members only. If you need any help with this please drop me an email at image-archive@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
- Or simple email your stories, comments or any information to
image-archive@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk , but PLEASE include a reference to the image.
We really do want your help with making this archive a more valuable historical resource. If you have any questions or problems with making comments on the images, please either email me at image-archive@ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk or leave a message on 07531 083576. Fraser Yates
IMT News
Sponsorship
Following on from the talk by Ian Jewry on the ‘East Anglian Sailing Trust’ (EAST) in April, the IMT council agreed to donate £400 to put toward the development of the replacement audible devices to assist blind sailors with course steering – a very worthwhile cause.
Local Project Involvement
The IMT is increasingly being recognised as a body to be included in consultations over local maritime related matters. Two projects in particular of interest at the moment are:
1 Information Panel on Stoke Bridge Many years ago there was a display panel on the bridge pointing out buildings of local interest. This was removed some time ago but is now being replaced by the Council to provide better information to locals and tourists alike.
The IMT was invited by the Borough Council to provide the text and illustrations for the new panel, which would explain the unique history of the St. Peter’s Dock area as the location of the first English town to be established after the Romans left Britain. A final design has now been agreed which, we gather, should be installed in September, along with a repaint of the Trinity House ‘middle ground’ buoy, and railings, (if sufficient monies can be found!)
2 Upper Orwell Crossings
As many of you will be aware the Wet Dock Crossing project is moving forward and is now known as the Upper Orwell Crossings. The Government has allocated £77m towards the estimated total cost of £96m, and the public consultation phase has just ended. The IMT has responded to the proposal raising concerns about the implication for Thames Barges and tall ships to safely navigate through the lock and the opening bridge across Orwell, and also on the long-term implications of a fixed bridge across the New Cut.
Railway Mania
The IMT has recently become involved in the filming of a TV programme on railway journeys involving a well-known presenter. Images from our archive and one of the IMT Directors feature in the program which focuses on the boat-train journey from Manchester to Harwich. We are not supposed to say much about it but keep your eyes open for advance publicity around the Christmas period for the programme, which is due to be broadcast in January 2017.
Window Museum News
The current Window Museum display ‘Celebrating the Thames Sailing barge’ has been extended until late September. The ‘Window Wizards’ team have not been idle though as they been busy fitting out the new container that was acquired earlier this year. The work entailed lining and racking out the inside to make suitable storage areas in an appropriate environment for our growing number of artefacts.
If anyone has any maritime related artefacts that they think might be of interest to the IMT, please get in touch with Des Pawson on 01473 690090.
‘Celebrating the Thames Barge’
The next display will be on the theme of ‘Yachts and Sailing clubs of the River Orwell’.
Museum of Knots and Sailors’ Ropework – 20th Anniversary
Des and Liz Pawson celebrated 20 years of ‘The Museum of Knots & Sailor’s Ropework’ with an open weekend on the 5th-7th August.
The museum houses an amazing collection of unique and important collection of sailor's ropework, both practical and decorative, together with a large range of tools for the rope and canvas working trades. A new extension houses all types of rope together with rope making equipment ranging from the most primitive to more sophisticated geared machines.
Congratulations to them both on a successful weekend.
Details of the Museum and many of the artefacts can be found at
http://www.maritimeheritageeast.org.uk/muse ums/museum-of-knots-and-sailors-ropework If you would like to arrange a visit to the museum, please contact Des Pawson on 01473 690090
Future Events
sb Victor and the ‘Gipping Valley Stompers’
8th September 2pm
The afternoon jazz trips have proved so popular that we have arranged an additional trip for Thursday 8th September.
There is a booking form attached to the end of this newsletter so if you would like to have an
afternoon on the Orwell with the Gipping Valley Stompers, please get in touch with Bob Pawsey as soon as there are a limited number of places still available.
Full details can be found on the booking form enclosed or at the end of the newsletter.
[Please note that the 18th August day trip is fully booked]
Autumn 2016 talks
We have yet another series of interesting and varied talks starting on Wednesday 5th October. The titles of the talks are below with more details on page 9 of the newsletter. Reminders of all the talks will be sent out closer to the events, but please make a note of the dates in your diary.
