Felixstowe Ferry Scavenger Hunt

Suffolk Professional Photographer, Gill Moon, holds monthly walks around areas of her `home turf` in Suffolk. These are free! and are really worth participating in. This one was entitled ` Felixstowe Ferry Scavenger Hunt` and there were about 14 of us taking part. Gill gives us ideas and concepts to photograph while sauntering around a particular area, with lots of helpful advice `to boot`.

Gill has a web site well worth looking at, and where you will find details of all her courses, paid and unpaid, as well as examples of her work..

Having never visited this area of Felixstowe before, we were fascinated by some of the boats being lived in on the estuary. Such as below.

Eccentric might be the word! This was called POTAMUS - look! two hippo.

Between 1805 and 1812 eight Martello Towers were built on the Felixstowe Peninsula as a defence against a possible invasion by Napoleon's forces. These squat, ovoid-shaped brick-built towers were immensely strong and were inspired by an ancient watch tower at Mortella Point in Corsica. Part of a larger network along the east and south coast of England, the towers were named with letters of the alphabet. The Martello Tower 'Q' along South Hill is now converted to a home.

Although the weather was `threatening`, it stayed dry for the 2 hours we were here. I liked the clouds above these cottages. Not in the challenge but appealed to me anyway.

So, the first image is of the day. It is of the days Scavenger Hunt list - but on a rather crumpled piece of paper! As you can see there are 12 in all, and starting from the top of the list we have .....

... BLUE. I think the top one is my favourite of the two.

WATER was the next one, and here I took 2 images. There was no lack of the stuff about here!

LOOKING IN, and the first one was about looking in a window, and the other into a reflection of myself `into` a tunnel. I liked this second one which was in the side of the Martello Tower.

My choice here for UNEXPECTED, was of a rabbit on top of a boat shed. Not real of course!

LINES AND CURVES IN THE SAME IMAGE. I think this one works?

PATTERNS on the hull of a boat.

MULTIPLE USE OF TEXTURES

RELATING TO FISHING - tricky one this in a boatyard full of fishermen and tackle!

WOODEN. Here there were plenty of wooden objects - from wooden posts to junk piles of wood.

DETAIL in the copy permits stickers on the hull of this boat.

OLD - say no more! A really enjoyable time, with a coffee and chat afterward.

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The Round Church of Little Maplestead

One of the gems of northern Essex is to be found along a small country lane in Little Maplestead, a few miles northwest of Halstead. Locally known as The Round Church, it sits nestled in a beautiful spot among several ancient yew trees on the crest of a small hill. Approaching by foot across the fields or by road from Halstead it can be seen from quite far off and merits a visit, as it is a very pretty little church and one of the most historically important buildings in the area.

This is the church nearest to my childhood home, although my parents were of the Congregational and Strict Baptist inclination, I attended for weddings and funerals. Both my parents are buried here and family members have been married here. It holds a warm spot in my heart, I must confess!

Officially known as The Church of St. John the Baptist, the Round Church is one of only four round churches still in use in England. Its history dates back to the Middle Ages although the early records are unreliable. It is generally believed that there was a church near to the site of the current church in late Saxon times, as a priest is mentioned in the Domesday Book, but there is no documentary or archaeological evidence to support this.

For a full details of the Church, I have copied from an article by the Chairman of the Friends of the Round Church

"One of the gems of northern Essex is to be found along a small country lane in Little Maplestead, a few miles northwest of Halstead. Locally known as The Round Church, it sits nestled in a beautiful spot among several ancient yew trees on the crest of a small hill. Approaching by foot across the fields or by road from Halstead it can be seen from quite far off and merits a visit, as it is a very pretty little church and one of the most historically important buildings in the area

Officially known as The Church of St. John the Baptist, the Round Church is one of only four round churches still in use in England. Its history dates back to the Middle Ages although the early records are unreliable. It is generally believed that there was a church near to the site of the current church in late Saxon times, as a priest is mentioned in the Domesday Book, but there is no documentary or archaeological evidence to support this.

