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Ferruginous chert ("jasper")
Sedimentary rocks form by the solidification of loose sediments. Loose sediments become hard rocks by the processes of deposition, burial, compaction, dewatering, and cementation.
There are three categories of sedimentary rocks:
1) Siliciclastic sedimentary rocks form by the solidification of sediments produced by weathering & erosion of any previously existing rocks.
2) Biogenic sedimentary rocks form by the solidification of sediments that were once-living organisms (plants, animals, micro-organisms).
3) Chemical sedimentary rocks form by the solidification of sediments formed by inorganic chemical reactions. Most sedimentary rocks have a clastic texture, but some are crystalline.
Chert is a cryptocrystalline-textured, siliceous sedimentary rock. It is composed of quartz (SiO2). Traditionally, light-colored varieties were called “chert” by geologists, and dark-colored varieties were called “flint”. This arbitrary distinction is no longer preferred. “Flint” is now an archaeological term for chert that has been worked by early humans. "Flint" is generally perceived by rockhounds to be high-quality material (from a flint-knapper's point of view, apparently), whereas "chert" is perceived as low-quality material. Chert nodules in Cretaceous chalks of Britain are still called “flint” by some geologists. Chert meganodules at Flint Ridge, Ohio are called “flint” in the geologic literature.
Individual quartz crystals are incredibly small in cherts, and generally cannot be seen with normal microscopes. Chert comes close to having the physical properties of a glassy textured rock - it is very hard (H = 7), has conchoidal fracture (smooth & curved fracture surfaces), and has sharp broken edges.
Cherts vary in color. Common chert colors include whitish, grayish, brownish to dark gray, very dark blue, and black. Reds, yellows, and greens are sometimes present. Some cherts are complexly multicolored.
Some cherts form biogenically, but other cherts have a chemical origin. As a result, chert cannot be placed cleanly or neatly or unambiguously into a traditional sedimentary rock category (siliciclastic, biogenic, chemical).
The chert sample seen here has an intense reddish color due to significant iron oxide impurity. Such reddish-colored ferruginous cherts are called "jasper". The red chert layers in many banded iron formations are usually called jasper (see, for example: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/sets/72157646887794646)
Flint from the Pennsylvanian of Ohio, USA.
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Studies done by geologists at Ohio State University at Newark indicate that the Vanport Flint has a relatively complex history, the details of which are still being worked out.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric American Indians quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old Indian flint pits can be examined along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("State Memorial"). Many authentic Indian artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
This spectacular red-and-dark blue flint sample is a flint knapper's preform. They are often sold to other flint knappers, who process them further into various points. The flint has been heated in a kiln, which is a standard procedure. Heating improves the knappability of the flint. Heating also often intensifies colors.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Roy Miller Flint Quarries - flint pit just northwest of the Flint Ridge Road-Brownsville Road intersection, near Flint Ridge State Park, central Flint Ridge, southeastern Licking County, east-central Ohio, USA (vicinity of 39° 59’ 21.84" North latitude, 82° 15’ 49.04" West longitude)
This knapped point is composed of manmade, pale green, uranium-bearing glass. It is radioactive and glows under ultraviolet light (black light).
Flint from the Pennsylvanian of Ohio, USA.
Flint is the state gemstone of Ohio. "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. In early times, light-colored material was called "chert" and dark-colored material was called "flint". Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules). Another proposed origin for some chert / flint is altered quartzose eolian dust deposits on ancient seafloors.
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric Americans quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old flint pits can be seen along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("Flint Ridge State Memorial"; "Flint Ridge Ancient Quarries & Nature Preserve"). Many prehistoric artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
The orangish-brown area in this sample is extremely weathered flint - this is called rottenstone or tripoli. The rounded structures that resemble oolites are actually weathering spherulites (click on the photo once or twice to zoom in).
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Nethers Flint Quarries - flint pit in the woods on the southwestern side of Flint Ridge Road, eastern Flint Ridge, far-western Muskingum County, east-central Ohio, USA (vicinity of 40° 00.137’ North latitude, 82° 11.544’ West longitude)
Familiar to residents and visitors alike, the great Victorian spire of St Mary-le-Tower rises above the shopping streets of central Ipswich, the nearest thing the town will ever have to a cathedral. This is Suffolk's Victorian church par excellence. It is full of the spirit of its age, from the Suffolk flushwork to the international gothic of the spire itself. One could no more imagine Ipswich without 'the Tower' than without the Orwell Bridge.
There were six town centre churches dedicated to St Mary in the Middle Ages; four survive, picturesquely differentiated as St Mary le Tower ('the Tower'), St Mary at Elms ('the Elms'), St Mary at Quay and St Mary at Stoke.
There was a church here in 1200, when the Borough of Ipswich was declared in the churchyard by the granting of a charter. When the Diocese of Norwich restored it in the mid-nineteenth century, they decided on a complete rebuild in stone on the same site. The Diocesan Architect R.M. Phipson was chosen for the job, and the old church was effectively demolished in the 1860s, and a new one built in its place. The old foundations were used, with an extension towards Northgate Street, which is why the northern part of the churchyard is so severely cut off.
There never was a north door, and the west door is beautiful but rather useless, since it is below street level and the path merely leads round to the south. The only parts of the medieval church retained were a doorway, the nave arcades, and a few fixtures and fittings. From the outside it is virtually all Phipson's work, all of a piece, and quite magnificent. The flushwork is exuberant; being a flint-knapper must have been a good living in the 1860s.
The entrance is in the style of the area's south-west tower porches, although on a much grander scale. The actual entrance arch seems to have been retained, as it appears to be the same in the photograph of the 1850s (above), albeit with the tablets now removed. If so, then it is 15th century. There is a fine 19th century Madonna and child in the niche above by Richard Pfeiffer, full of Victorian Anglo-catholic sentiment. Away to the east, the same sculptor produced St John the Evangelist and St Mary of Magdala on the end of the chancel.
The spire is about 60m tall. The chequerboard pattern of the lower tower is rather alarming in comparison with the subtlety of some Suffolk churches, but must have been the very thing in the late 19th century (see the same at Butterfield's south porch of St Mary at Stoke), or at least until the confection of St Lawrence across the road was finished 20 years later. The spire is heartier than Phipson's other more feminine Suffolk spires at Great Finborough and Woolpit,.
The porch inside is grand, stone and marble rising to a painted wooden ceilure. St Peter and St Paul, in the windows either side, look on. A little door to the north-east leads up to the belfry, with a ring of thirteen bells. Their renewal was completed in 1999; I am told that it is actually a ring of twelve, and the thirteenth is a sharp 2nd for use when fewer than twelve are rung. The doorway into the church has been given lovely stops representing the Annunciation, with the angel to the west, and Mary at her prayer desk to the east. As part of the Millenium project, all of this has been guilded, and it is all absolutely gorgeous.
Inside, the vastness swallows all sound. Everywhere there is the gleam of polished wood and tile. Sadly, it was fashionable in the 1950s and 1960s to remove tiles from walls, but you can still make out where these would have been. Also removed was the chancel screen. The old memorials crowd uncomfortably at the west end - Phipson was having no truck with them - but the majestic view to the east is testimony to Phipson's competency. Everything is done to the letter, with the finest attention paid to detail.
The demolished church was very dark and serious inside, so it must have made quite a contrast when the town saw inside its new church. There is a drawing of the inside of this in the north aisle, along with part of the Jacobean chancel arch. Now, the great Perpendicular-style west window fills the nave with coloured light in the afternoons, a perfect foil for evening prayer. A fine Charles II royal arms hangs above.
The font is an excellent example of the typical 15th century East Anglian style, and deserves to be better known. It is in very good condition indeed, probably because this was a town that embraced protestantism whole-heartedly, and it was plastered over in the mid-16th century to make it plain and simple. The lions around the pillar stand on human heads, and there are more heads beneath the bowl. On the bowl itself are more lions, in a curious echo of the font of St Peter, albeit some four hundred years later. There are fine brasses from the original church in the chancel. The early 18th century pulpit, contemporary with and similar to the one in the Unitarian chapel, is a bit sombre, but an excellent example of Grinling Gibbons-style carving. The screen moved from the chancel arch can now be found at the east end of the north aisle, where it softens the metal organ pipes. It is slightly older than its near-twin that separates off the Lady Chapel.
The Decorated-style east window has a certain delicacy, and the otherwise windowless and heavy-wooded chancel was clearly designed for dark, shadowy, incense-led worship. The best feature of the chancel, and perhaps of the whole church, is the grand reredos, piscina and sedilia in the sanctuary, all of about 1900. A lush Arts and Crafts crucifixion surmounts the altar, done in gesso work on wood. East Anglian Saints flank the walls. This sanctuary is the ultimate expression of late 19th century Tractarianism in Suffolk. To think that this was only a few decades after the events at Claydon! You really feel as if you might be in a 19th century colonial Cathedral.
The Lady Chapel is also a delightful piece, full of Victorian and Edwardian sentiment. The reredos shows the transfiguation, but I like best the early 20th century paintings on the south wall, especially the touching infant Christ, as he plays at the feet of St Joseph.
The excellent set of twelve apostles and twelve angels on the choir stalls (still in use for their original purpose) are by Pfeiffer, who did the external statues. You can see his signature on the back of St Luke's icon of the Blessed Virgin.
The Victorian stained glass windows in the nave are of variable quality. The woodwork is much better; it is also largely 19th century, much the work of Pfeiffer and the always excellent Henry Ringham; more of his work can be seen at Great Bealings. The front pews are the so-called 'Corporation pews'; the Tower styles itself the civic church of Ipswich, and one can see the same attempt to merge the municipal with the sacramental as at Phipson's other major work for the diocese, the internal restoration of St Peter Mancroft in Norwich. The bench ends show the Ipswich symbols of a seahorse, and a lion carrying a ship.
If you look carefully at the back of the church, however, you will see that the churchwardens pews still retain their medieval bench ends.
The arcades are from the medieval church, and must have had a slender grace rather lost now - they yearn for white light to enfold them.
The famous Cobbold family provided ministers for this church for many years in the 18th and 19th centuries, and their tombs can be seen in the north chancel aisle, beyond the organ. The family embraced Tractarianism wholeheartedly, being largely responsible for the building of St Bartholomew near their home at Holywells Park. They probably had an influence over the Bacon family, whose wealth went towards the rebuilding, and whose symbol of a boar may be found in the floor tiles.
One memorial you must not miss is that to William Smart, MP for Ipswich, which you can find on the wall in the north west corner of the nave. It is painted on wood, and features a panoramic view of the Ipswich townscape as it was in 1599, when he died.
This parish is unusual in having virtually no resident population, and the congregation is of people drawn from a wide area attracted by the liberal teaching, musical tradition and peculiar cathedral-style high churchmanship of the church. It may not be the biggest congregation in Ipswich, but it is a friendly one.
Flint-knapped arrowhead.
Knapper: Ed Moreland
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric American Indians quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old Indian flint pits can be examined along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("State Memorial"). Many authentic Indian artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
The arrowhead seen here is a modern replica, produced by a skilled knapper named Ed Moreland. The flint itself comes from a Roy Miller flint pit on Flint Ridge. Material from this site is famous for having greenish and/or bluish coloration, which become intensified with heating.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Roy Miller flint pit, northwestern corner of the Brownsville Road-Flint Ridge Road intersection, next to Flint Ridge State Park, Flint Ridge, southeastern Licking County, east-central Ohio, USA
Wild Card: Christopher Matthews / formed view - my body’s an exhibition
Choreographer and performance artist Christopher Matthews curates my body’s an exhibition at Sadler’s Wells on 25, 26 June 2021. In this immersive event, multidisciplinary installations are scattered throughout the building in the foyers, studios, stages and backstage spaces, and explore themes of gender, class structure, intersections of the classical and contemporary, icon vs self and pop culture.
my body’s an exhibition presents over 22 works by international performance makers and artists in the form of video, photography, collage, sound, light, text and live movement installations.
photo © Foteini Christofilopoulou | All rights reserved | For all usage/licensing enquiries please contact www.foteini.com
Associated with a feature cut into an earlier pit was a remarkable collection of flints and tools deposited directly onto the base of the oven. These included eight arrowheads, flint tools, a whetstone used for sharpening tools and an awl or punch made of copper for making holes. This 'tool kit' may have been deliberately placed in the ground as a votive offering.
For more information about this project visit:
Flint from the Pennsylvanian of Ohio, USA. (cut surface; ~10.4 centimeters across at its widest)
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin. Some Pennsylvanian-aged cherts in eastern America are inferred to be ultimately derived from quartzose eolian dust on seafloors.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric American Indians quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old Indian flint pits can be examined along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park. Many authentic Indian artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
This specimen has some pinstripe banding (see the dark area at right). At left is a slender feature defined by two thin fractures with preferentially stained flint between. The dark yellowish and reddish coloration in the sample is from iron oxide(s).
