High Street legend Thomas Cook goes bust
Exam Day Dereliction, Ipswich, Suffolk - 13th November 2019
Nosher's in Ipswich to take a General Certificate in Brewing (Craft beer) exam, whilst the G-Unit has an appointment at Ipswich Hospital, so with a bit of temporal shuffling around we manage to fit both in with the same trip. The exam finishes first, so there's an hour or so to kill looking around the old stomping grounds of Ipswich to see what's still derelict and what's changed. Whilst the main "High Street" seems to be more-or-less OK, there are a lot of shut-up shops around elsewhere, but by far the biggest crime is that the old St. Helen's Court - once the home of Suffolk County Council - is still derelict after at least seven years since the last visit. On the upside, at least St. Andrew's - the old Libraries and Heritage/Education building - seems to have now been converted to flats. Other than that, the old Odeon, burned-out St. Michael's Church and the Ipswich Bagel Bakery are still pretty much as they were, whilst Barnes of Ipswich has now gone completely. Meanwhile, the former SCC Social Club seems to making a bid to become a small spot of dense jungle, as nature reclaims it in a process that somehow feels more visceral than usual, given the number of good times had within its walls in times past.
next album: Isobel Sings at the Eye Lights, Eye, Suffolk - 28th November 2019
previous album: The GSB at Dickleburgh, and Samia Malik at the Bank, Eye, Suffolk - 11th November 2019
The Hot Sausage Company van is still going
Cornhill by the Corn Exchange has had a make-over
The ornate frontage of Lloyds Bank
On Westgate Street
A lot of identical For Sale signs on Arcade Street
A derelict building on Arcade Street
The Swan gets rebranded for no particular reason
The Swan is re-branded as The Swan and Hedgehog
Looking in the general direction of Willis Coroon
The Giles Family statue on 'Giles Circus'
A warm glow from Buttermarket Lighting
British Home Stores, or BHS, is still empty
The closed-down Mattressman
The 1950s/60s offices next to the Co-op building
Broken windows
The Cooperative building
Funky mural over Cox Lane
The Co-operative building near Cox Lane
Derelict Indian restaurant on Upper Orwell Street
The derelict Ipswich Bagel Bakery is still there
There's a nice bit of 1975 stained glass
The back of the co-op building
The burned-out St. Michael's church
The wrecked clock face on St. Helen's Court tower
The trace of the former 'Odeon' sign has now gone
The tragedy of the derelict St. Helen's Court
St. Helen's Court portcullis main entrance
The old councillors' entrance to St. Helen's
The great hall is clad in scaffolding
Beer can on a windowsill
St Michael's, from Bond Street
The 'spire' of St. Michael's is being held up by scaffolding
Another derelict office block
Le Garagiste Citroën Garage on Bond Street
A derelict house near Rope Walk
The former SCC social club is in a sad state
The front entrance has almost disappeared in foliage
The steps are fairly overgrown
The end of St. Edmund's House and Suffolk College
The derelict SCC social club
A mattress leans folornly up against a fence
The boarded-up club, and St. Edmund's House
Pop art on a door, with some odd grammar
The Grinning Rat, or 'Rinning Grat', has closed
It's a crime that St. Helen's is being left to rot
The old Suffolk Connexions
The seat of East Suffolk County Council, pre 1974
The Suffolk county crest
Another Giles statue near the bogs at Major's Corner
Age UK's massive - and empty - shop
Another closing-down sign
Trashed shop interior
Cox Lane as it comes out on Carr Street
A dilapidated link bridge and empty shops on Cox Lane
Another shop to let
The derelict former Subway
The Great White Horse is boarded up
The Great White Horse Hotel is closed yet again
Back entrance to the Great White Horse Hotel
A fine timbered building on Northgate Street
A painted elephant in the entrance to Ipswich library
The old Ewers Grey-Green Coach station
Inside the old coach station