Wednesday 5th October at 8pm ‘Touching the Tide’
by Bill Jenman
Wednesday 2nd November at 8pm ‘Rule Britannia – The Royal Navy in the 19th century’
by Mark Mitchels
Wednesday 7th December at 8pm ‘East Anglia’s Inshore Fishing
Industry’
by Robert Simper
Heritage Weekend
10th- 11th September
In conjunction with ABP the quay-level rooms of the Old Custom House will be open to the public, and the Ipswich Maritime Trust will be putting on a maritime related exhibition to inform people of our important maritime heritage.
Past Events
Spring 2016 talks
Wednesday 3rd February
‘Coastal and Intertidal Zone
Archaeological Network (CITiZAN)’ by Lara Brand
The first talk of our Spring series on 3 February was attended by some eighty-five members and guests. Lara Band spoke on the work of the Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network. This is a Heritage Lottery-funded three-year programme, running from 2015 to 2018, to record our heritage in danger of being lost through tidal erosion.
The starting point for CITiZAN is a baseline dataset, bringing together from various sources some 8000 records. The dataset is then updated by fieldwork, largely undertaken by volunteers supervised by the likes of Lara. There are currently three teams of archaeological historians, covering England only. Lara illustrated their work through sites at Maldon and Harkstead.
The Maldon site is the Barge Graveyard, on the town side of the river and to the south of the Yacht Club. There are some eighteen wrecks/remains, mainly barges but including a ship’s lifeboat, an Admiralty launch, etc. Work began in July of last year, and should be completed later this year. Help has been given by such as the Society of Sailing Barges. Painstaking work in 1995 by Barry Pearce and Colin Swindale has identified most of the wrecks.
The work at Harkstead comprised recording what remains of Palace Quay, fairly typical of many such timber quays used by sailing barges to take agricultural produce up the Thames, usually returning with ‘London mixture’. This quay seems to date from between 1899 and 1905, but by 1928 the creek serving the quay was no longer shown on maps.
If anyone has any questions or would like to get involved in CITiZAN fieldwork on the 12 - 14th August on the River Stour at Shotley Gate, please drop Oliver Hutchinson of CITiZAN a line at OHutchinson@mola.org.uk or contact on 0207 410 2235 or 07718 570 382. The CITiZAN website is www.citizan.org.uk
Geoffrey Dyball
Wednesday 2nd March
‘Ipswich Wet Dock – Riches to Rags and Back Again’
by John Field
There was another very good turnout for our talk on 2 March.
The evening opened with Jo Bexley and Tim Mitchell introducing PhotoEast. This is a Heritage Lottery funded group whose intention is to create in Suffolk a centre for photographic excellence. They now have underway a Waterfront Pinhole Photography project, enlisting local involvement, and culminating in an exhibition at UCS towards the end of May.
IMT are supporting PhotoEast, both financially and through access to our Image Archive, and also by involvement on the ground.
The main speaker was John Field, one of the founders of the Trust and a Life Member. John is an urban planner who has much of his working and post-working life in Ipswich. His talk was entitled ‘Riches to Rags and Back Again’, and was a brisk gallop from the years of industrial prosperity around the docks up to the 1960’s, through the years of decline to the mid 1980’s, and finally to the residential development schemes, brought to an abrupt halt by the last banking crash. Some, such as the ‘wine rack’, remain unfinished.
The landmark site facing Stoke Bridge roundabout will hopefully be acquired by the Borough Council from the three owners, and the schemes up to the Old Custom House will presumably be completed. OCH and Waterfront House adjoining are well restored and maintained, as are the buildings up to and including Isaac Lords; the latter has had the good fortune to have had sympathetic owners in Stuart Cooper and then Aidan Coughlan. Salt house Harbour hotel and the Bellway scheme leading up to the UCS building enhance the waterfront, and mark the end of more traditional finishes. Beyond UCS the buildings are uncompromisingly modern in character, but none the worse for that. All benefit from the well-planned paving details around the waterfront.
