Holywells Park

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.


'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 is probably where the Bishop of Norwich stayed when his duties brought him to Suffolk. Our Bishops Hill page has more on this. 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.
  
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.
  
Decorative iron screens between the stable stalls, plus a corner manger for straw and feeding trough.

See also our Lettered castings index page.



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