During the Crusades, the manor and church of Little Maplestead were given to the Order of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights Hospitaller. After the grant of the land in 1185 by Juliana Fitz-Audelin, the Hospital was founded by the Knights who then built a church for their own use in around 1186, although history does not relate whether or not that church was circular. At around the same time, domestic buildings would have been erected in the surrounding area for the use of the Knights Hospitaller community, including a chapter-house, refectory and dormitories. The preceptory was close by on the site of what is now Maplestead Hall, which can be seen on the other side of the road from the present church. Unfortunately, no evidence of any of these buildings remains, but the Round Church on the site is still associated with the Order of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem today. Every year members of the Order can be seen in procession, clad in traditional full robes, on the first Sunday in June as they celebrate their annual “Service of Thanksgiving and Re-dedication” at the Round Church.

The Order was originally founded in 1092 in Jerusalem with the building of a hospice to accommodate pilgrims visiting holy places. It was first introduced in England in around 1144 to give medical care to sick and injured crusading knights. It eventually became today’s St John Ambulance service which is the UK’s leading first aid provider and training organisation. The Houses of the Knights Hospitaller were dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540, as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and most of the knights retired to Malta, becoming known as the Knights of Malta. The Maltese cross of the Knights Hospitaller still forms part of the service’s livery and also features on the traditional robes of the Order. Round churches were built by both the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar. The round design was based on the fourth century rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, which was built by the Emperor Constantine. Constantine’s church was built on what is regarded as the site of Jesus’s tomb and the round shape of the church is thought to celebrate the resurrection. The other round churches still in use are the Temple Church in London, belonging to the Knights Templar, and the Churches of the Holy Sepulchre in Cambridge and in Northampton, but neither of these are connected to the Knights Templar or Hospitaller.

The present church was probably built around 1335 on the site of the church of the Knights Hospitaller and is the latest of the four round churches still in use in England. It is therefore of great importance historically. There is debate about why the circular plan of the church would have been adopted as late as the 14th century, as this style had gone “out of fashion” by the end of the 12th century. One theory is that the circular aisle and walls of the chancel probably date from the late 12th century and the hexagonal arcade within the round dates from a later period. However, there is no sign of work earlier than the 14th century so it may be that the circular form was simply influenced by an earlier round church on the site. The church was dramatically restored between 18511857 when most of the old details were renewed or replaced. It is possible to read what was done in the old minute book of the Restoration Committee which is still in existence. The external walls were completely refaced and the windows and buttresses were renewed. A new roof was added to the chancel and circular aisle, the wooden belfry was rebuilt and the old western porch was replaced with a smaller one. The interior stonework was scraped and much new stone added.

The present font was discovered during the restoration work. It is the most ancient feature in the church and probably dates from 1080. The bowl was originally square but the corners were later cut off, in all likelihood during the 16th century. The font was probably intended for total immersion baptism as was the custom in early Norman times. The western face of the font bears a carving of St Andrew’s cross. As St Andrew was possibly the first bishop of Byzantium, this may account for the presence of his symbol. Apart from the font there are no other treasures of any great significance inside the church, but it is worth a visit for its unique shape and historical importance if you happen to be in the local area. The church today probably looks very much the way it did after the Victorian restoration over 150 years ago. It is made of flint with a tiled roof and a low, six-sided wooden belfry and, as you will see if you visit, it has a very unusual design. It has a six-sided nave surrounded by a circular aisle which forms the round part of the church. Running east from the nave there is an aisle-less chancel terminating in a semi-circular eastern apse which is apparently the only 14th century example of this type which now exists in England. There is a porch on the western end of the nave over an original 14th century doorway which opens into the round. The roof over the nave and circular aisle is of a conical shape and is surmounted by the sexagonal belfry. On top of the belfry sits an iron weather vane with a gilded finial, which is a copy of a similar one which existed in 1836.

Although the Round Church has been rebuilt and restored many times in its long history it is in need of significant restoration once again. At some time in the middle of the twentieth century, the brick and flint exterior was repointed using cement rather than lime mortar, which has proved to be rather disastrous for the church. The fabric of the church cannot breathe and so the interior of the church has become very damp. This is causing the plasterwork inside to crumble and fall off and is now in urgent need of repair. The Friends of the Round Church was set up in 2009 as a charity to raise funds to carry out the remedial works required. So far, the gutters have been replaced and French drains have been installed to keep water away from the exterior walls. Fundraising continues so that the internal plaster can be replaced and, eventually, the cement pointing replaced with lime mortar. Because the church is so tiny, it has a very small congregation and most of the money required will have to come from outside Little Maplestead, either from grants or donors interested in protecting this local treasure.