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Nethers Flint Quarries - flint pits in the woods on the southwestern side of Flint Ridge Road, eastern Flint Ridge, far-western Muskingum County, east-central Ohio, USA (vicinity of 40° 00.137’ North latitude, 82° 11.544’ West longitude)
All information is provided in good faith but, on occasions errors may occur. Should this be the case, if new information can be verified please supply it to the author and corrections will then be made.
This memorial has been compiled with additional information by kind permission of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, also from Ancestry.co.uk
AUDLEY WAR MEMORIAL STAFFORDSHIRE
Located opposite the parish church
To our glorious dead
1914 The Great War 1918
1914-1918
ALLEN George Henry. Pte 19283 8 North Staffs Regt died 17/11/1916 age 21. son of William and Mary 1 Red Street Chesterton Staffs Commemorated on Thiepval Memorial Somme France.
AUSTIN Henry. Pte 13371 9 North Staffs Regt died 24/11/1916 Commemorated on Thiepval Memorial Somme France.
AUSTIN John . Pte 18041, 1st East Yorkshire Regiment Killed in action 8/9/1917 Buried at Croisilles British Cemetery, France
BADDELEY Jack Pte 8945 1/6 North Staffs Regt died 29/9/1918 Buried at Roisel Communal Cemetery Extension Somme France
BARLOW Albert Edward. Bombardier 66672, D" Bty. 175th Brigade. Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Field Artillery Killed in action 13/2/1916 Buried at Erquinghem-Lys-Churchyard Extension France
BARNETT James. Pte 12454 8th North Staffs Regt died 23/3/1919 age 20. Son of William and Leah 107 Heathcote Roda Bignall End Stoke on Trent. Buried at Point-Du-Hem Military Cemetery La Gorgue France
BATEMAN Harry. Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
BEDDA Ernest Pte 10607 7th North Staffs Regt Commemorated on the Helles Memorial Turkey
BEDDA Frederick Pte 0259 2nd Cheshire Regt died 8/5/1915 Commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial Ypres Belgium
BEDDA Harry Pte 6848 1st Cheshire Regt died 23/10/1914 age 31 Buried at Bethune Town Cemetery France
BELL Amos Pte 11201 20th Royal Fusiliers died 20/5/1917 Commemorated on the Arras Memorial France
BENTLEY Thomas Harold Gunner 76188 156 Heavy Battery Royal Garrison Artillery died 5/4/1918 son of Lewis Bentley Aylesbury House Wilbrahams Walk Audley Buried at St Amand British Cemetery France
BILLINGTON Ernest Pte 12025 7th North Staffs Regt died 11/4/1916 Commemorated on the Basra memorial Iraq
BIRKIN Enoch Pte 13136 7th North Staffs Regt died 2/2/1917 Buried at Amara War Cemetery Iraq
BOWERS Charles Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
BROCKLEY George Thomas L/Cpl G/9164 23rd Royal Fusiliers died 3/5/1917 Commemorated on thet Arras Memorial France Bay
BROMLEYFrankBombardier 11/731 A Bty 190 Bde Royal Field Artillery died 21/10/1918 age 22 son of David andMartha 94 Apedale Road Wood Lane Bagnall End Stoke on Trent Commemorated at Vichte Military Cemetery Belgium
BROOM George Hubert Bombardier 797093 Z 62nd Trench Motar Bty Royal Field Artillery died 15/9/1917 age 31 husband of Kate Emily of Castle Villa St Marks Cheltenham Gloucestershire. Buried at Hennel Communal Cemetery Extension France
BROUGH George Hubert Pte 7505, 4th Yorkshire Regt died 27/9/16 Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme France
BROWN Thomas Tommy Pte 9307 32nd Royal Fusiliers [City of London Regiment] killed in action 22/9/1917 age 23. Son of Thomas and Dorothy 6 Church Street Audley. Commemorated at Tyne Cot Memorial Belgium
BURGESS George William Pte 60466 2nd Yorks and Lancaster Regt died 1/2/1919 age 23 son of Thomas and Amy 18 Hope Street Bignall End Stoke on Trent Buried at Dunkirk Town Cemetery France
BURLEY Albert Arthur. Pte G/8313 3rd Royal Fusiliers died 3/5/1915 age 25 son of Arthur and Hannah Eturia Stoke on Trent husband of Fanny 4 High Lane Halmersend Stoke on Trent Buried in Chesterton Holy Trinity Church Staffs. There are no graves visible only a memorial to the right of the church.
BURTON Arthur Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
BUTLER Joseph Ernest. Private 24637 1st Cheshire Regiment died of wounds 4/9/1918. Buried at Euston Road Cemetery, Colincamps Somme France.
CARTER Fred Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
CHATFIELD William L/Sgt 204570 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers died 283/1918 age 22 son of Thomas and Eleanor Apedale View Bignall End Stoke on Trent Commemorated on the Arras Memorial France
CLARKE Leonard Sgt 12524 8th North Staffs Regt died 26/2/1917 age 26 son of Fred & Hannah 112 Church Street Silverdale Staffs native of Alsagers Bank Staffs Buried at Couin British Cemetery France
COLCLOUGH WarrielNo such Christian name exists
COPESTAKE Wilfred Pte G/72678 The Queen (Royal West Surrey Regt) London Regt died 30/8/1918 age 21 son of William and Maggie 50 Chapel Street Bignall End Audley Commemorated on the Vis-En-Artois Memorial France
COOPS Arthur Pte 85670 Machine Gun Corps (Inf) died 10/4/1918 age 30 son of Mrs June Coops Brooks Street Crew husband of Nellie 26 Primrose Avenue Poplar Road Spark Hill Birmingham Commemorated on the Ploegstreert Memorial Belgium
CORK Arthur William Stanley Cpl 17180, 18th The Kings (Liverpool Regt) died 18/10/1916. Son of Mr F L Cork of Longfield House, Bucknall New Road, Hanley, Stoke on Trent. Buried in Dartmoor Cemetery, Becordel-Becourt, France.
DALECharles Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
DANIELS Amos Sapper 136183 103 Tunnelling Coy Royal Engineers died 13/3/1916 age 20 son of Amos and Sarah Bignall End Cottage Bignall End Stoke on Trent Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme France.
DANIELS Harry Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
DAVIES Ernest Private 52182 7th Leicestershire Regiment killed in action 23/10/1918. Born at Audley lived at Bignal End and enlisted at Rookery Pit all of Staffordshire Commemorated on the Vis-En-Artois Memorial, France
DAVIES John Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
DEANCharles Edward. Private 17212 1st North Staffordshire Regiment died 31/8/1916. Born at Audley lived at Bignal End both in Staffordshire. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme France.
DEAN Leonard Sgt 13201 died 20/9/1917 age 25. Son of George & Emily 255 Heathcote Road Halmer End Staffs. Buried at La-Clytte Military Cemetery Belgium
DEANThomas Private G/15117, 11th Royal Sussex Regiment killed in action 21/10/1916. Born at Halmers End Stoke on Trent Staffordshire. Buried at Mill Road Cemetery, Thiepval, Somme, France.
DRYHURST Charles Edward Pte G/9675 Royal Fusiliers died 23 7/1916 age 18 son of Edward J and Minnie Spring Westerton Newcastle Staffs Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial Somme France
DUNNE Allan Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
EDGELEY Harry Pte 4899 1/5 North Staffs Regt died 18/7/1916 son of Mrs Edge 17 Downings Place Alsager Bank Staffs Buried at Mont-Huon Military Cemetery France
EDWARDS John Private 201900 2/5th North Staffs Regt died of wounds 17/4/1918 Born at Audley lived in Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffs Son of George Edwards, of Diglake House, Bignall End, Stoke-on-Trent. Commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Hainaut Belgium
GLOVER Arthur. Private 37085 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers formerly 3/23140 North Staffs Regt killed in action 12/10/1916. Native of Audley Staffs. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial Somme, France.
GUEST Joseph Pte 40455, 8th North Staffs Regt died 18/11/1916. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France
HANCOCK Arthur Driver T2SR/01892 Horse Transport Army Service Corps attached to 1st/2nd (North Midland) Field Amb. Royal Army Medical Corps died 9/11/1918. Native of Halmer End. Buried at St Sever Cemetery Extension Rouen, France
HANCOCK Levi CWGC Not listed.
In 1901 and 1911 there was a Levi living with his parents Levi and Mary Jane at 21 High Street, Newchapel, Stoke on Trent, occupation, waggoner at a local coal pit.
HARRISON George Pte 18545 1st North Staffs Regt died 12/2/1917 age 24 son of James and Fanny Halmers End Stoke on Trent Buried at Bethune Town Cemetery France
HAYWOOD Richard Private PW2217 19thMiddlesex Regt killed in action 24/3/1918 Born and bred at Audley, Staffs. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.
HEATH Arthur Rifleman 14th Rifle Brigade died 31/1/1916 age 20 son of Charles and Annie 27 Booth Street Audley Buried in St James Churchyard Audley, Staffs
HEATH Herbert James. Private 61970 North Staffs Regt died of wounds 24/10/1918Born and bred at Audley Staffs. Son of James and Malinda Heath, of 68, Wereton Rd., Audley, Newcastle, Staffs. Buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
HEYWOOD John William Pte 10th Essex Regt died 23/10/1918 age 18 son John and Mary Ann 2 Scott Hay Road Alsagers Bank Staffs Buried at Highland Cemetery Le-Cateau France He is listed on the CWGC site as HAYWOOD
HIGHFIELD Thomas Cpl 11545 ‘C’ Coy 6th Royal Irish Rifle died 19/8/1915 age 32 son of John and Sarah Ann Lawton Stoke on Trent House Steward for late Lord Antrim Glanarm Castle Co Antrim Ireland Commemorated on the Helles Memorial Turkey
HILL Thomas William Pte 4024 4th Northumberland Fusiliers died 16/9/1916 age 20 son of Joseph Henry and Kezia Co-op Stores Alsagers Bank Staffs Buried at Wimereux Communal Cemetery France
HODGKINS Harry Cpl 8801 11th Royal Fusiliers died 20/10/1916 age 21 brother of Joseph Booth died 14/10/1918 son of John William and Maria Elizabeth Shraley House Audley Buried at Boulogne Eastern Cemetery France
HODGKINS Joseph Booth Pte 61685 4th North Staffs Regt died 14/10/1918 age 21 brother of above Harry Hodgkins died 20/10/1916 Buried at Dadizeele New British Cemetery Belgium
HOPLEY William Pte 12484 2nd Cheshire Regt died of wounds 23/6/1915 age 40 son of Levi and Ann husband of Ada Ellen 15 Diglake Street Bignall End Staffs Buried in St James Audley Staffs
HOWELL Gwilliam Thomas Driver 169468 6th 4th Bdg Royal Field Artillery died 21/4/1918 age 20 son John and Catherine 47 London Road Chesterton Staffs Commemorated at Pernes British Cemetery France
HULSE Samuel Pte 18069, 2nd East Yorkshire Regt, died 5/10/1915. Buried in Chocques Military Cemetery, France.
JAMES Ernest Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
JEPSON Albert Cpl 8455 1st North Staffs Regt died 16/8/1916 age 33 son of Mrs Birkin husband of Mary Ellen Farnley Fox 5 Diglake Bignall End Staffs native of Halmers End, Staffs. Buried at Bronfay Farm Military Cemetery Somme France
JEPSON James. Private 31053 19 Welsh Regt killed in action 18/9/1918. Born and bred at Kidsgrove Staffs. Commemorated on the Vis-En-Artois Memorial, France.
JOHNSON George Lance Corporal 16971 2nd Lincolnshire Regt formerly 12708 North Staffs Regt killed in action 5/6/1915. Native of Baddeley Green and lived at Norton in the Moors both of Staffs.Commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium.
JOHNSON John Hollis Private 61544 1/6th North Staffs Regt killed in action 28/9/1918. Native of Audley lived at Bignal End both of Staffs. Buried at Bellicourt British Cemetery Aisne France.
JOHNSON Percy Pte G/9313 2nd Royal Fusiliers died 28/6/1915 age 21 son Alexander and Mary 11 Kings Street Wereton Audley Commemorated on the Helles Memorial Turkey
JONES George Henry (It may be the following soldier) Sapper 147581 Henry JONES Royal Engineers died 21st August 1917 aged 27. Son of William Jones; husband of Rose Linyard (formerly Jones), of 5, Back Sandford Street., Chesterton, Staffs. Buried in Chesterton Holy Trinity Church Staffs but commemorated on a memorial at this location. There are no graves visible only the memorial to the right of the church.
