Holywells
Park
Bishops Hill entrance: the gates
2014 images
During the lottery-funded refurbishment of Holywells Park, these
fine gates (plus the paving) were installed on the Bishops Hill entrance. The brickwork
incorporates an excellent piece of hand-cut lettering incised on a
stone tablet: 'HOLYWELLS PARK'; clean serif'd capitals.
The wrought ironwork features water and fragmites reed motifs.
Note that a similar set of wrought iron gates can be found at the Cliff
Lane entrance to the park.
Nacton Road entrance
2026 images
This small gateway into Holywells Park can be
found on Nacton Road, more-or-less opposite the southern end of Alan
Road. The
cast metal plaque to the right of the entrance
reads:
'HOLYWELLS PARK
PRESENTED TO
THE BOROUGH
ON THE 21ST. SEPTEMBER 1935, BY
THE RIGHT HON. LORD WOODBRIDGE
(THE HIGH STEWARD OF THE BOROUGH)
AND OPENED TO THE PUBLIC
ON 30TH. MAY, 1936.'
'Holy Wells'
The park is reputed to have been the site of the manor held
before the Norman Conquest by Queen Edith (c.1025-1075), wife of Edward
the Confessor (c.1003-1066). In the park is a large
moated site, still visible today around the children's play area,
which, it has been said, is where the Bishop of Norwich stayed when his
duties brought
him to Suffolk –see th update on our Bishops
Hill page for a correction to this misapprehaension. The
major value of the
parkland is the spring water, plentiful and
pure. Our Street name derivations page
has more on
the name Holywells; contrary to popular belief the 'wells' and springs
here were not considered sacred. Thomas
Cobbold established his brewery in Harwich in
1723, shipping clean water from Ipswich. Eventually, he moved the
brewery to the Cliff, Ipswich in 1742 where he could be take advantage
of the proximity of the fresh water springs of Holywells for brewing
beer. The
Cobbolds had already started to buy land in this area but in 1811 John
Cobbold (1745-1835) bought
Pitt’s Farm (otherwise Raceground Farm – or the ‘old
cottle’ ), a basic Suffolk hall house.. He extended the original
farmhouse with a Regency-style west wing. His wife Elizabeth called it
‘Holy Wells’. There is a reference to Pitt’s Farm in a will of 1564
which mentions ‘Pytts over the hill’. [Information from Holywells Park
information board.] It is probably true that the Cobbold
family encouraged the use of the name Holywells for their house and
parkland to give them added caché. Thomas Gainsborough
(1727–1788) painted a well-known – and somewhat idealised – view of the
cascade of spring water ponds in the park, much of which is visible
today. The painting is part of the collection at Christchurch Mansion.
Above: Pitt's Farm at left with 'Holy Wells' at
right. Information
and images from Holywells Park information board
Below: a turn-of-the-19th/20th-century postcard of the Cobbold's
Holywells Mansion, built by John Cobbold in 1814, with the Orangery
(centre) and Stable block at right.
The park and mansion were presented to the town of Ipswich by Arthur
Churchman, Lord Woodbridge, the tobacco magnate; he also gifted the Chantry to the town and Elmhurst Park to Woodbridge. The footprint of the demolished
house is marked by paving and planting
in the park refurbishment which took place up to 2015. Ipswich
Borough Council received a grant of £2.8 million from the Heritage
Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund for the Holywells "Parks for People"
restoration project in July 2012.
c.1900
The Orangery
Although there isn't much lettering relating to the park, except the
memorial on the Myrtle Road
entrance, it is worth including some of the images from the restoration
work of the Stable Block and Orangery carried out over 2013-15. Both
these buildings relate to the Cobbold
mansion which was tragically demolished in 1963.
March 2015 images
The pool; sadly it is not possible to reinstate the pool due to
health and safety problems, so it is now used as a planter.
Decorative floor tiles in the orangery.
Raised lettering: 'SHUT ... OPEN' on the iron ventilation
adjusters.
Above: the view of the early stage of the lawns and planted
borders.
The Stable Block
2020
image courtesy Mandy Gaylard
Above: the clock tower is seen through the garden entrance to
the former Holywells House.
A clock on one of the faces of the tower was installed to match
the other two.
Reception/office
In the Stable Block café, Tim Germain's unusual counter
features
timbers separated by distressed red bricks. In the frog of the brick,
the word 'SWANAGE'. For more on named bricks, see our Wherstead red page.
2026 images
'FISON
STOWMARKET'
[UPDATE January
2026: The counter has now gone and this space is part of what is now
called Bishop's Café. However, it does give us the chance look
closely at the white brick floor which spreads into the main room of
the café. These bricks must be really hard and able to withstand the
weight of carriage wheels. The lower photograph shows a brick partially
covered by the metal stand of a giant pink flamingo (don't ask). We
found this passage on the FOOD Museum (formerly The Museum of East
Anglian Life) in Stowmarket:-
‘Suffolk Museums
Object of the Year- The Feminist Brick
This year’s theme is ‘Hidden Histories’ and we’ve nominated
our feminist brick. This brick may not seem very exciting at first, but
this very simple object hides a fascinating story.
The clue is in its stamp: ‘FISON STOWMARKET’. The brick was produced in
Stowmarket, now home to the Museum of East Anglian Life (MEAL). But it
is linked to the museum by more than locality – there is a family
connection. Between 1858 and 1877, the Prentice family lived in Abbots
Hall, the ‘big house’ of the estate which is now the museum. Catherine
was the eldest daughter of the family, born in 1822. She married her
cousin, James Fison, in 1848. James was a merchant, miller and brick
maker. James died just four years later, leaving Catherine at the helm
of the brickworks and other enterprises. She thus became a successful
local business leader at a time when women were rarely seen in such
roles.
Catherine became a brick and tar manufacturer, miller, wool merchant
and maltster. In 1861, she employed 33 men and 17 boys. By 1871, this
had expanded to 46 men, one clerk and eight boys. On her death in 1910,
Catherine’s estate was valued at 979 pounds, 13 shillings and five
pence, a substantial sum.
As this brick cannot be dated with any precision, we cannot say for
certain whether it was produced under Catherine’s management. However,
it provides a tangible link to the local business empire over which she
presided.
This object’s story was uncovered through Search for the Stars, MEAL’s
project creating an online collections catalogue and identifying new
star objects through mass volunteering. 2018 marks the centenary
of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, giving women the vote for
the first time. With such a significant story that ties in with 100
years of Suffrage, we hope you’ll help us win Object of the Year 2018.’
Inevitably, these bricks appear on the
niche-but-excellent Old Bricks
website, see Links.
Stables
Decorative iron screens between the stable stalls, plus
a corner
manger for straw and feeding trough.
Plaques
The Stable Block in Holywells is home to a number of
commemorative plaques. More details can be found on our Plaques page:-
ELIZABETH KNIPE COBBOLD (1766-1824),
Civic Voice Public Realm category winner, 2016,
HOLYWELLS PARK. The John Norman Award of Distinction (The Ipswich
Society Awards, 2024).
See also our Lettered castings
index page.
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