Hundreds of houses were built in the Henley Rise, Castle Hill area of Ipswich during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, connecting the area with the Whitton Estate.
Castle Hill Infant and Junior Schools have seen thousands of children from the area pass through. Thurleston Secondary Modern School, now Ormiston Endeavour Academy, opened in 1958. The Thomas Wolsey School is now part of the same site. The Thomas Eldred public house opened in 1955 and the Man in the Moon in Palmcroft Road opened 1969. The Thomas Eldred closed in 2012, but the Man in the Moon is still a busy community public house.
Iris Punchard wrote in and said: The photograph of the station master at Finningham Station depicted the late Mr Barrett. I used to cycle from Gislingham to Finningham Station to go to work at Stowmarket from 1956 to 1963. I married in 1963 and Mr Barrett gave me a wedding present, which I still have.
Denize Humphreys wrote in and said: I have attached photos of the now closed railway station in Ingham, near Bury St Edmunds. One of the photos, right, shows Royal Defence soldiers leaving for Masham in Yorkshire, and is dated February 11, 1917. These men had spent some months in building and also destroying the mock battlefield at Elveden, Suffolk. Other soldiers were continually arriving for training at Ingham Camp and then travelling onwards to their next destination. Today this site houses the offices of Urban Forestry Ltd. We have had several visitors since moving into the old Station house, who had previously lived in the house – one being the grandson of the former station master, this gentleman was quite emotional when he looked around the house as he could remember staying here with his grandparents. He showed us where the signal levers were originally in the house and where his grandmother used to sit to sell the train tickets. Outside our office is the concrete strip believed to be the original platform. The Bury to Thetford line and other notable army camps, such as Sandy barracks and Barnham camp, were also along this line.
James Patton wrote in and said: I consider Ipswich my home even though I now live in a small town, Newberry, west of Gainesville, Florida. I visit the Ipswich Star website to stay in touch with the coming and goings of the community I love so much, with hopes I will one day return to Ipswich to live for at least part of the year.(Not sure I could endure an entire winter season any longer having lived in Florida for so long!) I’m happy to say I still have many family and friends living in the area and I try to return as often as my job allows. I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your section of Days Gone By, especially when viewing photos of the late ‘60s to ‘70s. These were great years for me as I attended Suffolk College and cheered on our beloved Tractor Boys. Admittedly, the published photos do leave me feeling melancholy and sad as those days seemed to have been much less complex then than days I endure now. Time changes all things. A visit to the website recently brought back those melancholy feelings as I looked at pictures from the Mulberry Tree Pub scene of 1973 and while I wasn’t a patron it was no different to other pubs I might have been in at the time. Thank you for what you do for people like me who just want to re-live what are considered by me to be the best days of my life.
Did you attend the schools in this area of Ipswich or were a regular at the local pubs? Do you have memories you would like to share with readers? To submit a letter, in less than 300 words, write to David Kindred, Days Gone By, Ipswich Star/EADT, Portman House, 120 Princes Street, Ipswich, IP1 1RS or send an e-mail.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here