Seperate doors for reading and lectures
The grand Bethesda Baptist Church
An old Egerton's sign on Crown Street
Autumn colours in Christchurch Park
The war memorial
Some other monument in the park
It's true: Ed Sheeran is everywhere
A 100-year old oak tree, and plaque for a mayor
Stripey lawns at Christchurch Mansion
A deep pile of brown leaves
A blue house, and some very yellow leaves in the sun, on Fonnereau Road
Nicely-distressed railings
The Ferodo bridge on Norwich Road
The arches under Ferodo bridge are all a bit seedy
The other side of Ferodo bridge, on Norwich Road
Back in Eye, Isobel roams around the shop Shelf
Isobel buys a thing from Shelf
Hint: you can use the left and right cursor keys to navigate between albums, and between photos when in the photo viewer
High Street legend Thomas Cook goes bust
High Street legend Thomas Cook goes bust
The Hot Sausage Company van is still going
Cornhill by the Corn Exchange has had a make-over
The ornate frontage of Lloyds Bank
On Westgate Street
A lot of identical For Sale signs on Arcade Street
A derelict building on Arcade Street
The Swan gets rebranded for no particular reason
The Swan is re-branded as The Swan and Hedgehog
Looking in the general direction of Willis Coroon
The Giles Family statue on 'Giles Circus'
A warm glow from Buttermarket Lighting
British Home Stores, or BHS, is still empty
The closed-down Mattressman
The 1950s/60s offices next to the Co-op building
Broken windows
The Cooperative building
Funky mural over Cox Lane
The Co-operative building near Cox Lane
Derelict Indian restaurant on Upper Orwell Street
The derelict Ipswich Bagel Bakery is still there
There's a nice bit of 1975 stained glass
The back of the co-op building
The burned-out St. Michael's church
The wrecked clock face on St. Helen's Court tower
The trace of the former 'Odeon' sign has now gone
The tragedy of the derelict St. Helen's Court
St. Helen's Court portcullis main entrance
The old councillors' entrance to St. Helen's
The great hall is clad in scaffolding
Beer can on a windowsill
St Michael's, from Bond Street
The 'spire' of St. Michael's is being held up by scaffolding
Another derelict office block
Le Garagiste Citroën Garage on Bond Street
A derelict house near Rope Walk
The former SCC social club is in a sad state
The front entrance has almost disappeared in foliage
The steps are fairly overgrown
The end of St. Edmund's House and Suffolk College
The derelict SCC social club
A mattress leans folornly up against a fence
The boarded-up club, and St. Edmund's House
Pop art on a door, with some odd grammar
The Grinning Rat, or 'Rinning Grat', has closed
It's a crime that St. Helen's is being left to rot
The old Suffolk Connexions
The seat of East Suffolk County Council, pre 1974
The Suffolk county crest
Another Giles statue near the bogs at Major's Corner
Age UK's massive - and empty - shop
Another closing-down sign
Trashed shop interior
Cox Lane as it comes out on Carr Street
A dilapidated link bridge and empty shops on Cox Lane
Another shop to let
The derelict former Subway
The Great White Horse is boarded up
The Great White Horse Hotel is closed yet again
Back entrance to the Great White Horse Hotel
A fine timbered building on Northgate Street
A painted elephant in the entrance to Ipswich library
The old Ewers Grey-Green Coach station
Inside the old coach station
Seperate doors for reading and lectures
The grand Bethesda Baptist Church
An old Egerton's sign on Crown Street
Autumn colours in Christchurch Park
The war memorial
Some other monument in the park
It's true: Ed Sheeran is everywhere
A 100-year old oak tree, and plaque for a mayor
Stripey lawns at Christchurch Mansion
A deep pile of brown leaves
A blue house, and some very yellow leaves in the sun, on Fonnereau Road
Nicely-distressed railings
The Ferodo bridge on Norwich Road
The arches under Ferodo bridge are all a bit seedy
The other side of Ferodo bridge, on Norwich Road
Back in Eye, Isobel roams around the shop Shelf
Isobel buys a thing from Shelf