On the other side of the Wet Dock. Felaw Maltings is impressive, as is the Quay West residential scheme. The just-completed Stoke Quays flats are not universally loved; the blue/green colour to the top south aspect may be universally hated.
John ended by touching on the proposals for river crossings, partly to facilitate development on the Island site and partly to relieve traffic congestion between the town centre and the docks. Plan A would have a crossing over New Cut and each end of the lock. Plan B has a bridge over New Cut in to the centre of the Island site, with a further bridge spanning the whole of the river south of the lock gates. The case for either perhaps remains to be made; John showed some cost-benefit analysis, thought to be rather less than illuminating.
Geoffrey Dyball
[Note – since the talk the Government has approved Plan B and allocated £77m, subject to the scheme obtaining planning approval.]
Wednesday 6th April
‘East Anglian Sailing Trust’
by Ian Jewry and and ‘The rebuilding of sb Melissa’ by Jonathan Webb
The first talk in the last of the spring series was given by Ian Jewry of East Anglian Sailing Trust.
EAST was started in 1993, and incorporated as a charity in 1996. The original aim was to provide day cruises for the visually impaired, but this has now extended to longer cruises to destinations such as Ostend and Boulogne. The charity is based at Levington marina in a purpose-built club and workshop, and operates a dozen keel boats for day sailing. The cruising yachts are loaned, with volunteer skippers and crews.
Specialist equipment is needed to get the disabled youngsters and adults safely on and off the boats, but that is as nothing compared to what is needed to help them enjoy the sailing experience to the full. Blind helms are able to stay on course via an adapted Autohelm system which gives an audible
warning when the boat is veering. The system is now reaching the end of its useful life, and new technology is currently being tested.
EAST is an RYA Sailability Centre of Excellence. Running costs are some £30,000 per annum; fundraising is vital.
The second talk was given by Jonny Webb, on the restoration of the sailing barge Melissa. Melissa was built in steel by Fays of Southampton in1899. She traded under sail until 1944, when she was converted to a motor barge. By 1994 she was a houseboat in Ipswich Docks, from where she was bought by Fred Webb; she was taken to Pin Mill, and restoration was begun. Unfortunately, Fred died in 1996, but the work was carried on by his sons Jonathan and Richard.
The first serious job was to get Melissa from the hard up to Webb’s yard. This involved a crane, a JCB, a trailer, and three twin lorry axles plus a steering axle. Restoration work was comprehensive, starting with most of the hull, but eventually she was relaunched in 2005. By 2008 Melissa was re rigged, and won her first Pin Mill barge match in July 2009. She is now available for hire for cruises, parties etc.
A true labour of love, and a credit to the family. Geoffrey Dyball
Thames Barge trips on
sb Victor
Two very successful trips were held on sailing barge Victor – a day trip on the 16th June and an afternoon jazz trip on the 14th July. These were both a sell-out and a very enjoyable time was had by all.
A puzzle ……..
IMT Membership
New members
A warm welcome to the new members who have joined since January 2016 (with apologies for missing off names of joint memberships where it has not been supplied) –
S Brighten & Rev. C Brighten
Tim Daley
Keith Brisland
Catherine Williams
Isabelle Wen & Mike Bell
D Nottage
Max & Carol Raffe
David Jillings
Lisa Psarianos & Dominic Wall
Chris Nixon
Chris Kite
Chris Mills
We are continuing to maintain the number of members at around the 300 mark each year.
Fraser Yates
The image on the left is of the Ipswich coat-of arms on the side of an historic Ipswich bus. The puzzle is that the masthead pennants are a red diagonal on a white background, not the St George’s Cross that appears on the official Ipswich coat-of-arms.
Does anyone know why the reason for this?