Despite the dilapidations the church is still active locally. Services are held on the first Sunday of every month and several weddings take place every year as it is such a charming location in which to get married."

Jane Hartley-Allen

Chairman of the Friends of the Round Church

During the Crusades, the manor and church of Little Maplestead were given to the Order of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights Hospitaller. After the grant of the land in 1185 by Juliana Fitz-Audelin, the Hospital was founded by the Knights who then built a church for their own use in around 1186, although history does not relate whether or not that church was circular. At around the same time, domestic buildings would have been erected in the surrounding area for the use of the Knights Hospitaller community, including a chapter-house, refectory and dormitories. The preceptory was close by on the site of what is now Maplestead Hall, which can be seen on the other side of the road from the present church. SEE BELOW. 

Maplestead Hall 

Unfortunately, no evidence of any of these buildings remains, but the Round Church on the site is still associated with the Order of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem today. A preceptory is a monastery of the military orders of Knights Templars and Knights Hospitallers (also known as the Knights of St John of Jerusalem). Preceptories were founded to raise revenues to fund the 12th and 13th century crusades to Jerusalem. 

Entrance on the west end of the church

The present church was probably built around 1335 on the site of the church of the Knights Hospitaller and is the latest of the four round churches still in use in England. It is therefore of great importance historically. There is debate about why the circular plan of the church would have been adopted as late as the 14th century, as this style had gone “out of fashion” by the end of the 12th century. One theory is that the circular aisle and walls of the chancel probably date from the late 12th century and the hexagonal arcade within the round dates from a later period. However, there is no sign of work earlier than the 14th century so it may be that the circular form was simply influenced by an earlier round church on the site. The church was dramatically restored between 1851 and 1857 when most of the old details were renewed or replaced. 

Priest`s door into the Chancel, on the south side of the church 

Looking toward the Altar and Chancel. 

From the Chancel looking toward the west end. 

The rounded East end of the church 

Pro Fide, Pro Utilitate Hominum. For Faith, For Service to Humanity. 

The Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller (Sovereign Order) is a Christian, chivalric, ecumenical and international community of members, who continue more than 900 years’ of tradition helping the sick and the poor of all nationalities, races and creeds. Their motto and symbol on all the furnishing in the church 

The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four "V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. 

It is a heraldic cross variant which developed from earlier forms of eight-pointed crosses in the 16th century. Although chiefly associated with the Knights Hospitaller (Order of St. John, now the Sovereign Military Order of Malta), and by extension with the island of Malta, it has come to be used by a wide array of entities since the early modern period. 

The present font was discovered during restoration work. It is the most ancient feature in the church and probably dates from 1080. The bowl was originally square but the corners were later cut off, in all likelihood during the 16th century. Apart from the font there are no other treasures of any great significance inside the church, but it is worth a visit for its unique shape and historical importance if you happen to be in the local area. 

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More images of Ipswich Waterfront.

Question marks are being asked (according to the local press) about the future of the two largest buildings at that end of Ipswich Waterfront historic Wet Dock - The Mill tower and the former Paul's Silo. It was announced this week that the former Burton's building on the Waterfront is to be converted into a new arts hub, bringing a huge boost for that part of the town.

However, the Mill tower is still incomplete. There are no flats completed in the tallest building in Ipswich and it is still in the hands of administrators as legal talks about who is responsible for the cladding that became dislodged in the St Jude's Storm in 2013. Talk about Red Tape and Bureaucracy!!

The former Paul's Silo (on the left) is now owned by the borough and I don`t know the plans for it at the moment. One hopes that this remaining area of the Waterfront can soon be transformed in keeping with the rest of this lovely area.

At the University end of the Waterfront, this is the frontage of one of the many accomodation blocks.

Old steps on the outside of the former Burtons building at the start of the Waterfront

The Old Custom House, is without question, the finest building on Ipswich Waterfront. It’s impressive frontage combines two stairways with stone balustrades befitting the classic style of the building, and it complimented by four Tuscan columns and pediment under the portico at the top of the stairs. Ornately decorated with carvings of the Borough Arms, and whilst the actual date is not known, the arms are estimated to date back to around 1200, when the first Charter was granted to the Borough by King John.The Custom House dates back to 1845, and was designed by John Medland Clark, a local architect who won a competition for the design of the building.