KELSALL Daniel Pte 42108, 7th Norfolk Regt, previously served as Pte 61514, North Staffs Regt died 18/9/1918. Buried in Ephy Wood Farm Cemetery, Epehy, France
KELSALL Percy. M.M. Sgt 46343 4th North Staffs Regt died 29/9/1918 age 20. Son of William & Alice Halme End Hall Halmer End Stoke on Trent Buried at Bedford House Cemetery Belgium
KINNERSLEY Thomas Pte 6083 7th North Staffs Regt died 30/12/1918 age 37. Son of Alfred & Mary Ann husband of Alice 89 Hougher Wall Audley He was married at St James Church, Audley in 1904 to Miss Alice Woodvine. They had the following children. Alice Ann born 1st October 1905, George James born 19th October 1906, Annie born 16th May 1909, Mary Elizabeth born 11th December 1911 and Thomas 14th February 1913. They may he been born at 89 Hougher Wall Audlem. Buried at Tehran War Cemetery Iran.
Some notes from what remains of his army records.
He first joined the army aged 18 on the 3rd January 1900 at Lichfield Staffordshire on was posted to the North Staffordshire Regiment Depot as private 6083. He was living at Lycett Staffordshire and was a collier. Fought on the second South African Boer War 21st June 1900. On the 1st January 1912 he was discharged on the termination of his first period of engagement. On the 20th January 1912 he rejoined and was posted to the Army Reserve to await mobilisation. That happened on the 5th August 1914 at Lichfield. He was given the same number and posted to the North Staffordshire Depot. He was posted to France on the 1st November 1914. He received a mild gun shot wound on the 12th January 1915 and treated at 17 Field Ambulance Bailleul France. He was also at the following places. 7th December 1915 at Gallipoli, Gozo (Malta) 14h January 1916, Sidi Bishr, Egypt 18th February 1916, Mesopotamia 12th May 1916, Basra 13th July 1916 Belgiun 2nd May 1917 Basra 15th August 1917. While at Basra he fell seriously ill with Typhus at Kasrin, Iraq on the 13th December 1918. He was dangerously ill with Broncho Pneumonia on the 29th December 1918 and died the following day.
KIRKHAM William Henry Pte 84022 9 Sherwood Forresters (Notts and Derby Regt) died 2/11/1918 age 21. Sone of Mr J W Kirkham 216 High Street Halmer End Stoke on Trent Buried at Valencienones (St Roch) Communal Cemetery France
KNAPPER Joseph Pte 5068 1/5 North Staffs Regt died 1/7/1916 age 29. Husband of Sarah 169 High Street Halmer End Stoke on Trent Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial France
KNAPPER William Pte 242605 1/6 North Staffs Regt died 25/9/1917 Buried at Philosophe British Cemetery Mazengarbe France I.V.4.I
LOVATT Elisha Pte 11641 8th Royal Fusiliers died 18/7/1916 age 28. Son of John and Priscilla Swan Bank Talke Staffordshire Buried at Ettaples Military Cemetery France
LOVALL Thomas Pte G/4760 2nd Buffs (East Kent Regt) died 28/9/1915 age 30. Son of Thomas and Elizabeth 114 Lycett Roda Scott Hay Newcastle under Lyme Staffs Commemorated on the Loos Memorial France Listed at LOVELL on the CWGC Site
LOWE William Edwin Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
MADDOCK John Pte 15166 7 North Staffs Regt died 12/8/1915 age 18. Son of George & Jane 27 St Saviours Street Talke Stoke on Trent Commemorated on the Helles Memorial Turkey
MASON George James Pte 17565 1 North Staffs Regt died 30/4/1916 Buried at Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension France
MAYDEWFredRifleman 8196 1st Royal Irish Rifles died 16/8/1917 age 27. Sone of James and Elizabeth 68 Tom Fields Wood Lane Audley Enlisted May 1915 in the Royal Field Artillery Commemorated at Ypres Reservoir Cemetery Belgium
MAYER Thomas Pte 1555 19th Middlesex Regt died 13/9/1916 Commemorated on the St Sever Cemetery Rouen France
MEAKIN Richard Pte 6093, 1st North Staffs Regt died 21/3/1918. Commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, France
MENEELY James Pte 4792 South African Infantry Killed in Action at Tanganyika Africa 21/3/1916 age 24. Son. Of John and Margaret 117 Oak Avenue Premier Mine Transvaal Born in Belfast Commemorated at Moshi Cemetery Tanzania II.B.1 also Commemorated on a private memorial (grave) in Audley Churchyard, Staffs
MOORCROFT George L/Cpl 6924 1/6 North Staffs Regt died 17/10/1918 age 34. son of George Shragley Moorcroft Brook Road Halmerend Newcastle Staffs Buried at Fresnoy-Le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension France
MOSS William Private 421112, 7th Norfolk Regiment killed in action 29/9/1918. Native of Audley enlisted at Lichfield Staffs Commemorated on the Vis-En-Artois Memorial, France
MOUNTFORD Edward Pte 12798 7 North Staffs Regt doed 25/10/1917 age 31. Son of John and Ellen Smithy Bank Audley husband of Ethel Annie nee Sanderson 71 Stuart Street Bradford Manchester Commemorated on the Basra Memorial Iraq
OLIVER William Pte 43990 Lincolnshire Regt died 1/3/1912 age 36. Husband of Clara 104 Wereton Roda Audley. Buried in Audley Churchyard, Staffs
POINTON Herbert Pte 23166 13 King’s (Liverpool Regt) died 31/8/1918 age 24. Son of John and Betsy 65 Boon Hill Bignall End Stoke on Trent Buried at Noreuil Australian Cemetery France
POOLE Elijah Pte 60718 Royal Army Medical Corps died 7/12/1919 age 30. Son of George and Hannah Miles Green Audley husband of Alice 36 Church Street Wood Lane Bignall End Stoke on Trent. Buried in St John Churchyard Alsagers Bank Staffs
POOLE Harry L/Cpl 14530, 7th North Staffs Regt killed in action at Mesopotamia 25/2/1917 Born and raised in Audley Staffordshire. Son of William who was granted a war gratuity on the 1st December 1917 revised 24th September 1919. Commemorated on the Basra Memorial Turkey
POOLE Sydney Pte 10713, 7th North Staffs Regt died 23/7/1915 age 21. Son of George and P H Poole of Apedale, nr Chesterton. Buried in Pink Farm Cemetery, Helles, Turkey.
PROCTOR/ER Frederick Private G/9648 4 London Regiment killed in action 11/6/1916. Born at Dudley Staffordshire, lived at Audley, enlisted in Stoke on Trent. In 1881 Frederick Proctor was a prisoner Walmgate Military Prison York Castle aged 20, native of Audley he was serving with the Staffordshire Regiment. In 1911 aged 30 he was with his wife Mary Jane, nee Harris at 21 Freehold Terrace, Middleport, Burslem, he worked as a loader at an iron stone mine.
Please note these Frederick’s may not be one of the same person.
Pte G/9648 etc is not listed with the CWGC
PROCTOR William. Private 18431 North Staffs Regt killed in action 22/4/1917. Born at Halmerend Staffs Son of Martina who was granted a war gratuity 11th September 1917 revised 7th November 1919. Buried at Point-Du-Jour Military Cemetery, Athies, France
PROPHETT Joseph L/Sgt 10916 1 North Staffs Regt died 13/6/1917 Buried at Railway Dugouts Burial Ground Belgium VII.B.6/18
PUGHJohn Private 31854 77th Field Ambulance Royal Army Medical Corps killed in action 6/8/1917. Native of Audley Staffs. Buried at Reninghelst New Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen Belgium
RATCLIFFE Joseph Cpl 12368 8th London Regiment killed in action 3/5/1917. Born and raised at Audley, Staffs. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France
RILEY Arnold Pte 8462 8th London Regiment Royal Fusiliers, killed in action 9/4/1917. Native of Wolstanton, Stoke on Trent Staffs Buried at Gourock Trench Cemetery Tilloy-Les-Mofflaines, France
RILEY Isaac Gunner 162525 126 Heavy Battery Royal Garrison Artillery died 3/5/1918 age 32. Husband of Helen 23 Natwich Road Audley Buried at Hedauville Communal Cemetery Extension Somme France
ROBERTS Fred Butler CWGC have listed Private 201415 Fred B. Roberts 1st/4th Seaforth Highlanders died 20.9.1917 is not the same person The B stands for Bond. Not connection could be found for Stoke on Trent region for either names No birth record could be found for a Fred Butler Roberts
ROBERTS George Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
ROBERTS Leonard Pte 42121 7 Norfolk Regt died 5/9/1918 age 19. Son of John and Georgina, nee Viggars 14 Queen Street Audley Son of John who was granted a war gratuity on the 6 December 1918 revised 1st January 1920. Buried at Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension Somme France
ROBERTS William Henry It may be the following soldier. Gunner 84906 William
ROBERTS 460th Battery Royal Artillery died of wounds in Egypt 28/5/1915. Native of Chesterton, Staffs. Son of William who was granted a war gratuity on the 29th October 1915 revised 19th August 1919. His parents were married 1896 in the registration district of Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire Buried at Chatby Military and War Memorial Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt.
ROWLEY Elias Private (CWGC have L/Cpl) 1950 12 London Regiment killed in action 6/10/1915. Native of Keele Staffordshire lived at Chesterton, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. Buried in Hannescamp Churchyard, Pas de Calais France
ROWLEY Frank L/Cpl 11946 9 North Staffs Regt died of wounds 15/7/1917 Born at Newcastle under Lyme and lived at Bignall End, Stoke on Trent, Staffs Commemorated at Haxelbrouck Communal Cemetery France
ROWLEY George Private 20321 York and Lancaster Regiment formerly 16068 North Staffs Regt killed in action 30/9/1915, native of Audley, Staffs. Son of John who was granted a war gratuity 24th April 1916. Commemorated on the Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais France.
ROWLEY John Unable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
SALMON Frederick Pte 14960 1 King’s Shropshire Light Infantry died 18/9/1916 age 22. Son of Charles and Frances 96 High Street Halmer End Stoke on Trent Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial Somme France
SAMWAYS Reginald George Pte SRA/10011 1st Seaforth Highlanders died 23/5/1916 age 24. Son of William E and Edith m 10 Well Street Newcastle Staffs Buried at Amara War Cemetery Iraq
SAUNDERS George Alfred 2nd Lt North Staffs Regt died 30/7/1916 age 22 Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial Somme, France and also on a private grave in Audley Churchyard. ( Listed as Alfred George on the CWGC site)
SMITH John Private 8984 13th London Regiment killed in action 11/4/1917. Native of Halmerend, lived at Audley, Staffs. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.
SPODE Frederick Henry Pte 11206 12th Royal Fusiliers died 26/8/1916. Born at Kidsgrove lived at Halmerend both Staffs. Commemorated at Thiepval Memorial
STEELE Charles Trevelyn (Thomas) L/Cpl 18619 11th Sherwood Forresters died of wounds 10/7/1916. Son of George and Agnes Duke Street Fenton Stoke in Trent husband of Mrs Steele 13 China Street Fenton Commemorated at Boulogne Easter Cemetery France No birth record could be found for Charles Trevelyn Steel/e
SUMNALL Benjamin Pte 31173 2nd Grenadier Guards died 4/11/1918 age 19. Son of Samuel and Jane 19 Corns Place Alsagers Bank Stoke on Trent Buried at Canonne Farm British Cemetery Sommaing France
TILSLEY John Henry Pte 12397 100th Coy Machine Gun Coy (Inf) Died 21/7/1916 aged 23 Son of Henry and Emma 96 Church Street Audley Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial Somme France
TITTLE Oswald Pte 2887 33rd Australian Inf (A.I.F.I) killed in action 22/8/1918 aged 31 Son of James and Martha of Diglake Street Bignall End, Stoke on Trent. Buried at Bray Military Cemetery Somme France. He joined the Australian Army on the 14th November 1916 at Sydney, New South Wales. He was aged 28 and 7 months occupation plumber. His father James of Diglake Street was his next of kin. He embarked from Sydney on HMAT 72 Bedtana bound for Devonport England on the 25th November 1916 with the 36th Battalion. He disembarked as Southhampton on the 29th January 1917 then to Larkhill and other various camps. He embarked from Southampton on the 2oth June 1917 disembarking the following day at Rouelles France with the 36th Battalion. 10th July 1917 he was in Belgium, France 15th September 1917, Belgium 3rd January 1918, Transferred to the 33rd Battalion in France 30th April 1918 and killed in action in the field on the 22nd August 1918
TOMKINSON Edward Gunner 51338 268 Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery died 14/10/1918 age 28. Son of William Henry and Lucretia 174 High Street Halmer End Newcastle Staffs husband of Elizabeth 4 melor Street Hollins Road Hollinwood Oldham Commemorated at Bard Cottage Cemetery Belgium
TOPHAM James Ernest Pte 39021 ½ Queens Own (Royal West Kent Regt) Previously served as Pte G/9731 Royal Fusiliers died 28/5/1918 age 30 Buried in Audley Staffs
TURNER Joseph Pte 12869 9th Cheshire Regt died 19/9/1915 age 21 John and Rose H nee Burnt 23 Colclough Street Talke Pitts Staffs Native of Macclesfield Cheshire Commemorated at Merville Communal Cemetery France
TURNER William Private 19070 1st Suffolk Regiment formerly 4/11886 Hussars died of wounds at 35 Field Ambulance on the 4/10/1915 aged 32. Native of Audley, son of Mary and the late James Turner. The following were granted a war gratuity on the 17th April 1916. His widow Mary E, son James E and mother in law Mrs Harriet M O’Rourke, guardian of their children, William, Fred and Charles E Bygrave Esqr. On the 16th August 1919 there was a review and only his wife Mary E now Ruston had her money upgraded. Buried at Vermelless British Cemetery, France.
