There and Back

Like many medieval churches in Suffolk, St John the Baptist is remote from the village it serves. Or, it would be more accurate to say that the village is remote from the church, since the church stands on the main road from the A12 to Aldeburgh, and the village is off this road, a mile or so to the south. The position of the church probably reflects the fact that it is high, firm ground, while the village is in the marshes.  There have been many internal as well as external alterations and restorations  over the years; not so many by the Victorians as was the common practice. The most recent of significance have been the rebuilding of the East Wall in 1920, (above) and the installation of a new organ together with improvements to the balcony and vestry at the millennium (below). The new organ, and in front of it, the magnificent 15C font. The treasure of the Church, despite some mutilation in the past, is undoubtedly the font, made c.1500 and once gilded.  In his "Buildings of En

The 'Harvest' mural, situated at the back of the derelict Co-op department store on Carr Street in Ipswich, is one of only four surviving large-scale English Co-op murals created in the 50s and 60s. I originally photographed this mural in 2011 This piece, created by Hungarian artists, Gyula Bajó and Endre Hevezi, between 1963 and 1964, comprises thousands of colourful square mosaic tiles, depicting the Greek mythology characters of Demeter, goddess of the harvest and the messenger Hermes. Planning permission was allowed in October 2021 to demolish the former store at 48 to 68 Carr Street to make way for a new primary school, nursery, along with a rooftop multi-use games area. However, the Grade II-listed mural on the rear of the building in Ipswich has impacted the delivery of the school. The rare mural was given Grade II listed status last year, meaning that while the demolition could still go ahead, the mural would be preserved In August, planning permission was granted to al