Isaacs on the Quay sits along one of the most important historical features of Ipswich’s past – the now regenerated waterfront, which has long been a trading hub for the town. The complex of buildings that make up Isaacs on the Quay has a long history dating back to medieval times.

While the buildings carry the name of Isaac Lord – a local businessman who bought the property from the Cobbold brewing family in 1900 – Isaacs on the Quay is set in a collection of Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings – including medieval and Tudor – some of the oldest sections were constructed between 1430 and 1550. Home, and the way of life of a wool merchant when Ipswich was one of the most prosperous and important towns in England, the buildings retain many of their original features, including the carefully restored corn-dressing machine – a rare survival of an 18 century hand-malting concern – in the Machine Room. The Merchant House was built in 1636 and has since been lovingly restored into a fully functional guest house.

Isaac Lord purchased the Isaacs on the Quay buildings around 1900 and they continued to be used for trading coal and corn until the 1980s. John Cobbold, known locally due to the Tolly Cobbold brewery, also once lived in the Isaac Lord house. The Isaacs on the Quay complex received a direct hit in Second World War. The Foreman’s Cottage, which was attached to the Crossways, was destroyed, as was part of the Saleroom roof. Thankfully, though, nothing else was damaged.

View across the Neptune Quay from the far end.

Ancient and modern. St Mary at the Quay sits among the modern structure. This medieval church lies next to Ipswich's regenerated quayside. It was built, or perhaps rebuilt, between 1450 and 1550. Elegant Perpendicular windows bathe the interior - and its handsome arcades - with light. The wonderful Medieval double hammerbeam roof in the nave (one of the earliest of its type) has carved figures of apostles, other worthies and less formal images in the spandrels. There is also a handsome octagonal fifteenth-century font.

A previous visits to the waterfront can be seen HERE

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The Tudor connection - St Mary`s in Bury St Edmunds

St Mary's Church is the civic church of Bury St Edmunds and is one of the largest parish churches in England. It was part of the abbey complex and originally was one of three large churches in the town (the others being St James, now St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and St Margaret's, now gone).

The present church is the second building to stand on the site, the first being built in the 12th century by Mr Hervey. However, nothing survives of the Norman church and the oldest part of the existing building is the decorated chancel (c. 1290). There was a major renovation between the 14th and 16th centuries and it is at this point that the nave, its aisles and the tower were built

During the 16th century, John Notyngham and Jankyn Smyth, two wealthy local benefactors, died and left large amounts of money to the church. These funds contributed to building the north and south quire aisles, now the Lady Chapel and Suffolk Regimental chapel, two chantry chapels and a north and south porch. The south porch was removed during a restoration in 1830s, and St Wolstan's chapel was added on the north-west side. The interior has been updated with modern utilities since then as well.

My interest in visiting was primarily because of the church`s connection with Mary Tudor, Queen of France.

Looking toward the chancel and altar and showing the original chancel ceiling. St Mary`s claims to have the second longest aisle, and the largest West Window of any parish church in the country.

A picture taken nearer the back of the nave to give some idea of the massive proportions of this huge Parish Church and showing the (modern) east window. This is in the shape of a Star of David and has a scene of the legendary killing of St Edmund by the Danes. See below.

Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk, was Henry VIII's favourite sister and it is thought he named his daughter Mary (the future Mary I) after her. 

Mary, born on March 18 1496 at Richmond Palace, was the youngest of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York’s children to survive infancy and was sister to Prince Arthur, Princess Margaret and Prince Henry (who became Henry VIII). She was known as one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe. 

Originally betrothed to Charles of Castile and a wedding planned for 1514, the marriage was eventually cancelled due to diplomatic delays. 

To 18-year-old Mary’s horror, her brother the King’s replacement for her was King Louis XII of France, a man who at 52 was 34 years her senior. Their betrothal was part of a peace treaty with France, negotiated by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. 

Mary had been secretly in love with her brother’s friend Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, and having agreed to marry King Louis XII, she made her brother promise that should she outlive him, she could choose her next husband. She married King Louis XII on October 9 1514, but just a few months later he died. 

Charles Brandon was sent to France to bring Mary home and there, in secret, the couple married at the Hotel de Clugny on March 3 1515 without the King’s consent - an act of treason. 

