The Crown & Anchor, Westgate Street, Black Horse Walk

The enigma of the Crown & Anchor
The story of the hotel here can be confusing, mentioning along the way four different architects and uncertain dating.
The reason for the difference in dates mentioned above is that the decorative design of the hotel front is by Fred Russell, an architectural artist whose work was much in demand locally.  It was rebuilt and enlarged in 1897 – hence the rather unusual, off-centre placing of the date. It incorporated in its Venetian-Gothic style two older inns,  The Chequers (at one time known as The Rampant Horse: a name that reappears on our Needham Market page) and the 16th Century Griffin. The Griffin was renowned for its role as one of the town's earliest theatres; in the early 1700s the Duke of Grafton's players performed there regularly. (Source: Twinch, C. see Reading List) A group of actors who went on to become Giffard's Troup with whom David Garrick made his stage debut in 1741 at a theatre in Tacket Street called the Playhouse (under 'Tankard Street: the theatre and Salvation Army Citadel'). This building itself underwent changes and ended up a the town's Salvation Army Citadel, but still had traces of the earlier theatre interior including the boxes. Projecting into the present-day line of Tacket Street, the Citadel along with the Outdoor Centre, and a gentleman's outfitters indicated the earlier, narrower street when a line of shops obscured the view of Christ Church. All were eventually demolished and the road and pavement pushed back to be level with that outside the Avis Cook audio shop as shown on our Price shop page.

A disastrous fire swept through the Crown & Anchor in 1885 and a partial rebuild was necessary. Local architect William Eade was selected for the rebuild and he employed builder Alfred Coe (as featured on tiny brick-sized plaque in Carr Street). Ipswich was booming, engineering was at its peak and transport by both steamer and steam train made distribution of goods straightforward. The hotel enjoyed a resurgence and after the

Photograph courtesy John Norman
Tolly Cobbold (as the owners became) sold the hotel to Trust House Forte who continued to operate it until 1987. They then applied for planning permission to demolish the hotel and construct a shopping centre with a bridge over Providence Street into the Marks & Spencer store and across Tower Ramparts into the car park which is on the site of the William Pretty corset factory (which itself once boasted a lettered covered bridge into the rear of the Footman Pretty store, now Debenhams – see our Lost trade signs collage. Planning permission was granted, but the scheme was never built: a lucky escape. In 1989 a simpler 'change of use' application resulted in the conversion of the hotel into retail premises. In 1994 W.H. Smith crossed Westgate Street and relocated in the Crown & Anchor. One of the requirements of the planners was that a highly decorated room from the old hotel be retained and its unusual decorative tiles be available to the public. This room is upstairs at the rear of the shop, to the right of the back stairs. [Additonal information supplied by John Norman.]

As so often with hostelries and hotels, the Suffolk CAMRA website is invaluable in providing additional information:
'The current building stands on the site of earlier pub(s) known to date back at least to the 16th century. A report in the Suffolk Chronicle on 13 March, 1813 states that: "Crown and Anchor Tavern, Hotel and Coffee House, Ipswich. Announcement that the landlord, George CRISP will shortly open his new Billiards Room."
Listed in 1823 as a commercial inn, and 1855 as a posting house, and in 1874 as the "Crown & Anchor Family & Commercial Hotel & posting house". A report in the Ipswich Journal on 20 Sept. in 1861 states that: "The Crown & Anchor, Ipswich, to be let. Basement ; Excellent Wine & Beer Cellars; Ground Floor : Entrance Hall, Lobby & Open Staircase, Commercial - Room, Bar & Bar Parlour, Pantries, Kitchens, Large Market-Room; Above are 3 sitting-rooms, 17 bed-rooms & 2 large Attics; Spacious Yard & Stabling, containing 26 stalls & 2 loose boxes, open & lock-up Coach-Houses & Harness Rooms; a Billiard Room & Tap." In 1912 it was listed as a commercial hotel & motor garage. The early 20th century fine stone façade hides a much older building.'
(Note: the '1897' dated stone scroll on the facade seems to contradict this last point, but the official Grade II Listing text definitely states 'An early C20 stone front by Cotman, in Venetian Gothic style with a parapet with quatrefoil panels and crocketted pinnacles.')
1890s image  

2019 image
The above view of the frontage from the 1890s is significantly different from the current design, so T.W. Cotman (1847-1925) must have refaced the building in the early 20th century. Sadly, our visit coincided with scaffolding over a third of the facade, not to mention the Christmas street decorations.

(it could also be 'HE', 'CH' or 'HC'). We know that owners of newly built or modernised property, or the architect, sometimes put their initials at the top of dated buildings (see other examples in Freehold Road and in Hadleigh). So who is 'EH'?

   2013 images

59-61 Westgate Street / Brett's
Further up the street, close to the site of the original West Gate and gaol, demolished in 1781, is the former Bretts furniture shop. By 2015 Brett's had moved out to their new store on Bramford Road and the shop was shared with other businesses by Baldwins, itself having its roots in the town centre Co-op stores in Carr Street. Tim Leggett noticed that, while all the shop signs on Westgate Street have been changed, 'BRETTS' hang on here, on the side of a jettied upper storey to catch the eye of strollers up the narrow north end of Black Horse Lane (Black Horse Walk). It's a little like the 'Barnes of Ipswich Ltd' lettering which persisted until 2017 at the rear of their former shop in Upper Orwell Street. Suprisingly, perhaps, the Bretts sign which projects out into Westgate Street from the shop-front has also been left in place by the owner in 2015.
  

2015 photos courtesy Tim Leggett
Incidentally, we shouldn't forget the curious Brett's warehouse in Brooks Hall Road, off Norwich Road. This is clearly a large warehouse behind a terrace of small houses in a fairly narrow street. The entrance tunnel benefits from being directly opposite Waterloo Road, so large vehicles can turn off Chevallier Street and will be directly in line with the entry. No. 40 Brooks Hall Road is to the right, here obscured by a van, and no. 44 has a recessed porch to the right. So, we can deduce that 'number 42' has been cut through a terraced house with a roof level room built above it. The other explanation is that the entry was originally built into the terrace. One question: to which house does the high room belong? Presumably it is not a small self-contained property, so is there a linking staircase from no. 40 or no. 44?
2017 image
The aerial view below shows the large warehouse occupying gardens on both Brooks Hall Road and All Saints Road behind it. This suggests that the warehouse existed on this footprint at the same time that the streets were developed (nos. 22-24 bear a house name plaque: 'Hartington Villas, 1881'). Brooks Hall Road takes its name from Brookes Hall which once stood on a site to the northeast, across Norwich Road – this is clearly marked on an 1884 map of the Broom Hill brickyard area. It is interesting that the name is at some distance from the actual hall (which was dismantled and moved to Somerset: see our Street name derivations page for the story).

2016 images
Black Horse Walk in 2016. See also our page on The Black Horse, quite possibly the birthplace of Thomas Wolsey...

Our Museum Street page has comparative maps of the area dated 1778 and 1902.