WAINWRIGHT Thomas Pte 201153 2/5 North Staffs Regt killed in action 21/3/1918 Enlisted at Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffs and son of Thomas who was granted a war gratuity 28th July 1919. In 1901 he was living with his parents Thomas and Ester Annie at 3 Birch Street, Northwood, Stoke on Trent. In 1911 his parents and siblings were at 256 High Street, Alsager Bank, Staffordshire, he was at his brother in laws Ambrose Jones home visiting his sister Catherine at 270 High Street, Alsager Bank, he was aged 13. Commemorated at Arras Memorial France
WARHAM George Pte 1428 1/5 North Staffs Regt died 13/10/1915 age 23. Son of Joshua & Ellie 50 Miles Green Bignall End Stoke on Trent Commemorated on the Loos Memorial France
WEBB Albert Edward Private 40900 9th Leicestershire Regiment formerly 25543 North Staffs Regt killed in action 3/5/1917. Born and raised at Bignall End near Audley, Staffordshire. In 1911 aged 14 he was living with parents Thomas and Annie and his siblings at 34 Hope Street, Bignall End. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.
WILCOX Job Henry. Private 17671 7th North Staffs Regt died 7/1/1916 aged 28. Son of George and Rachel Wilcox, of Newcastle-under- Lyme husband of Annie Elizabeth Wilcox, of Rotherham. Commemorated on the Helles Memorial Turkey
WOOLRIDGE Luther Pte G/9158 4th Royal Fusiliers died 3/5/1917 age 22. Son of Alice Woolridge 17 Primitive Street Wood Lane Bignall End Stoke on Trent Commemorated at Arras Memorial France
WRIGHT Harold It may be the following soldier. Private 6/41483, Harold Stanley Wright 53rd Leicestershire Regiment died in England aged 19 on the 12/3/1919. Buried at Hartshill Cemetery, Stoke on Trent Staffs
WRIGHT Wilfred L/Cpl 12949 1st North Staffs Regt died 16/10/1918 aged 27. Enlisted aged 23 and 11 months at Lichfield on the 29th August 1914. Son of John and Elizabeth Ann Wright, nee Huntbach of 137A, High Street., Alsager's Bank, Newcastle, Staffs. Buried at St.Aubert British Cemetery, France
PLATT Arthur L/Cpl 16296 9th Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regt) formerly 16210 North Staffs Regt killed in action 25/12/1916 age 20. Son of Frank and Sarah 112 Ashmore Terrace Liverpool Road Red Street Chesterton Staffs. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial Somme France
HANCOCK Joseph Pte 16641 1st King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry died 28/5/1915 age 21. Son of Joseph & Lucy 1 Byron Road Mattley Rotherham Native of Audley Buried at Le-Touquet Paris Plage Communal Cemetery France
HILDITCH Arthur Edward Pte 201289 2/6 North Staffs Regt died a prisoner of war in from wounds between 21st and 24th /3/1918 aged 21. Son of Henry and Eveline of Church Street, Audley, Staffs. In 1911 he was living with his parents at 36 St James Terrace 36 Wilbrahams Walk Audley. He was working as a colliery screen labourer above ground aged 14. His father Henry was granted a war gratuity on the 18th March 1919. UK, Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929, source for him being a POW. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial France
1939-1945
ALEXANDER Albert Trooper 3857282 18th (5th Bn The Loyal Regt) Regt Reconnaissance Corps died 29/10/1942 age 26. Son of Richard and Mary husband of Gwendoline of Alsagers bank Stoke on Trent Buried at Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery Burma
BEECH Cyril Flt (Sgt Engineer) 1584473 75th Sqdn Royal Air Force died 5/3/1944 age 20. Son of Herbert and Nellie Halmer End Staffs Buried in Clermont Ferrand (Des Carmes-Dechaux) Communal Cemetery France
BOULTON Frank Dvr 2352800 8 Line of Communication Signals Royal Corps of Signals died 14/11/1942 age 22. Son of John William & Laura Elsie of Silverdale Staffs Commemorated on the Alamein Memorial Egypt
BROOME Sidney Sgt (Air Gunner) 1190407 102 Sqdn Royal Air Force died 9/11/1942 age 23. Son of Thomas & Patience husband of Marjorie Ida Tunstall Staffs Buried in Texel (Den Burg) Cemetery Holland
CARTER Spencer Pte 14344209 7 North Staffs Regt died 1/9/1944 age 33. Son of John and Mary E of Audley (Wills and Probate, Ancestry.co.uk) He lived at Greenfields Chester Road Audley his effects went to John Carter, butcher. Buried at Anezzo War Cemetery Italy
CORNES William Henry Pte 4915491 1st North Staffs Regt died 2/4/1941 aged 28 Son of Alfred Thomas and Annie Jane of Stoke on Trent. Buried at Khartoum War Cemetery Sudan II.B.4
FINNEMORE Albert Sgt Wireless Operator/ Air Gnr) Royal Air Force 1239976 died 3/10/1943 age 21. Son of Albert and Annie of Bignall End Stroke on Trent Buried in Burslem Cemetery Staffs
FRANKLIN Edward Arthur (B.S.M WOII) 1576160 349 Bty, 76 Heavy Anti Aircraft Regt Royal Artillery died 8/8/1944 age 28. Son of Andrew Harry and Eliza Helen husband of Mary Bignall End Staffs Commemorated on the Florence War Cemetery Italy
GARWOOD Bertie John Pte 6200522 2nd Middlesex Regt died 1/6/1940 age 27. Son of Percy John and Florence Lilian Harvey Garwood husband of Mary of Bignall End Staffs Buried in Marquise Communal Cemetery France
GILBERT Joseph William. Pte 5047073 8th Cheshire Regt died 12/3/1941 Buried in Audley Churchyard Staffs
HODGKINSON George Alfred L/Bombardier 984561 2 Field Regt Royal Artillery died 4/4/1943 age 25. Son of Walter and Agnes husband of Gwennie of Chesterton Staffs Buried at Medjez-El-Bab War Cemetery Tunisia
LEAGAS Thomas Albert Pte 6410606 6th Queens Own Royal West Kent Regt died 17/8/1943 age 20 Buried in Imtarfa Military Cemetery Malta
MALPASS John Sgt 1207245 156 Sqdn Royal Air Force died 25/6/1943 age 28. Son of John Leighton and Lilian Mary of Audley Commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial Surrey
MEAKIN Harold Denis Pte 5045634 2nd North Staffs Regt died 27/5/1940 age 43. Husband of Alice of Bignall End Staffs Buried in Comines(Komen) Communal Cemetery Belgium
MOORES John Cedric Pte 507073 8 (Home Defence) Cheshire Regt died 12/3.1941. Buried in Audley Staffs
MORETON Robert Sgt 1081052 25th Field Regt Royal Artillery. Native of Stoke on Trent died 4/7/1944 Buried at St Manvieu War Cemetery Cheux France
MURRAY ThomasUnable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
POTTS Elsie Civilian died 29/12/1940, age 21. Daughter of Mr and Mrs Potts 96 High Street Halmer End Staffs. Died at the Rolls Royce Works Crewe. Buried in Crewe Cemetery, Cheshire
PROCTOR George Fusilier 5052272, 9th Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regt) died 16/4/1945 age 28. Son of Allan and Annie, husband of Kathleen of Bignall End Staffs. Buried in Argenta Gap War Cemetery, Italy.
REDDELL Cyril Sgt 1425265, Air Gunner, 90 Sqdn, Royal Air Force died 4/7/1943 age 28. Son of Thomas William and Mary Ann of Audley. Buried in Gent City cemetery, Belgium
SAYERS George Gunner 908257, 215 Bty, 51 Medium Regt, Royal Artillery died 5/6/1940 age 21. Son of Thomas Daniel and Jane of Stoke on Trent. Buried in Pierrecourt Communal Cemetery, France
SYMMS Selwyn Trengrove L/Sgt 5052259, B. Sqdn, 1st Regt, Reconnaissance Corps, Royal Armoured Corps died 3/5/1943 age 23. Son of Fred and Winnifred Ellen, husband of Nora of Porthill, Stoke on Trent. Buried in Massicault War Cemetery, Tunisia.
TIMMS CyrilUnable to find the correct record listed for this person with the CWGC
TOPHAM John Henry Gunner 828742, 5th Medium Regt, Royal Artillery died 3/4/1943 age 30. Son of James Ernest and Cathleen, husband of Ada Sophia of Silverdale, Stoke on Trent. Buried in Medjez-El-Bab War Cemetery, Tunisia.
TOOTH Eric Roger Pte 14737490, Kings Own Royal Regt (Lancaster) attached to No2, Commando. Buried in Madras War Cemetery, Chennai, India.
WRIGHT Eric Flt Sgt 943712, 2839 Sqdn, R.A.F. Regt, Royal Air Force died 25/1/45. Son of Mrs R Lawrence, husband of Molly of Bignall End Stoke on Trent. Buried in St James graveyard, Audley, Staffs
YEARSLEY JamesAble seaman D/J38440. H.M.S Courageous, Royal Navy died 17/9/1939. Son of James and Emma, husband of Eliza of Miles Green, Bignall End. Commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial Devon
Den Minirock liebe ich, er hat innenen eine eingearbeiten PVC-Slip mit einem super weichen Penis, den mir Pia dann ganz sanft und langsam einführt
Flint-knapped arrowhead (modern replica).
Knapper: Mike Dull
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Berlin, "Municipal Baths Reloaded", Video Art and Light installations in the Lichtenberg Municipal Baths: Pool in the Great Hall with a light sound installation, looking from the pool edge
Als Lichtenberg 1907 in den Rang einer Stadt erhoben wurde und sein erstes Rathaus besaß, plante die Stadtverwaltung auch die entsprechenden städtischen Einrichtungen wie ein Amtsgericht, ein Krankenhaus, ein Entbindungsheim, Schulen und ein Volksbad. Die Kommune erwarb ein 3800 m² großes Grundstück an der Frankfurter Allee und gründete eine Kommission für die Erbauung einer Volksbadeanstalt, besetzt mit sieben Stadtverordneten und sieben Bürgerdeputierten. Architekten lieferten sogar in der Zeit des Ersten Weltkriegs Baupläne für eine solche öffentliche Badeeinrichtung. Der erste Spatenstich erfolgte im Jahr 1919 und die Fundamente wurden gelegt. Weil Lichtenberg 1920 als Bezirk nach Groß-Berlin eingemeindet wurde und seinen Stadtstatus verlor (und sicherlich auch wegen knapper Kassen unmittelbar nach dem Krieg), wurden die Bauarbeiten eingestellt. Erst 1925, nach Überwindung der Inflation, wurde weitergebaut, nachdem die Ingenieur-Architekten Rudolf Gleye und Otto Weis die vorhandenen Pläne aktualisiert hatten. Es entstand ein mehrgliedriger kubischer Baukörper im Stil des Expressionismus mit – nach damaligen Vorstellungen – sehr modernen Ausstattungen:
Die Einweihung des Hubertusbades nahm der Berliner Oberbürgermeister Gustav Böß am 2. Februar 1928 vor. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg beschädigte eine Sprengbombe das Gebäude an der Nordwestseite, es blieb aber noch funktionstüchtig. Außerdem gingen durch die Druckwellen die meisten Scheiben zu Bruch. Das Bad wurde notdürftig repariert. Als im Zusammenhang mit der Errichtung kompletter Neubauviertel in den östlichen Stadtbezirken ab Ende der 1960er Jahre dort auch neue lichtdurchflutete Schwimmhallen entstanden, verlor das Hubertusbad seine über den Bezirk hinausgehende Bedeutung. Hinzu kam, dass nun Baumängel, die bereits seit der Fertigstellung vorhanden waren, immer gravierender wurden, 1988 musste deshalb zunächst die große Halle geschlossen werden. Grund war ein Defekt an der Wasseraufbereitungs- und Heizungsanlage, der sich nicht mehr beheben ließ. Nach dem Mauerfall und dem schrittweisen Zusammenwachsen der gesamten Stadt galten die bisherigen bundesdeutschen Vorschriften für solche Einrichtungen, Geld für Reparaturen stand nun auch nicht mehr bereit. Als 1991 die Hauptwasserzuführung kaputtging, mussten auch die kleine Halle und alle anderen Badeinrichtungen geschlossen werden. Die kleine Halle diente dann zweckentfremdet als Lagerhalle.. Im Jahr 2016 fasste der Senat von Berlin einen Entschluss, der einer Wiederbelebung des Bades einen großen Schritt näher kam: der Komplex bleibt Eigentum des Landes Berlin. Im Auftrag der Stadt kümmert sich seitdem das Unternehmen Berliner Immobilienmanagement (BIM) um Möglichkeiten der Nachnutzung.