The King was furious and the privy council called for Charles to be imprisoned or executed. It was only through the intervention of Thomas Wolsey and Henry’s love for his sister that the couple were eventually pardoned by Henry. But they were forced to pay a large fine. They officially later married on 13 May 1515 at Greenwich Palace in the presence of King Henry VIII. 

The Duke and Duchess of Suffolk went on to have four children: Henry (named after her brother), Frances, Eleanor, and Henry. Only Frances and Eleanor survived childhood. 

Mary was normally referred to at the English court as "the French Queen” and was not known as the Duchess of Suffolk in her lifetime, despite being legally allowed to be. 

Mary died, aged 37, at Westhorpe Hall, Suffolk, on 25 June 1533 having never fully recovered from the sweating sickness she caught in 1528. 

Her funeral was very grand. Her body lay in state at Westhorpe, with candles burning day and night. On 10th July, Henry VIII ordered a Requiem Mass to be held for his sister at Westminster Abbey. 

Mary was greatly loved by the people of Suffolk and after her funeral alms of meat, drink and money were given to the poor. But as was custom, neither Mary's brother Henry VIII or her husband attended the funeral. 

She was buried first at the Abbey of St Edmund on July 21 1533 but when the abbey was dissolved her remains were moved five years later in 1538 to St Mary’s Church, Bury St Edmunds. 

In 1784, her remains were disinterred when her altar monument was removed because it obstructed the approach to the rails of the communion table. She was reburied in the Sanctuary, where she rests today, and a pre-reformation altar stone with five consecration crosses, engraved ‘Mary Queen of France 1533’ was placed over the grave. 

Before this her coffin was opened, and locks of her hair were taken by Horace Walpole, the duchess of Portland, and several others. 

A locket containing a lock of Mary Tudor’s hair can be found on display at the town’s Moyse’s Hall Museum. 

When Edward VIII visited in 1904 he ordered that a marble kerb be placed around Mary’s gravestone. This was carried out by his host Lord Cadogan of Culford in 1907. A photograph of Edward VIII’s visit can be seen at the church. 

The two plaques on the wall above where Mary has her final resting place.

In 1881 Queen Victoria presented St Mary’s Church with a beautiful stained-glass window in memory of Mary Tudor which can be seen in the south chapel. In the window Mary Tudor, Henry VIII, Prince Charles of Castille, Louis XII of France, and Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, all feature to tell the story of Mary’s life and death. 

One of the claims to fame for this church is the west window (above).It is claimed to be the largest in a parish church in England. 

This (modern) east window is in the shape of a Star of David and has a scene of the legendary killing of St Edmund by the Danes.

The font, badly defaced by the Puritans.

Here we have a rare item - the Cadaver tomb of a John Baret

John Baret of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, died in 1467. A wealthy and well-connected merchant, he left what may well be the longest and most personally revealing will of 15th-century England. His cadaver tomb (erected by 1463) and chantry ceiling survive here. The design of John Baret’s tomb is unusual. In most surviving English sculpted cadaver monuments, an image of the deceased in life tops the tomb, and a carving of them as a corpse is placed below, usually within some form of cage structure. John Baret’s memorial inverts this pattern. His sculpted, full-sized cadaver occupies the top of the tomb, while the image of Baret in life is much smaller, carved only in low relief and positioned low down. Similarly, the tomb inscriptions stress Baret’s sinfulness and invite prayer for his soul, but without highlighting his worldly achievements or status. Baret’s tomb thus emphasises death, unworthiness and his status as a sinner.

In 2003 the whole monument was loaned to the Victoria and Albert museum but is now back in its original position. I have to admit here that until I visited this church, I had no idea these tombs existed! 

Painted by Rose Mead in 1899, this picture depicts the distribution of charity to the poor of the town. In 1639 Francis Pynner, a leading burgess, bequeathed 40 loaves of bread to be distributed on the last Friday of every month to 40 poor people who came to be catechized. (instruct (someone) in the principles of Christian religion by means of question and answer, typically by using a catechism.

This clock was made by George Graham (1673-1751), clockmaker of London. It was made about c.1751, and hung in the kitchen at Darsham Hall, Suffolk, until 1945. It then changed hands and ended up in the vestry of St Mary in 1977 and in 1988 moved to its current position.

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