From the IMT Image Archive
To access, either www.ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk and press the ‘IMT Image Archive button or www.flickr.com/photos/imt_image_archive/albums
Barge ‘Trent River’ at Bramford
The dredger ‘Downham’
IMT 2016 Autumn talks
Wednesday 5th October at 8pm
‘Touching the Tide’ by Bill Jenman
‘Touching the Tide’ was a three-year project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, that celebrated and conserved the heritage of the Suffolk Coast and aimed to increase understanding of coastal change. Bill will talk about the project’s successes and challenges, and explain why coastal change is such an important, complex, and politically charged topic. Bill will also talk about how the work of TtT will continue even after the Lottery funding ended in summer 2016, as well as outlining some exciting new projects that he’s now working on.
Bill Jenman is the Touching the Tide Landscape Partnership Scheme Project Manager for the Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – before that he worked on another LPS in Orkney for a year, as the South Downs Way National Trail Officer, and for two Wildlife Trusts. His interests span nature conservation, walking and leading walks in Suffolk and across the UK, cooking, and landscape and military history. He used to be a canoeing instructor and loves to sail. He comes from Sussex but has lived in Suffolk since 2012.
Wednesday 2nd November at 8pm
‘Rule Britannia – The Royal Navy in the 19th century’ by Mark Mitchels
The Royal Navy in the years following Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar [1805] was without rivals. For decades it controlled the world’s seaways and made them safe from pirates, slavers and all manner of threats to trade. But the 19th century witnessed profound changes in all aspects of naval life: sail gave way to steam; the wooden walls were replaced with iron and steel; the mighty broadside of muzzle loading guns firing round shot became the turret-guns sending shells miles across
the water. And there were torpedoes, submarines and aircraft to be understood.
Manning the fleet was also transformed as technology required a new type of officer and rating. This is a fascinating story of a great and trusted object of national pride at a time of unprecedented change. When in 1914 the navy was again at war the public expectation was enormous – would the fleet prove worthy of its reputation?
Mark Mitchels taught at Woodbridge School for many years. He is a well-known speaker especially in East Anglia, and is a published author and photographer.
Wednesday 7th December, at 8pm
‘East Anglia’s Inshore Fishing Industry’ by Robert Simper
Fishing has long been one of our region’s major industries. From the Wash to the Thames, all manner of craft have set out to catch almost everything which could be caught; whales to whelks and a lot in between. This is a brief history (minus the whales).
Robert Simper is a writer and speaker. From his home on the banks of the Deben, he has developed his love of everything old and maritime.’
All are welcome to our lectures at the Waterfront Building, University Campus Suffolk, where free parking is available in the UCS car park. The cost for attending a talk is £3.50 for members and £4.50 for guests.
‘Gipping Valley Stompers’ on the Orwell
Join IMT and the Gipping Valley Stompers on an afternoon
trip on sb Victor on the Orwell.
Thursday 8th September 2016 at 2pm
Enjoy the best views of the River Orwell to the sounds of the Gipping Valley Stompers on Thursday 8th September.
Leaving the Old Custom House Quay at 2.00pm and returning at approximately 6pm, depending on the weather.
The trip is inclusive of an excellent finger buffet with tea and coffee and costs £35 per person. The barge has a licensed bar with a full range of local beers, wine and soft drinks.
Victor was built in 1895 by Shrubsalls at Ipswich for Owen Parry of Colchester, mainly for use in the linseed oil trade. In 1947 she was the last sailing barge to be decommissioned. She was converted to a motor barge in the 1950s, but restored in 1974 and refurbished in 2005/7.
Parking available on the Island site by prior arrangement, courtesy of ABP.
Book through Bob Pawsey on 01473 252893, or complete the form below and send with cheque. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Booking Form
Gipping Valley Stompers on Victor – 8th September 2016
Please reserve …… places at £35 per head, cheque made payable to ‘IMT’, enclosed for £…………. Name: ………………………………………………………………………………………………
Address: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Phone number and/or email address for confirmation of reservation, and in case of need to contact: Phone number: …………………………………………………………..
Email address: ……………………………………………………………………………………
Please state if a car parking space is required on the Island Site - YES / NO
Please return form and cheque to B Pawsey, 82 Westerfield Road, Ipswich, IP4 2XN
A new Ipswich book which may be of interest to IMT members