Advance information from Old Pond Publishing.
New Book
By David Kindred
Ipswich; The Changing Face of the Town

If you walk through Ipswich you become aware of how buildings of all periods jostle each other for space. There are remnants of the medieval and Tudor dwellings, terraced streets from the 19th century as well as developments from the 20th and 21st centuries.

The book throws light on how Ipswich has developed since the 1880s when photography outdoors became practical. The book has a wide range of sources including some photographers whose work was outstanding. Harry Walters, for example, was making high quality images in the 1890s. Similarly, the curator of the Ipswich Museum in the 1930s, Guy Maynard, recorded areas where changes to the town were planned including photographs of the housing around Cox Lane and the Potteries.

Amateur photographers have also played their part, capturing the questionable changes of the 1960s. They have photographed the recent transformation of the dock area from the commercial hub to the mainly residential and leisure scene complete with the new university building.
The 300 plus photographs bring to life the past and present of Suffolk’s county town.

Publication October 2011, hardback with approx 320 photographs many in colour.

For more information contact Heather Jarrold, Old Pond Publishing, Dencora Business Centre, 36 White House Road, Ipswich IP1 5LT. Phone 01473 238200
email heather@oldpond.com web site www.oldpond.com

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Published by Old Pond Publishing

Old Pond Publishing Ltd are publishers of DVDs and books for enthusiasts in the land-based industries: farmers and smallholders, workers in the earthmoving, forestry and heavy transport occupations. They deal with current activities and machinery as well as the history of the industries. They are based in Ipswich, Suffolk, UK.

From Buddy to the Beatles.

Stephen Foster & David Kindred

From 1958 to the mid 1960s the Ipswich Gaumont (aka the Regent) played host to a wonderful array of stars, among them Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Little Richard, The Kinks, The Everly Brothers, Marty Wilde, Helen Shapiro, Dusty Springfield, Cliff Richard, The Byrds, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.

David Kindred photographed many of the stars for the local paper, catching them informally while they signed autographs or gave interviews. He captured not just the stars but the audiences and fans, with the hairstyles and clothes of the time.

The text by pop music expert and BBC broadcaster Stephen Foster is complemented by many of these rare photographs along with autographs, programmes, tickets and other memorabilia of the period.

Hadleigh: the Portrait of a Suffolk Town.

The photographs of Peter Boulton,
selected by David Kindred

Commercial photographer and film-maker Peter Boulton recorded Hadleigh and its people in the 1940s and ’50s. This thriving country town, ten miles west of Ipswich, gave him scope to photograph the activities that were typical of so many towns at that time.

During the Second World War Peter Boulton photographed the wartime sandbagging of major buildings, the work of the Royal Observer Corps and the celebrations of VE Day. His later photographs show the craftsmen of the town, including work at Brett Weavers where coconut matting was woven.

There are many evocative photographs of groups of people – at carnivals, fetes, school sports, dances, the Coronation celebrations and the Hadleigh Show. The Hunt winds its way through the town and there are accidents and incidents such as the disastrous fire at Toppesfield Mill in 1954, the cover picture.

Harwich & Dovercourt:
the photographs of Alfred Smith.

Selected by David Kindred and Peter Goodwin

Standing on a narrow peninsula in north-east Essex, Harwich has had a long maritime history. The old port of Harwich with its fishing boats, the more modern terminal at Parkeston Quay and the promenade at Dovercourt are all reflected in the many photographs in this book.

Alfred Smith started his commercial photography business in 1952. The majority of the images in this collection are of the 1960s and ’70s. Besides many fine photographs of the shipping and quays, there are sections on the streets of the time – some facing demolition – events such as the Queen’s visits, the Guy Carnival and the distribution of the spicy buns known as Kitchels. The shots of sporting teams of the period will bring back memories to many readers.

Harwich and Dovercourt has a very special character, as depicted in this fine compilation of photographs.

In a Long Day: the Titshall photographs
of farm and village life.

David Kindred & Roger Smith

From 1925 to 1935 commercial photographers Leonard and Ralph Titshall toured Suffolk recording farm workers, tradesmen and villagers as they paused from their labours or stood at their gates. The result is a fascinating collection of vivid images of the life of the period in an arable farm setting.

About half of the 200 photographs show horses at work and their horsemen – ploughing, cultivating, drilling and carting the grain and root harvests. Another substantial series of shots covers threshing and other steam activities, and many of the engines have been identified.

Rural tradesmen featured include blacksmiths, harness- and hurdle-makers, hand brickmakers, sack repairers, as well as dairymen and farm-oriented transport. A final chapter focuses on the villagers, showing a wide range of dress, housing and ages, capturing the variety and social change of the period.

Informative captions have been prepared with the help of retired horsemen, engine drivers and specialist authorities. In the second edition many of these captions were revised in the light of new information supplied by readers of the first edition.

Just a Moment.

David Kindred & Roger Smith

The photographs in this collection were taken in Suffolk between 1925 and 1935. The majority of the shots are of workmen paused for a moment in the course of their normal days.

Farm scenes include horsemen with their teams at plough, carting roots, drilling corn or returning from a day’s labour. Town scenes show carriers and deliverymen.

At the period of these photographs the internal combustion engine was making a strong impact. Here we see motorbikes and their owners, buses, charabancs and a wide range of commercial freight and motorised vans. The pictures also include sections of general work such as the Ipswich docks, road-building and the railways.

A final section shows cottagers at their doors and some commercial premises such as rural pubs and post offices.

The photographs are supported by informative captions.

Suffolk Steam Railways

David Kindred

The 200 photographs in this book reflect the diversity and importance that steam once had in East Anglia. For a hundred years it was the main carrier of people and freight, and a major employer, even though Suffolk was a mainly agricultural county with relatively few lines.

Although the photographs go back to the 1870s, most in this selection were taken in the 1950s and ’60s. They will stir many memories. The selection covers the main lines, stations and services as well as Ipswich Locoshed and Dock, the Mid Suffolk Light Railway and the branch lines. There are many shots of trains, but also evocative pictures of the men who worked the railways and their ancillary services.