Eine Wiederaufnahme des Badebetriebes ist wegen der hohen Investitionskosten und der Unwirtschaftlichkeit eines laufenden Betriebes nicht mehr vorgesehen. Daher soll das Stadtbad Lichtenberg sowohl Veranstaltungsort als auch Begegnungszentrum im Kiez werden. Zur langfristigen Erreichung dieses Zieles wurde ein Zwei-Stufen-Plan beschlossen und unter Beteiligung der Öffentlichkeit in einem Konkretisierungs- und Planungsworkshop vertieft: Im ersten Bauabschnitt, der Anfang des Jahres 2022 abgeschlossen war, wurden aus dem Haus mehrere Tonnen Bauschutt entfernt sowie Elektroanschlüsse und Sanitäranlagen im linken (östlichen) Gebäudeteil wieder hergerichtet. Über das Becken der ehemaligen Frauenschwimmhalle wurde ein Holzboden gezogen, auf dem seit 2022 Ausstellungen und andere Events stattfinden können. Auf diesem Parkettboden können bis zu 200 Personen platziert werden. Hier finden temporäre Veranstaltungen statt, wie die, die wir besucht haben. Sie heißt "Stadtbad Reloaded" und führt die Gäste auf einen spannenden Rundgang durch das Haus, welches mit beeindruckenden Lichtinstallationen und über 157 digitalen Kunstwerken in allen Ecken wieder zum Leben erwacht.
Quelle: Überwiegend Wikipedia
When Lichtenberg was elevated to the status of a town in 1907 and had its first town hall, the town council also planned the corresponding municipal facilities such as a district court, a hospital, a maternity home, schools and a public swimming pool. The municipality acquired a 3,800 square metre plot of land on Frankfurter Allee and set up a commission for the construction of a public baths, consisting of seven city councillors and seven citizen deputies. Architects even provided construction plans for such a public bathing facility during the First World War. The ground-breaking ceremony took place in 1919 and the foundations were laid. Because Lichtenberg was incorporated into Greater Berlin as a borough in 1920 and lost its city status (and no doubt also due to a shortage of funds immediately after the war), construction work was halted. It was not until 1925, after the inflation had been overcome, that building work resumed after the engineer-architects Rudolf Gleye and Otto Weis had updated the existing plans. The result was a multi-storey cubic building in the Expressionist style with - according to the ideas of the time - very modern fixtures and fittings. The Hubertusbad was inaugurated by the Lord Mayor of Berlin, Gustav Böß, on 2 February 1928. During the Second World War, a high-explosive bomb damaged the building on the north-west side, but it remained functional. Most of the windows were also broken by the blast waves. The baths were provisionally repaired. When new, light-flooded swimming pools were built in the eastern boroughs at the end of the 1960s in connection with the construction of entire new neighbourhoods, the Hubertus Baths lost its importance beyond the borough. In addition, construction defects, which had been present since completion, became increasingly serious, and in 1988 the large hall had to be closed. The reason was a defect in the water treatment and heating system that could no longer be repaired.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the gradual merging of the entire city, the regulations for such facilities in vigour in West Germany applied and there was no longer any money available for repairs. When the main water supply broke in 1991, the small hall and all other bathing facilities had to be closed. The small hall was then misused as a warehouse. In 2016, the Berlin Senate took a decision that brought the revitalisation of the baths a big step closer: the complex remains property of the state of Berlin. Since then, the Berlin Real Estate Management Administration (BIM) has been working on behalf of the city to find ways to reutilise the site. Due to the high investment costs and the inefficiency of the operation of the pools, it is no longer planned to resume bathing activities. The Lichtenberg Municipal Baths are therefore to become both a venue for events and a meeting centre in the neighbourhood. In order to achieve this goal in the long term, a two-stage plan was adopted and further developed with the participation of the public in a concretisation and planning workshop:
In the first construction phase, which was completed at the beginning of 2022, several tonnes of rubble were removed from the building and electrical connections and sanitary facilities were restored in the left-hand (eastern) part of the building. A wooden floor was laid over the pool of the former women's swimming pool, which has been used for exhibitions and other events since 2022. Up to 200 people can be seated on this parquet floor. Temporary events take place here, like the one we visited. It is called ‘Municipal Baths Reloaded’ and takes guests on an exciting tour of the building, which comes back to life with impressive light installations and over 157 digital artworks in every corner.
Source: Mainly Wikipedia
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with USFK Commander General Vincent Brooks and Chargé d’Affaires Marc Knapper upon arrival to Osan Air Base in Osan, Seoul on June 13, 2018. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken poses for a photo with Marc Knapper, the newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on January 25, 2022. [State Department photo by Freddie Everett/ Public Domain]
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is greeted by Chargé d’Affaires Marc Knapper and USFK Commander General Vincent Brooks upon arrival to Osan Air Base in Osan, Seoul on June 13, 2018. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
Flint & flint breccia from the Pennsylvanian of Ohio, USA.
Flint is the state gemstone of Ohio. "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. In early times, light-colored material was called "chert" and dark-colored material was called "flint". Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules). Another proposed origin for some chert / flint is altered quartzose eolian dust deposits on ancient seafloors.
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric Americans quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old flint pits can be seen along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("Flint Ridge State Memorial"; "Flint Ridge Ancient Quarries & Nature Preserve"). Many prehistoric artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Nethers Flint Quarries - flint pit in the woods on the southwestern side of Flint Ridge Road, eastern Flint Ridge, far-western Muskingum County, east-central Ohio, USA (vicinity of 40° 00.137’ North latitude, 82° 11.544’ West longitude)
Flint-knapped arrowhead.
Knapper: Roy Miller
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric American Indians quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old Indian flint pits can be examined along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("State Memorial"). Many authentic Indian artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
The arrowhead seen here is a modern replica, produced by a skilled knapper named Roy Miller, who has his own flint pits on Flint Ridge. Material from this site is famous for having greenish and/or bluish coloration, which become intensified with heating.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Roy Miller flint pit, northwestern corner of the Brownsville Road-Flint Ridge Road intersection, next to Flint Ridge State Park, Flint Ridge, southeastern Licking County, east-central Ohio, USA
Familiar to residents and visitors alike, the great Victorian spire of St Mary-le-Tower rises above the shopping streets of central Ipswich, the nearest thing the town will ever have to a cathedral. This is Suffolk's Victorian church par excellence. It is full of the spirit of its age, from the Suffolk flushwork to the international gothic of the spire itself. One could no more imagine Ipswich without 'the Tower' than without the Orwell Bridge.
There were six town centre churches dedicated to St Mary in the Middle Ages; four survive, picturesquely differentiated as St Mary le Tower ('the Tower'), St Mary at Elms ('the Elms'), St Mary at Quay and St Mary at Stoke.
There was a church here in 1200, when the Borough of Ipswich was declared in the churchyard by the granting of a charter. When the Diocese of Norwich restored it in the mid-nineteenth century, they decided on a complete rebuild in stone on the same site. The Diocesan Architect R.M. Phipson was chosen for the job, and the old church was effectively demolished in the 1860s, and a new one built in its place. The old foundations were used, with an extension towards Northgate Street, which is why the northern part of the churchyard is so severely cut off.
There never was a north door, and the west door is beautiful but rather useless, since it is below street level and the path merely leads round to the south. The only parts of the medieval church retained were a doorway, the nave arcades, and a few fixtures and fittings. From the outside it is virtually all Phipson's work, all of a piece, and quite magnificent. The flushwork is exuberant; being a flint-knapper must have been a good living in the 1860s.
The entrance is in the style of the area's south-west tower porches, although on a much grander scale. The actual entrance arch seems to have been retained, as it appears to be the same in the photograph of the 1850s (above), albeit with the tablets now removed. If so, then it is 15th century. There is a fine 19th century Madonna and child in the niche above by Richard Pfeiffer, full of Victorian Anglo-catholic sentiment. Away to the east, the same sculptor produced St John the Evangelist and St Mary of Magdala on the end of the chancel.
The spire is about 60m tall. The chequerboard pattern of the lower tower is rather alarming in comparison with the subtlety of some Suffolk churches, but must have been the very thing in the late 19th century (see the same at Butterfield's south porch of St Mary at Stoke), or at least until the confection of St Lawrence across the road was finished 20 years later. The spire is heartier than Phipson's other more feminine Suffolk spires at Great Finborough and Woolpit,.
The porch inside is grand, stone and marble rising to a painted wooden ceilure. St Peter and St Paul, in the windows either side, look on. A little door to the north-east leads up to the belfry, with a ring of thirteen bells. Their renewal was completed in 1999; I am told that it is actually a ring of twelve, and the thirteenth is a sharp 2nd for use when fewer than twelve are rung. The doorway into the church has been given lovely stops representing the Annunciation, with the angel to the west, and Mary at her prayer desk to the east. As part of the Millenium project, all of this has been guilded, and it is all absolutely gorgeous.
Inside, the vastness swallows all sound. Everywhere there is the gleam of polished wood and tile. Sadly, it was fashionable in the 1950s and 1960s to remove tiles from walls, but you can still make out where these would have been. Also removed was the chancel screen. The old memorials crowd uncomfortably at the west end - Phipson was having no truck with them - but the majestic view to the east is testimony to Phipson's competency. Everything is done to the letter, with the finest attention paid to detail.
The demolished church was very dark and serious inside, so it must have made quite a contrast when the town saw inside its new church. There is a drawing of the inside of this in the north aisle, along with part of the Jacobean chancel arch. Now, the great Perpendicular-style west window fills the nave with coloured light in the afternoons, a perfect foil for evening prayer. A fine Charles II royal arms hangs above.
The font is an excellent example of the typical 15th century East Anglian style, and deserves to be better known. It is in very good condition indeed, probably because this was a town that embraced protestantism whole-heartedly, and it was plastered over in the mid-16th century to make it plain and simple. The lions around the pillar stand on human heads, and there are more heads beneath the bowl. On the bowl itself are more lions, in a curious echo of the font of St Peter, albeit some four hundred years later. There are fine brasses from the original church in the chancel. The early 18th century pulpit, contemporary with and similar to the one in the Unitarian chapel, is a bit sombre, but an excellent example of Grinling Gibbons-style carving. The screen moved from the chancel arch can now be found at the east end of the north aisle, where it softens the metal organ pipes. It is slightly older than its near-twin that separates off the Lady Chapel.
The Decorated-style east window has a certain delicacy, and the otherwise windowless and heavy-wooded chancel was clearly designed for dark, shadowy, incense-led worship. The best feature of the chancel, and perhaps of the whole church, is the grand reredos, piscina and sedilia in the sanctuary, all of about 1900. A lush Arts and Crafts crucifixion surmounts the altar, done in gesso work on wood. East Anglian Saints flank the walls. This sanctuary is the ultimate expression of late 19th century Tractarianism in Suffolk. To think that this was only a few decades after the events at Claydon! You really feel as if you might be in a 19th century colonial Cathedral.
The Lady Chapel is also a delightful piece, full of Victorian and Edwardian sentiment. The reredos shows the transfiguation, but I like best the early 20th century paintings on the south wall, especially the touching infant Christ, as he plays at the feet of St Joseph.
The excellent set of twelve apostles and twelve angels on the choir stalls (still in use for their original purpose) are by Pfeiffer, who did the external statues. You can see his signature on the back of St Luke's icon of the Blessed Virgin.
The Victorian stained glass windows in the nave are of variable quality. The woodwork is much better; it is also largely 19th century, much the work of Pfeiffer and the always excellent Henry Ringham; more of his work can be seen at Great Bealings. The front pews are the so-called 'Corporation pews'; the Tower styles itself the civic church of Ipswich, and one can see the same attempt to merge the municipal with the sacramental as at Phipson's other major work for the diocese, the internal restoration of St Peter Mancroft in Norwich. The bench ends show the Ipswich symbols of a seahorse, and a lion carrying a ship.
If you look carefully at the back of the church, however, you will see that the churchwardens pews still retain their medieval bench ends.
The arcades are from the medieval church, and must have had a slender grace rather lost now - they yearn for white light to enfold them.
The famous Cobbold family provided ministers for this church for many years in the 18th and 19th centuries, and their tombs can be seen in the north chancel aisle, beyond the organ. The family embraced Tractarianism wholeheartedly, being largely responsible for the building of St Bartholomew near their home at Holywells Park. They probably had an influence over the Bacon family, whose wealth went towards the rebuilding, and whose symbol of a boar may be found in the floor tiles.
