Whitton was a tiny village two and a half miles from the Ipswich town centre until the Whitton, Castle Hill and Whitehouse housing estates were built.

East Anglian Daily Times: The Norwich Road at Whitton looking towards Claydon in around 1906. This picture was taken from close to where Whitehouse Road is now off to the left. The terrace of houses on the right are still there today opposite where Bury Road carries traffic to and from the interchange with the A14.The Norwich Road at Whitton looking towards Claydon in around 1906. This picture was taken from close to where Whitehouse Road is now off to the left. The terrace of houses on the right are still there today opposite where Bury Road carries traffic to and from the interchange with the A14. (Image: Dave Kindred)

Many of the roads on the Whitton housing estate were named after poets and playwrights, and Whitehouse after Irish towns, writes David Kindred.

Whitton village was linked to Ipswich town centre when the electric tram service started in 1903, giving villagers the opportunity to visit the town centre on a regular basis.

The village was on the main road from Ipswich to Norwich until the Ipswich western bypass was built and traffic diverted to an interchange via the Bury Road in the mid 1980s and the village bypassed. There was a police station built in 1905, now a private residence and a village post office until the 1980s.

The old village is now part of Ipswich. Most people think of the huge, mainly council, housing estate and sports centre when Whitton is mentioned.

The three public houses, The Maypole, which was in the heart of the old village, The Safe Harbour, built when the housing estate was expanding, and the Crown are all closed or demolished.

What are your memories of Whitton either as a village or housing estate? Email info@kindred-spirit.co.uk

See more from David Kindred here