Then and Now

 This was the old Edwardian photo of Hollesley church, one of those I found and wrote about a couple of weeks ago. 

And how it looks now, the house in the foreground is long gone, you can just see the top of the roof of the house behind which is still there and can just be seen on the old photo. All the other buildings that can be glimpsed on the old photo have also gone.

And as I pulled into the entrance way to park I realised that I HAD been here before and because I thought I hadn't I didn't even check my new checklist of A-Z churches - what an idiot woman!

A couple were doing some tidying in the churchyard, so I showed them the old photo and they were really interested to see it and hadn't seen it before although they were both local people. I left the photo with them to show others in the village. Better for it to be in the village than 30 miles away in my house.

It was almost exactly 4 years ago  that I visited Hollesley after a tour of the Woodbridge charity shops and I did the same last week and  went round all of them and found nothing, although there was a Grey Persephone book but it was £5 - more than I wanted to pay simply to add to the shelf as it wasn't one I'd want to read. I was hoping to find a Nativity scene of some sort for a friend at the Keep Moving group, who is trying to collect lots (donated or loaned) for a display as a fundraiser for her church. No luck with finding anything in Woodbridge, in fact few charity shops had Christmas stuff out yet.

I'm loaning the two I have 

But it will need dozens more to be anything like the display I visited in 2018 when there were 200 on display at Grundisburgh Church, where they were lucky to have many loaned by Libby Purves and more from their vicar at that time. They've never had another display there , the vicar moved away and Libby Purves doesn't loan out her collection - she was looking for a new home for it at the time.

So if you know anyone who has a nativity scene they don't want anymore, there's a new home for it here in Mid Suffolk!

Back Soon

 

More of the Old Suffolk Photos

 More of the old Suffolk photos I found at the small Sunday boot sale. More information on yesterday's post.

The next two I knew. The first is at the top of Bent Hill in Felixstowe, one of the few places in Suffolk with a town by the sea and this bit is high above the sea which is why there is nothing in the distance.

And below is Woodbridge. The loading/weighing structure thing is still there and the building is a pub called 'The Old Bell and Steelyard". One of the oldest pubs in the UK. It's a Grade 1 Listed building

The one below could be almost anywhere in Suffolk, although the building left of centre could be a chapel which I thought might be still there. It was recognised by someone on the East Suffolk in Old Photos Facebook page as being Chapel Lane, Gt Glemham. So both church and chapel in Gt Glemham have featured and I've not seen either.

Another below that I didn't know, luckily again someone knew it as Hollesley church. Not far from the coast and another church I've not visited yet.

Below is Wickham Market, the road through the village that I now use when going back and forward to the Auction yard at Campsea Ash and one of the ways we used to go from Suffolk Coast to Mid Suffolk when we lived at the small holding. The road layout is still the same

Another photo of Wickham Market, just a bit further on from the one above. I got the magnifier out to read the name on the delivery bike! The houses on the right of the road are still the same, as are those on the left but the garage on the left of the road in the centre of the photo has long gone.

Another mystery photo but recognised by several people as Martlesham, another village now bypassed just north of Ipswich.

Again I didn't know this one but others said it was Alderton, a village I have visited for the church but don't know well at all.

This one below was labelled as Ufford, another church I have visited, tucked away in the village .

All the photos except the one in Essex and the two of Felixstowe, are near the A12, the main road from Ipswich to Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth. 

I had fun looking at them all and finding out where they were, lots of people looked at them on the East Suffolk in Old Photos Facebook page and said it was a good find and they were glad I'd shared them all.

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Suffolk in Old Photos

 I found a bundle of photographs at one of the last Sunday car boots of the season,  they were in a box among other house clearance stuff . The man selling them said £5 for the lot or 50p each, then he said "what are they? I've not even looked at them". 

They are probably Edwardian photos, mainly of Suffolk, some have village names pencilled on the back others just said Suffolk, he accepted my offer of £4 for the lot as I wanted to take them home for a better look.

I put them up on a Facebook Group called East Suffolk in Old Photos and lots of people responded and identified a few that weren't named. 

What I can't find out is if they are copies of well known old photographic views that are already with local history groups or unknown - probably the former.

This is Laxfield - it's on the shop name, although it's a scene I would have known anyway .The shop is still there, it's a Co-op now. The building on the right was and still is a pub and the church still has the railings.

Below is Felixstowe Pier back when it was very long and had a tramway all the way to the pier head.

I didn't recognise this one below, but after putting it on the facebook page someone said it was Great Glemham, and that's a church I've not visited yet.

This one below was identified by someone on the Facebook group as Badingham with the school which is now a village hall

I had no idea about the one below, which said Sproughton on the back, but I couldn't recognise it. Luckily several people knew it was Parham, a village not far from Framlingham and another church still on my list to visit.

The one below said Rowhedge on the back, a village in Essex. It was the only photo from Essex and a place I don't know at all.

I had no idea about the one below, luckily someone recognised it as Wangford, a village just off the A12 towards Lowestoft. 

More tomorrow

ITFC, Old Photos and Back to Daily Posting?

 First of all have to say WELL DONE to Ipswich Town Football Club , automatically promoted to the Premiership - the top tier of English Football. It's 22 Years since they were last there. This time last year they were promoted from the third tier to the second so it's an amazing turn around in two seasons after some very dismal years. Being in the Premiership brings many bonuses - mainly money and recognition. Ipswich really needs this as I've mentioned before about how sad the town is looking. This might herald a turn around for our County Town.

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My photo sorting is providing lots of old pictures to share to local Facebook village and town history groups.

The hamlet of  14 homes where I lived for my first 20 years - Although I wasn't there when this photo was taken! definitely before my time! The 'busy' road was actually the A45 which has become the A14 main road from Felixstowe to the Midlands so thank heavens the hamlet was bypassed in the early 70's. Our house was the one just left of centre and facing forward. Behind it you can just see the roofs of a row of 6 cottages that were condemned and unfit to live in when Mum and Dad bought everything in about 1951.

A Suffolk village school photo from 1913 with my grandmother in the centre - someone in the past put an inked circle round her head and the boy in front who is someone I've not heard of - perhaps a friend.

My grandparents (on the binder and holding the horse) and their children, my Aunt, her twin brother = my Real Dad and Step Dad on their farm in Mid Suffolk around 1930ish

Outing to the beach - Sunday School probably or perhaps Cub Scouts. That's Colin in the front and his brother on the far left.

My Mum was a Cub Scout Leader In Stowmarket - in the years just after the war, she's on the left. Her younger brother - my Uncle is the  third boy from Mum.

Colin's  Primary School photo, same school that our two eldest children went to for a few years before we moved to the coast and the same school which two of my Grandchildren now attend.

My primary school had no school photos while I was there which is disappointing.

Still lots more recent photos to remove from old albums...........It's taking a while! especially after posting the very old photos on Facebook Groups as I then have to go back and answer the questions asked.

Blogging..........I might go back to 6 days a week posting, it depends where I go and what I do to write about. If I don't appear some days it will be because there's nothing to mention. So instead of saying 'Back Tomorrow' I'll say 'Back Soon'!

So................

Back Soon (although I will be back tomorrow as I have some church visits in drafts)

Sue