One memorial you must not miss is that to William Smart, MP for Ipswich, which you can find on the wall in the north west corner of the nave. It is painted on wood, and features a panoramic view of the Ipswich townscape as it was in 1599, when he died.
This parish is unusual in having virtually no resident population, and the congregation is of people drawn from a wide area attracted by the liberal teaching, musical tradition and peculiar cathedral-style high churchmanship of the church. It may not be the biggest congregation in Ipswich, but it is a friendly one.
These are my personal notes taken during a geology presentation. I give them here because they may be of some interest. Do not expect the notes to always be in complete sentences, etc.
-----------------------------------
Mineral Resources and the Hopewell Culture in Licking County
Presented by: Tim Jordan (Newark Earthworks & site manager at Flint Ridge State Park, Ohio, USA)
29 January 2018
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Native American uses of flint - used to make points.
Flint points have a variety of shapes and sizes for different purposes/uses.
Smaller points are probably arrowheads in the traditional sense.
Larger points are for larger weapons such knife blades or spear points.
Flint points were used for hunting animals from deer to mastodons and mammoths.
Flint scrapers were used for cleaning animal hides.
Flint drill bits were used for boring into various materials.
European uses of flint - gunflints for flintlocks (= guns). The flint makes a spark which ignites a reservoir of gunpowder.
Also Danish daggers - need multiple techniques to fashion these.
Also millstones - used for grinding corn and wheat.
Chips of flint were used as road fill along Route 40 (= National Road), which is 3 miles south of Flint Ridge, Ohio.
Lots of uses for flint. Made into various tools - not just weapons.
Flint Ridge
Getting flint - Flint Ridge has a flint lens - a layer of flint - a big slab - that is 2 to 3 feet thick throughout the ridge that is 8 to 10 miles from west to east. In the Flint Ridge park area, the flint is a few inches down from the surface. There are also outcrops with no cover.
Otherwise, flint is obtained by digging downward.
Shells or deer scapulas could be used to dig through the dirt to get to the flint lens.
Hammerstones - granite clasts (small boulders) were ground down to make hammerstones. They look like cheese wheels.
Granite hammerstones were used to pound flint to obtain workable samples.
Pre-forms - semi-processed flint pieces. They can be further worked into tools and weapons.
Flint knapping - requires intimate knowledge of the material.
Flint ideally breaks along Hertzian cones. Compare this to the cones of damage after a BB is shot into glass. Flint predictably breaks like this. So do glass and obsidian.
Conchoidal fracture - smooth, curved fracture surfaces. They are a consequence of breaking along Hertzian cones.
Flint knappers know how to estimate the angle of a Hertzian cone when flint is struck.
Can control the angle of the shock wave when flint is whacked.
Methods used in flint knapping: percussion flaking and pressure flaking.
Can use parts of a deer antler to break flint along curved fractures.
Deer antlers or copper are used by modern flint knappers. These are preferred because they have enough give (are slightly soft) to result in flint breaking along Hertzian cones.
Harder objects just shatter flint.
Natural resources are feeding the usage of minerals - flint weapons are used to hunt deer, and deer antler is used to process flint.
Licking County, Ohio is named after natural salt deposits along rivers and streams.
Animals are attracted to such sites. Deer lick the salt deposits and get other minerals into their bodies as well. Licking County deer get larger antler racks as a result.
Non-Flint Ridge flint types: Arkansas novaculite, Coshocton chert, and Indiana hornstone. All three are shades of gray. The display sample of Arkansas novaculite is black-and-white (see: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/26106387308). The Coshocton chert sample is blackish-gray in color (see: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/26106934988). The Indiana horstone sample is gray-and-white with a bullseye pattern (www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/39081713015).
In contrast, Flint Ridge’s Vanport Flint has red and turquoise greenish-blue. The latter colors show up especially well after the flint is heated in a kiln.
See: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/26117233518
See: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/39989320101
See: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/39279564014
See: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/39279463344
See: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/39958031452
Flint heating makes the material more brittle and makes shock waves propagate better through the rock, allowing for the development of Hertzian cones.
Mythology & stories
There’s a Lakota Indian story about Flint Ridge - lightning struck a site and the spot had strange, brightly-colored rock that sparked when struck. Flint could be used to make fire.
Flint sites were places of power.
Newark Earthworks
There’s 4 to 4.5 miles of earthen walls in the Newark area.
Great Circle Mound is one portion of the complex. It is easily accessed - it’s a park.
See:
u.osu.edu/piday/files/2016/03/SIA3391-2k4mu4f-e1457893405...
Octagon Mound is part of a country club - a golf course. It has open houses a couple times each year.
See:
s3.amazonaws.com/artspan-fs/member_files/daniellepoling/N...
Some of the Newark Earthworks no longer exist - they have been flattened and built over.
Octagon Mound has built-in lunar alignment markers - 8 of them.
One needs an artificial horizon for such markers to work.
Example: northern maximum moonrise. Example: southern maximum moonrise.
Artificial horizons are created by making 5 feet high walls of earth (earthen walls).
Octagon Mound has an Observatory Circle Mound next to it. Its wall varies from 3 feet high to 7-8 feet high.
The artificial horizon, however, is level.
Making such mounds required careful study of the dirt used to make the structures.
The mound-making people probably had familiarity with the angle of repose.
Great Circle Mound has an interior moat, or ditch. Octagon Mound lacks a moat.
One hypothesis: the dirt used to make Great Circle Mound came directly from the ditch/moat. Actually - no it didn’t.
The walls of Great Circle Mound have two to three times more dirt than would fit in the moat/ditch.
A cross-section made through the mound by an archaeologist (Brad Lepper) showed that the mound had layered dirt. Darker-colored topsoil and yellowish-brown subsoil were used. Dirt as a building material - different types have different properties/qualities.
More earthworks occur in Chillicothe, Ohio. That site had more than Newark ever had. However, the Newark Earthworks have more connectivity than Chillicothe’s mounds.
A modern Indian remarked that the yellowish-brown soil may be representative of the yellowish-colored corona of the Sun. (?)
Octagon Mound is a pinnacle of achievement.
Shaman of Newark figurine - carved from schist, a metamorphic rock, possibly derived from the Carolinas. When carved, the rock was possibly bright yellow-colored. It is now earthy tones of brown (= an aged color). The figurine has copper ear spools. Copper was obtained from the Great Lakes area [Upper Peninsula of Michigan, near Lake Superior].
See:
www.flickr.com/photos/17903031@N00/28628013441
Granite hammerstones were obtained from granite clasts in Pleistocene glacial deposits here in Ohio.
Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meets with Republic of Korea Deputy Chief of Mission Marc Knapper at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Republic of Korea, Aug. 14, 2017. (DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Dominique A. Pineiro)
Flint-knapped arrowhead.
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
The arrowhead seen here is a modern replica. I suspect that the material is Vanport Flint from Nethers Flint Quarries, at the eastern end of Flint Ridge.
Precious opal-knapped arrowhead. (~23.5 millimeters long)
Knapper: Chris Miller
Opal is hydrous silica (SiO2·nH2O) and is made up of extremely tiny spheres (colloids) that can be seen with a scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Gem-quality opal, or precious opal, has a wonderful rainbow play of colors (opalescence). This play of color is the result of light being diffracted by planes of voids between large areas of regularly packed, same-sized opal colloids. Different opalescent colors are produced by colloids of differing sizes. If individual colloids are larger than 140 x 10-6 mm in size, purple & blue & green colors are produced. Once colloids get as large as about 240 x 10-6 mm, red color is seen (Carr et al., 1979).
Not all opals have the famous play of colors, however. Common opal has a wax-like luster & is often milky whitish with no visible color play at all. Opal is moderately hard (H = 5 to 6), has a white streak, and has conchoidal fracture.
Several groups of organisms make skeletons of opaline silica, for example hexactinellid sponges, diatoms, radiolarians, silicoflagellates, and ebridians. Some organisms incorporate opal into their tissues, for example horsetails/scouring rushes and sawgrass. Sometimes, fossils are preserved in opal or precious opal.
Host rock: Bulldog Shale, lower Marree Subgroup, Aptian Stage, upper Lower Cretaceous
Locality: unrecorded site in the Coober Pedy Opal Field, north-central South Australia State, southern Australia
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Photo gallery of opal:
www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=3004
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Reference cited:
Carr et al. (1979) - Andamooka opal fields: the geology of the precious stones field and the results of the subsidised mining program. Geological Survey of South Australia Department of Mines and Energy Report of Investigations 51. 68 pp.
Flint-knapped arrowhead. (~8.8 centimeters tall)
Knapper: Jim Bohannon
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric American Indians quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old Indian flint pits can be examined along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park. Many authentic Indian artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
The arrowhead / spearpoint seen here is a modern replica, produced by a skilled knapper named Jim Bohannon.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Nethers Flint Quarries - flint pit in the woods on the southwestern side of Flint Ridge Road, eastern Flint Ridge, far-western Muskingum County, east-central Ohio, USA (vicinity of 40° 00.137’ North latitude, 82° 11.544’ West longitude)
(~15.6 centimeters tall) (Knapper: Adam Reynolds)
"Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
Seen here is a knapped spearpoint - it's a modern replica. The rock is "Burlington Chert", derived from a nodule in the limestone-dominated Burlington Formation. The chert has been heat-treated to make it more knappable. Heating can also change the colors to the light pinkish-orangish present in this specimen.
Stratigraphy: Burlington Formation, Mississippian
Locality: unrecorded/undisclosed site in midwestern America
I was asked a few weeks back, if I fancied meeting up with friends, Simon and Cam for a few bears and a crawl round Ipswich.
Seemed a great idea, but checking Network Rain this week, I found that there were replacement buses out of Liverpool Street to Whitham and out of Cambridge. The first added an hour to the trip to Ipswich, the second, 90 minutes.
Jools said she would enjoy a trip out and a walk around Manningtree, so we could go in the car, I would drive up, she would drive back, and we would both have some exercise and I would meet friends.
Perfect.
Although we had planned to go to Tesco first, in the end we had breakfast and set off at half seven, eager to get some miles under our belts before traffic really built at Dartford.
Up the A2 in bright sunshine, it was a great day for travel, but also I thought it might have been good for checking out orchid woods back home. But a change is always good, and it has been nearly 9 years since Simon invited me for a tour round historic Ipswich, showing there was almost as much history there than in Norwich to the north.
Into Essex before nine, and arriving in Ipswich before ten, we decided to find somewhere for breakfast first before going our separate ways.
A large breakfast later, we split up, and I went to wander north to St Margaret's church, which I had been into on that trip 9 years back, but my shots not so good.
I found many interesting places in-between the modern buildings and urban sprawl, timber framed houses, Tudor brick and much more beside.
Sadly, St Margaret was locked. I could see the notice on the porch door, so I didn't go up to see what it said.
I wandered back, found St Mary le Tower open, so went in and took over a hundred shots, soaking in the fine Victorian glass and carved bench ends, even if they were 19th century and not older.
In the south chapel, a group were talking quietly, so I tried not to disturb them, only realising how loud the shutter on the camera was.
The font took my eye first, as it is a well preserved one from the 15th century. Though these are common in East Anglia, not so in deepest Kent, so I snapped it from all directions, recording each mark of the carver's tools.
The clocked ticked round to midday, and so I made my way to the quayside where I was to meet my friends.
Simon lives in Ipswich, but Cam and David had come down on the train from the Fine City. We met at the Briarbank Brewery Tap where I had a couple of mocha porters, which were very nice indeed.
From there we went to the Dove where we had two more beers as well as lunch.
And finally a walk to The Spread Eagle for one final beer before I walked back to Portman Road to meet Jools at the car.
Jools drove us back to the A12, and pointed the car south. As we drove, dusk fell and rain began to fall. Not very pleasant. But at least traffic was light, so in an hour we were on the M25 and twenty minutes later over the river and back in Kent.
Rain fell steadily as we cruised down the M20, past the familiar landmarks until we were back in Dover. Where we had to make a pit stop at M and S, as we needed supplies, and something for supper.
Not sure that garlic bread and wine counts as a meal, but did for us, so at half nine, we climbed the hill to bed.
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Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk, and is also probably the longest continuously occupied town in England. Here on the River Gipping, in the south of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia, a number of 7th Century industrial villages grew together, and since then Ipswich has always been an industrial and commercial town, processing the produce of the land round about, and exporting it up the River Orwell to other parts of England and the continent. It was wealthy in the late medieval period, but it suffered from being cut off from its European markets by the outfall from the Reformation. A strongly puritan town in the 17th Century, a quiet backwater in the 18th Century, it was not until the Industrial Revolution that it rose to commercial prominence again, with heavy industry producing agricultural machinery, vehicles and other ironwork. It would continue to be important industrially until the 1980s, but then most of the factories closed, and the town has not yet recovered.
