Vestigial lettering in Ipswich
Charles Street
This page includes some of the faint traces of public
(mainly trade)
lettering
to be found in the town. Once again, we include these because they
exist,
even though they may not be clearly readable at the screen resolution
used
on this website. Worry not: the signs are spelt out in the captions.
'H.H. NEARS LTD' (over the central bricked
up entrance -
note the different
brick colour), with ' COACH ... BUILDERS' on either side. The close-up
of
the central panel (below) reveals that the capitals had a drop-shadow.
Although the lettering is not visible in this 1989
photograph (below)
taken
from the now-demolished Charles Street multi-storey car park (The
Arboretum public
house
is at the left on High Street), the coach entrance appears still to be
in
operation, with its ramp onto Charles Street.
1989 image
Only a few yards from here is the Charles Street gate with
a plaque recording the donors.
Buttermarket
Almost not there: 'MI(?)... WAI...' Largely covered by
coloured masonry
paint, these ancient-looking characters are a ghost of previous
businesses
and previous lives. This example comes from the Buttermarket, between
first
storey windows above the Buttermarket Lighting Centre on the opposite
side
to the Past Times shop.
-
And then, high above the street and on the side of the
old Woodplan
shop,
Old Foundry Road (now a restaurant - the new proprietor questioned the
photographer
as why he was photographing his property...). An area of red brick
(pictured
above) which was presumably once covered by a sign and therefore not
painted
cream bears the legend: '...Y(?) ROAD' and a possible '...LS' below it.
We wonder if it once read 'Old Foundry Mills'? It is certainly a tall
mill-type
structure which once had teagle doors over the street. It really is
there. [UPDATE 21.8.2012: see our 1880s map
of the Courts to show the site of a 'Corn Mill' here.]
Barnes of Ipswich in Upper
Orwell Street no has a page of its own.
Felixstowe Road/York Road
At the back of Lamden Gallery and framing/art shop at
137-143 Felixstowe
Road (several shops knocked into one) is this mysterious cartouche, now
obliterated by fawn paint: the more recently built flat-roofed
extension unfortunately made this operation easy. Ghosts of characters
are visible, but no words readable as yet. This sign faces up York
Road to draw attention to what? A grocer, tobacconist, ironmonger at
the corner shop of yore? Or just possibly, another Tolly Cobbold off licence?
See our new (2013) page Burroughes Bros
devoted to this sign now that the words have become clearer.
2004 images
See the Cobbold's sign in St Peters Street
for an even more vestigial sign, similar to the Globe
sign.
Please email any comments and contributions by clicking here.
©2004 Copyright
throughout the Ipswich
Historic Lettering site: Borin Van Loon
No reproduction of text or images without express
written permission