Woodbridge Road - Ipswich

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A Journey down Woodbridge Road (Ipswich) by PGH Feb 2008

Woodbridge Road is one of the main arterial routes into Ipswich town centre and as a result often clogged with slow moving traffic. As you sit in the car or bus waiting to move on why not keep an eye out for some of the historical features along the road. The road itself was initially the route to Rushmere St Andrew and was called Rushmere Lane; the main route out of the town to the east was Spring Road. In 1785 a Turnpike Act was passed for a route to Great Yarmouth and it was decided to use Rushmere Lane rather than Spring Road, as Spring Road was liable to flooding. A toll house was built on the new route and is now part of the Barclay’s Bank building located opposite the Golden Key pub.

With Woodbridge Road now in place we can start from the top at the top at the fork with Spring Road. Along the turnpike road milestones were set up indicating the distances between Ipswich and Yarmouth, a few remain; one such dated 1818 is outside number 325 Woodbridge Road. At the junction of Spring Road and Woodbridge Roads there was once one of the many windmills in the area. These were built on the hill tops surrounding the town to take advantage of the breeze. The windmill was situated where Goring Rd and Halliwell Road now intersect; the windmill was one of the last to be removed when it was demolished in 1928. Across the road there now stands the Lattice Barn public house, the original barn itself used to stand across the road, the term lattice was used to describe the black and white timber framed building. Lattice Barn pub itself replaced and earlier pub called the Britannia Inn; the Lattice Barn opened its doors in 1910 The Britannia pub was probably founded to provide for the 7 or 8 thousand troops garrisoned along the Woodbridge Road during the time of the threat from Napoleon (1805-15). The troops trained on Rushmere Heath and no doubt drank at a number of establishments nearby.

The Duke of York (now called the Grand Old Duke of York) further down the road near Warwick Rd junction is another such pub, and named after the commander-in-chief at the time (the second son of George III) The temporary barracks were occupied 1803 & sold in 1815 after the threat from Napoleon was over. Some of the buildings were demolished and others were occupied for a time by the poorer residents of the area. Eventually new streets and houses built, covering this area and only the place names indicating that there was once a military presence e.g. Parade Road, Parade Road terrace, Hutland Road and there was a Barrack Field behind where the Case is Altered public house stood and where Brunswick Road and Belvedere Road were laid out. At the Golden Key pub the land on the right was once part of Roundwood House estate which was gradually sold off for housing e.g. Roundwood, Bristol and Stradbroke Roads. The house itself was demolished in 1961 leaving just a building plaque as a reminder, built into the entrance to St John’s school when the school was built on the site.

Roundwood House was famous for once belonging to Lord Nelson who was made High Steward of Ipswich in 1800, even though he never actually stayed in the house himself. The house was purchased by Nelson in 1798 and his wife and father lived there for a short time. Just beyond Sidegate Lane is Allington House a grey bricked building set back from the road. It was once called Cauldwell House up until 1867 when it was renamed. During the 1920s it was used as nurse’s home and then a medical clinic and it still remains as a NHS property. Further down the hill opposite Co-operative store is site of the church and convent founded by a French refugee L’Abbe Louis Pierre Simon who set up the church in 1825. The site has been much reduced recently and the convent school was closed in 1995 with a new housing estate built on the land although St Mary’s parish hall remains. Crossing the bridge over the railway line, which runs to Felixstowe via Westerfield, it is worth remembering what an impact the train service made to the area. The line was opened in 1877 and was a key factor in putting Felixstowe on the map as a holiday destination. Moving down the final drop into town Woodbridge Road has Argyle Street on the left. At this junction is a large red brick building Atlas House, which operated formerly a shoe factory and a storage warehouse which has since been converted into apartments.

At the bottom of the hill is the Ipswich Caribbean Centre the final site. The building still contains clues with the inscription over the door way indicating its earlier use. Opened by Lord Haldane secretary of state for War in 1911 it was used by the Essex & Suffolk cyclist battalion as their drill hall. The cyclists were considered the best option to provide mobile troops to guard the coastline, with bicycles being cheaper to maintain and less problematic than horses. In the 1920s the Royal Artillery territorial units also used the drill hall as their base continuing the military tradition of Woodbridge Road.

Bibliography: The local history information I have gleaned over the years has come from many books, articles and photos, but this small list is of those books I found most useful in this instance.

Ipswich through the ages – L J Redstone 1969

Suffolk’s ancient sites historic places – M Birch 2004 List of local buildings – The Ipswich Society 1985

A history of Ipswich – R Malster 2000

Ipswich at war – J Smith, N Mylie, R Malster & D Kindred 2002

A brief history of St John’s parish – K H Brown 1999

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