The townscape is punctuated by church towers and spires, for Ipswich has twelve surviving medieval churches. Remarkably, six of them are still in use, and of these St Mary le Tower is the biggest and most prominent. Its spire rises sixty metres above the rooftops, making it the second tallest building in the town after the Mill apartment block on the Waterfront. There was a church here in 1200, when the Borough of Ipswich came into being in the churchyard by the declaration of the granting of a charter. The medieval church had a spire until it came down in the hurricane of 1661. When the Diocese of Norwich oversaw the restoration of the church in the mid-19th Century the decision was taken for a complete rebuild in stone on the same site. It is almost entirely the work of diocesan surveyor Richard Phipson, who worked on it over a period of twenty years in the 1850s and 1860s, including replacing the spire, and so this is East Anglia's urban Victorian church par excellence. The rebuilding was bankrolled by the wealthy local Bacon banking family. It is a large church, built more or less on the plan of its predecessor, full of the spirit of its age. One could no more imagine Ipswich without the Tower than without the Orwell Bridge.
The length of the church splits the churchyard into two quite separate parts, the south side a public space, the walled north side atmospheric and secretive. The large cross to the south-west of the tower is not a war memorial. It remembers John Patteson, Bishop of Melanesia, murdered by some of his flock in the 1870s. Treated as a martyr by the press of the day, Patteson appears to have had no local connection, but the Pattesons had intermarried with the Cobbolds, an important local family, and Patteson Road by Ipswich docks also remembers him. There never was a north door, and the west doors are beautiful and liturgically correct but perhaps not useful, since they are below street level and the path merely leads round to the south, allowing processions but no access from Tower Street. The flushwork is exuberant, and makes you think that being a flint-knapper must have been a good living in the 1860s. As with the medieval predecessor, the entrance is through the tower which forms a porch on the south side, in common with about thirty other East Anglian churches. Until the 1860s there was a further castellated porch on the south side of the tower, something in the style of the Hadleigh Deanery tower, but this was removed. You can see it in as photograph at the top of this page. And looking at this photograph, it is hard not to think that Phipson retained at least part of the lower stage of the tower.
There is a small statue of the church's patron saint in the niche above the entrance, by the sculptor Richard Pfeiffer. Away to the east, the same sculptor produced St John the Evangelist and St Mary of Magdala on the end of the chancel, and there is more of his work inside. You step into the tower porch under vaulting. A small door in the north-east corner leads up into the ringing chamber and beyond that the belfry, with a ring of twelve bells. The south doorway into the church has stops representing the Annunciation, with the angel to the west, and Mary at her prayer desk to the east. As part of a Millennium project this doorway was painted and gilded. It leads through into the south aisle, beyond which the wide nave seems to swallow all sound, a powerful transition from the outside. Polished wood and tile gleam under coloured light from large windows filled with 19th Century glass. At one time the walls were stencilled, but this was removed in the 1960s. The former church was dark and serious inside, as a drawing in the north aisle shows, so it must have made quite a contrast when the townspeople first entered their new church.
The font by the doorway is the first of a number of significant survivals from the old church. It's one of the 15th Century East Anglian series of which several hundred survive, all slightly different. It is in good condition, and you can't help thinking that this is ironically because Ipswich was a town which embraced protestantism whole-heartedly after the Reformation, and it is likely that the font was plastered over in the mid-16th Century to make it plain and simple. The lions around the pillar stand on human heads, and there are more heads beneath the bowl. The next survival that comes into view is the pair of 15th Century benches at the west end of the nave. The bench ends are clerics holding books, and above them memorable finials depicting two lions, a dragon and what might be a cat or a dog.
The box pews were removed as part of Phipson's restoration and replaced with high quality benches. The front row are the Borough Corporation seats, a mace rest and a sword rest in front of them. The carvings on the ends of the benches are seahorses, the creatures that hold the shield on the Ipswich Borough arms, and on the finials in front are lions holding ships, the crest of the Borough. As you might expect in Ipswich these are by Henry Ringham, whose church carving was always of a high quality, and is perhaps best known at Woolpit and Combs. His workshop on St John's Road employed fifty people at the time of the 1861 census, but by the following year he was bankrupt, and so the work here is likely some of the last that he produced. He died in 1866, and Ringham Road in East Ipswich remembers him.
Moving into the chancel, the other major survival is a collection of late 15th and early 16th Century brasses. Altogether there are ten large figures, but in fact some of them represent the same person more than once. The most memorable is probably that of Alys Baldry, who died in 1507. She lies between her two husbands. The first, Robert Wimbill, is on the right. He died in about 1477. He was a notary, and his ink pot and pen case hang from his belt. Her second husband, Thomas Baldry, is on the left. He died in 1525. He was a merchant, and his merchant mark is set beneath his feet next to Alys's five daughters and four sons.
Alys Baldry, Robert Wimbill and Thomas Baldry are all depicted in further brasses here. The best of these is that to Robert. It was commissioned by his will in the 1470s. He lies on his own with a Latin inscription which translates as 'My hope lies in my heart. Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on me.' His ink pot and pen case hang from his belt again, and between his feet are a skull and scattered bones, an early memento mori. Thomas Baldry's own brass memorial shows him lying between his two wives, Alys who we have already met, and his second wife Christian. The other group of three figures depicts Thomas Drayll, a merchant, with his wives Margaret and Agnes. Thomas died in 1512. The arms of the Cinque Ports are set above him, and a large merchant mark is beneath his feet. Several inscriptions are missing, and we know that when the iconoclast William Dowsing visited the church on 29th Janary 1644 he ordered the removal of six brass inscriptions with Ora pro nobis ('pray for us') and Ora pro animabus ('pray for our souls'), and Cujus animae propitietur deus ('on whose soul may God have mercy') and pray for the soul in English.
The spectacular sanctuary with its imposing reredos, piscina and sedilia was clearly designed for shadowy, incense-led worship. A lush Arts and Crafts crucifixion surmounts the altar. East Anglian saints flank the walls. James Bettley, revising the Buildings of England volume for East Suffolk, records that it was the work of Somers, Clarke & Micklethwaite in the 1880s. The chancel is only lit from the east window, emphasising the focus from the rest of the church. The set of twelve apostles and twelve angels on the choir stalls are also by Pfeiffer. You can see his signature on the back of St Luke's icon of the Blessed Virgin. This sanctuary is the ultimate expression of late 19th Century Tractarianism in Suffolk. Back in the nave, the early 18th Century pulpit speaks of a different liturgical age, when this church was a preaching house rather than a sacramental space. James Bettley credits its carving to James Hubbard, and notes its similarity to that in the Unitarian Meeting House a few hundred yards off. The 19th Century screen that stood in the chancel arch and separated these two liturgical ages was moved to the east end of the north aisle as an organ screen some time in the 20th Century.
Another screen separates off the Lady Chapel from the south aisle and the chancel. The chapel is a pleasing period piece, furnished sentimentally. The reredos, by Arthur Wallace in 1907, depicts the Supper at Emmaus flanked by Moses and Elijah in an echo of the Transfiguration. The early 20th Century paintings on the south wall are lovely, especially the infant Christ as he plays at the feet of St Joseph. But the overwhelming atmosphere of this church comes from its extensive range of 19th Century glass, the largest collection in Suffolk. It provides a catalogue of some of the major 19th Century workshops over a fairly short period, from the 1850s to the 1880s. Much of it is by Clayton & Bell, who probably received the commission for east and west windows and south aisle as part of Phipson's rebuilding contract. Other major workshops include those of William Wailes, the O'Connors and Lavers, Barraud & Westlake. A small amount of 1840s glass in the north aisle was reset here from the previous church. There are photographs of the glass at the bottom of this page.
As was common in major 19th Century restorations, the memorials that once flanked the walls were collected together and reset at the west end of the nave. At St Mary le Tower this was a major task, for there are a lot of them. The most famous is that to William Smart, MP for Ipswich in the late 16th Century. It is painted on boards. His inscription is a long acrostic, and he kneels at the bottom opposite his wife. between them is a panoramic view of the Ipswich townscape as it was in 1599, the year that he died, a remarkable snapshot of the past. Other memorials include those of the 17th Century when Ipswich was the heartland of firebrand protestant East Anglia. Matthew Lawrence, who died in 1653, was the publike preacher of this towne. There are more memorials in the north chancel aisle, now divided up as vestries. The best of these is to John and Elizabeth Robinson. He died in 1666. They kneel at their prayer desks, and below them are their children Thomas, John, Mary and Elizabeth, who all predeceased their mother. Also here are memorials to a number of the Cobbold family, who were not only important locally but even provided ministers for this church.
There are more Cobbold memorials in the nave, including one in glass at the west end of the north aisle. It is dedicated to Lucy Chevallier Cobbold, and depicts her with her daughter at the Presentation in the Temple. The Cobbold family embraced Tractarianism wholeheartedly, being largely responsible for the building of St Bartholomew near their home at Holywells Park. They probably had an influence over the Bacon family, whose wealth went towards the rebuilding, and whose symbol of a boar can be seen in the floor tiles. A good set of Stuart royal arms hangs above the west doorway.
I can't imagine what the 17th Century parishioners would make of this church if they could come back and see it now. Trevor Cooper, in his edition of The Journals of William Dowsing, recalls that the atmosphere in the town was so strongly puritan that in the 1630s the churchwardens were excommunicated for refusing to carry out the sacramentalist reforms of Archbishop Laud. The reforms demanded that the altar be returned to the chancel and railed in, but this was considered idolatrous by the parishioners. When the visitation commissioners of the Bishop of Norwich came to the church in April 1636 to see if the commands had been carried out, the churchwardens refused to give up the keys... verbally assaulting them and and confronting them with 'musketts charged, swords, staves and other weapons'.
Frank Grace, in his 'Schismaticall and Factious Humours': Opposition in Ipswich to Laudian Church Government, records a number of other incidents both here and in other Ipswich churches in the late 1630s, including an attack on 'a conformable minister' (that is to say one faithful to the Bishop) by a mob as well as a stranger who was invited by the town bailiffs to preach a very factious and seditious sermon in Tower church to a large congregation against the authority of the incumbent, who no doubt was held at bay while the ranting went on. As with all the Ipswich churches, the iconoclast William Dowsing was welcomed with open arms by the churchwardens here on his visit of January 1644. Looking around at Phipson's sacramental glory, it is hard to imagine now.
Simon Knott, December 2022
Flint from the Pennsylvanian of Ohio, USA. (cut surface) (centimeter scale)
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Studies done by geologists at Ohio State University at Newark indicate that the Vanport Flint has a relatively complex history, the details of which are still being worked out.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric American Indians quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old Indian flint pits can be examined along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("State Memorial"). Many authentic Indian artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
This multicolored flint sample is from far-eastern Flint Ridge. It has been heated - knappers usually do this to improve the knappability of the flint. Remarkably, the rock now has the consistency of opalite.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Neibarger Flint Quarry - flint pit on the Neibarger property, far-eastern Flint Ridge, far-western Muskingum County, east-central Ohio, USA
Peter Paul Rubens
Mädchen mit Fächer (nach Tizian) [1628-29] -
Vienna, KHM - wm
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Rubens copied Titian's model here, but there were apparently several versions of it. In addition to the painting by the Venetian artist now in Dresden, there was probably another, now lost, model by Titian, which Anton van Dyck recorded in his Italian sketchbook. Rubens varied the work of his great predecessor with great empathy by depicting the girl more succinctly and thus making her appear more lifelike.
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Rubens kopierte hier ein Vorbild Tizians, von dem es aber offenbar mehrere Versionen gab. Neben dem heute in Dresden befindlichen Gemälde des Venezianers hat es wohl noch eine andere, heute verschollene Vorlage Tizians gegeben, die Anton van Dyck in seinem italienischen Skizzenbuch festhielt. Mit großer Einfühlungsgabe variiert Rubens das Werk des großen Vorgängers, indem er das Mädchen knapper ins Bild setzt und es damit lebensnäher erscheinen lässt.
Source: KHM
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Flint from the Pennsylvanian of Ohio, USA. (centimeter scale)
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Studies done by geologists at Ohio State University at Newark indicate that the Vanport Flint has a relatively complex history, the details of which are still being worked out.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric American Indians quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old Indian flint pits can be examined along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("State Memorial"). Many authentic Indian artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
This attractive brown-and-dark blue flint sample is a flint knapper's preform. They are often sold to other flint knappers, who process them further into various points. The flint has been moderately heated in a kiln. Heating flint is a standard procedure. It improves the knappability of the flint. Heating also often intensifies colors.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Roy Miller Flint Quarries - flint pit just northwest of the Flint Ridge Road-Brownsville Road intersection, near Flint Ridge State Park, central Flint Ridge, southeastern Licking County, east-central Ohio, USA (vicinity of 39° 59’ 21.84" North latitude, 82° 15’ 49.04" West longitude)
Precious opal-knapped arrowhead. (~23.5 millimeters long)
Knapper: Chris Miller
Opal is hydrous silica (SiO2·nH2O) and is made up of extremely tiny spheres (colloids) that can be seen with a scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Gem-quality opal, or precious opal, has a wonderful rainbow play of colors (opalescence). This play of color is the result of light being diffracted by planes of voids between large areas of regularly packed, same-sized opal colloids. Different opalescent colors are produced by colloids of differing sizes. If individual colloids are larger than 140 x 10-6 mm in size, purple & blue & green colors are produced. Once colloids get as large as about 240 x 10-6 mm, red color is seen (Carr et al., 1979).
Not all opals have the famous play of colors, however. Common opal has a wax-like luster & is often milky whitish with no visible color play at all. Opal is moderately hard (H = 5 to 6), has a white streak, and has conchoidal fracture.
Several groups of organisms make skeletons of opaline silica, for example hexactinellid sponges, diatoms, radiolarians, silicoflagellates, and ebridians. Some organisms incorporate opal into their tissues, for example horsetails/scouring rushes and sawgrass. Sometimes, fossils are preserved in opal or precious opal.
Host rock: Bulldog Shale, lower Marree Subgroup, Aptian Stage, upper Lower Cretaceous
Locality: unrecorded site in the Coober Pedy Opal Field, north-central South Australia State, southern Australia
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Photo gallery of opal:
www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=3004
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Reference cited:
Carr et al. (1979) - Andamooka opal fields: the geology of the precious stones field and the results of the subsidised mining program. Geological Survey of South Australia Department of Mines and Energy Report of Investigations 51. 68 pp.
Familiar to residents and visitors alike, the great Victorian spire of St Mary-le-Tower rises above the shopping streets of central Ipswich, the nearest thing the town will ever have to a cathedral. This is Suffolk's Victorian church par excellence. It is full of the spirit of its age, from the Suffolk flushwork to the international gothic of the spire itself. One could no more imagine Ipswich without 'the Tower' than without the Orwell Bridge.
There were six town centre churches dedicated to St Mary in the Middle Ages; four survive, picturesquely differentiated as St Mary le Tower ('the Tower'), St Mary at Elms ('the Elms'), St Mary at Quay and St Mary at Stoke.
There was a church here in 1200, when the Borough of Ipswich was declared in the churchyard by the granting of a charter. When the Diocese of Norwich restored it in the mid-nineteenth century, they decided on a complete rebuild in stone on the same site. The Diocesan Architect R.M. Phipson was chosen for the job, and the old church was effectively demolished in the 1860s, and a new one built in its place. The old foundations were used, with an extension towards Northgate Street, which is why the northern part of the churchyard is so severely cut off.
There never was a north door, and the west door is beautiful but rather useless, since it is below street level and the path merely leads round to the south. The only parts of the medieval church retained were a doorway, the nave arcades, and a few fixtures and fittings. From the outside it is virtually all Phipson's work, all of a piece, and quite magnificent. The flushwork is exuberant; being a flint-knapper must have been a good living in the 1860s.
The entrance is in the style of the area's south-west tower porches, although on a much grander scale. The actual entrance arch seems to have been retained, as it appears to be the same in the photograph of the 1850s (above), albeit with the tablets now removed. If so, then it is 15th century. There is a fine 19th century Madonna and child in the niche above by Richard Pfeiffer, full of Victorian Anglo-catholic sentiment. Away to the east, the same sculptor produced St John the Evangelist and St Mary of Magdala on the end of the chancel.
The spire is about 60m tall. The chequerboard pattern of the lower tower is rather alarming in comparison with the subtlety of some Suffolk churches, but must have been the very thing in the late 19th century (see the same at Butterfield's south porch of St Mary at Stoke), or at least until the confection of St Lawrence across the road was finished 20 years later. The spire is heartier than Phipson's other more feminine Suffolk spires at Great Finborough and Woolpit,.
The porch inside is grand, stone and marble rising to a painted wooden ceilure. St Peter and St Paul, in the windows either side, look on. A little door to the north-east leads up to the belfry, with a ring of thirteen bells. Their renewal was completed in 1999; I am told that it is actually a ring of twelve, and the thirteenth is a sharp 2nd for use when fewer than twelve are rung. The doorway into the church has been given lovely stops representing the Annunciation, with the angel to the west, and Mary at her prayer desk to the east. As part of the Millenium project, all of this has been guilded, and it is all absolutely gorgeous.
Inside, the vastness swallows all sound. Everywhere there is the gleam of polished wood and tile. Sadly, it was fashionable in the 1950s and 1960s to remove tiles from walls, but you can still make out where these would have been. Also removed was the chancel screen. The old memorials crowd uncomfortably at the west end - Phipson was having no truck with them - but the majestic view to the east is testimony to Phipson's competency. Everything is done to the letter, with the finest attention paid to detail.
The demolished church was very dark and serious inside, so it must have made quite a contrast when the town saw inside its new church. There is a drawing of the inside of this in the north aisle, along with part of the Jacobean chancel arch. Now, the great Perpendicular-style west window fills the nave with coloured light in the afternoons, a perfect foil for evening prayer. A fine Charles II royal arms hangs above.
The font is an excellent example of the typical 15th century East Anglian style, and deserves to be better known. It is in very good condition indeed, probably because this was a town that embraced protestantism whole-heartedly, and it was plastered over in the mid-16th century to make it plain and simple. The lions around the pillar stand on human heads, and there are more heads beneath the bowl. On the bowl itself are more lions, in a curious echo of the font of St Peter, albeit some four hundred years later. There are fine brasses from the original church in the chancel. The early 18th century pulpit, contemporary with and similar to the one in the Unitarian chapel, is a bit sombre, but an excellent example of Grinling Gibbons-style carving. The screen moved from the chancel arch can now be found at the east end of the north aisle, where it softens the metal organ pipes. It is slightly older than its near-twin that separates off the Lady Chapel.
The Decorated-style east window has a certain delicacy, and the otherwise windowless and heavy-wooded chancel was clearly designed for dark, shadowy, incense-led worship. The best feature of the chancel, and perhaps of the whole church, is the grand reredos, piscina and sedilia in the sanctuary, all of about 1900. A lush Arts and Crafts crucifixion surmounts the altar, done in gesso work on wood. East Anglian Saints flank the walls. This sanctuary is the ultimate expression of late 19th century Tractarianism in Suffolk. To think that this was only a few decades after the events at Claydon! You really feel as if you might be in a 19th century colonial Cathedral.
The Lady Chapel is also a delightful piece, full of Victorian and Edwardian sentiment. The reredos shows the transfiguation, but I like best the early 20th century paintings on the south wall, especially the touching infant Christ, as he plays at the feet of St Joseph.
The excellent set of twelve apostles and twelve angels on the choir stalls (still in use for their original purpose) are by Pfeiffer, who did the external statues. You can see his signature on the back of St Luke's icon of the Blessed Virgin.
The Victorian stained glass windows in the nave are of variable quality. The woodwork is much better; it is also largely 19th century, much the work of Pfeiffer and the always excellent Henry Ringham; more of his work can be seen at Great Bealings. The front pews are the so-called 'Corporation pews'; the Tower styles itself the civic church of Ipswich, and one can see the same attempt to merge the municipal with the sacramental as at Phipson's other major work for the diocese, the internal restoration of St Peter Mancroft in Norwich. The bench ends show the Ipswich symbols of a seahorse, and a lion carrying a ship.
If you look carefully at the back of the church, however, you will see that the churchwardens pews still retain their medieval bench ends.
The arcades are from the medieval church, and must have had a slender grace rather lost now - they yearn for white light to enfold them.
The famous Cobbold family provided ministers for this church for many years in the 18th and 19th centuries, and their tombs can be seen in the north chancel aisle, beyond the organ. The family embraced Tractarianism wholeheartedly, being largely responsible for the building of St Bartholomew near their home at Holywells Park. They probably had an influence over the Bacon family, whose wealth went towards the rebuilding, and whose symbol of a boar may be found in the floor tiles.
One memorial you must not miss is that to William Smart, MP for Ipswich, which you can find on the wall in the north west corner of the nave. It is painted on wood, and features a panoramic view of the Ipswich townscape as it was in 1599, when he died.
This parish is unusual in having virtually no resident population, and the congregation is of people drawn from a wide area attracted by the liberal teaching, musical tradition and peculiar cathedral-style high churchmanship of the church. It may not be the biggest congregation in Ipswich, but it is a friendly one.
Flint from the Pennsylvanian of Ohio, USA. (cut surface) (centimeter scale)
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Studies done by geologists at Ohio State University at Newark indicate that the Vanport Flint has a relatively complex history, the details of which are still being worked out.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric American Indians quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old Indian flint pits can be examined along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("State Memorial"). Many authentic Indian artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
This multicolored flint sample is from far-eastern Flint Ridge. It has been heated - knappers usually do this to improve the knappability of the flint. Remarkably, the rock now has the consistency of opalite.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Neibarger Flint Quarry - flint pit on the Neibarger property, far-eastern Flint Ridge, far-western Muskingum County, east-central Ohio, USA
Familiar to residents and visitors alike, the great Victorian spire of St Mary-le-Tower rises above the shopping streets of central Ipswich, the nearest thing the town will ever have to a cathedral. This is Suffolk's Victorian church par excellence. It is full of the spirit of its age, from the Suffolk flushwork to the international gothic of the spire itself. One could no more imagine Ipswich without 'the Tower' than without the Orwell Bridge.
There were six town centre churches dedicated to St Mary in the Middle Ages; four survive, picturesquely differentiated as St Mary le Tower ('the Tower'), St Mary at Elms ('the Elms'), St Mary at Quay and St Mary at Stoke.
There was a church here in 1200, when the Borough of Ipswich was declared in the churchyard by the granting of a charter. When the Diocese of Norwich restored it in the mid-nineteenth century, they decided on a complete rebuild in stone on the same site. The Diocesan Architect R.M. Phipson was chosen for the job, and the old church was effectively demolished in the 1860s, and a new one built in its place. The old foundations were used, with an extension towards Northgate Street, which is why the northern part of the churchyard is so severely cut off.
There never was a north door, and the west door is beautiful but rather useless, since it is below street level and the path merely leads round to the south. The only parts of the medieval church retained were a doorway, the nave arcades, and a few fixtures and fittings. From the outside it is virtually all Phipson's work, all of a piece, and quite magnificent. The flushwork is exuberant; being a flint-knapper must have been a good living in the 1860s.
The entrance is in the style of the area's south-west tower porches, although on a much grander scale. The actual entrance arch seems to have been retained, as it appears to be the same in the photograph of the 1850s (above), albeit with the tablets now removed. If so, then it is 15th century. There is a fine 19th century Madonna and child in the niche above by Richard Pfeiffer, full of Victorian Anglo-catholic sentiment. Away to the east, the same sculptor produced St John the Evangelist and St Mary of Magdala on the end of the chancel.
The spire is about 60m tall. The chequerboard pattern of the lower tower is rather alarming in comparison with the subtlety of some Suffolk churches, but must have been the very thing in the late 19th century (see the same at Butterfield's south porch of St Mary at Stoke), or at least until the confection of St Lawrence across the road was finished 20 years later. The spire is heartier than Phipson's other more feminine Suffolk spires at Great Finborough and Woolpit,.
The porch inside is grand, stone and marble rising to a painted wooden ceilure. St Peter and St Paul, in the windows either side, look on. A little door to the north-east leads up to the belfry, with a ring of thirteen bells. Their renewal was completed in 1999; I am told that it is actually a ring of twelve, and the thirteenth is a sharp 2nd for use when fewer than twelve are rung. The doorway into the church has been given lovely stops representing the Annunciation, with the angel to the west, and Mary at her prayer desk to the east. As part of the Millenium project, all of this has been guilded, and it is all absolutely gorgeous.
Inside, the vastness swallows all sound. Everywhere there is the gleam of polished wood and tile. Sadly, it was fashionable in the 1950s and 1960s to remove tiles from walls, but you can still make out where these would have been. Also removed was the chancel screen. The old memorials crowd uncomfortably at the west end - Phipson was having no truck with them - but the majestic view to the east is testimony to Phipson's competency. Everything is done to the letter, with the finest attention paid to detail.
The demolished church was very dark and serious inside, so it must have made quite a contrast when the town saw inside its new church. There is a drawing of the inside of this in the north aisle, along with part of the Jacobean chancel arch. Now, the great Perpendicular-style west window fills the nave with coloured light in the afternoons, a perfect foil for evening prayer. A fine Charles II royal arms hangs above.
The font is an excellent example of the typical 15th century East Anglian style, and deserves to be better known. It is in very good condition indeed, probably because this was a town that embraced protestantism whole-heartedly, and it was plastered over in the mid-16th century to make it plain and simple. The lions around the pillar stand on human heads, and there are more heads beneath the bowl. On the bowl itself are more lions, in a curious echo of the font of St Peter, albeit some four hundred years later. There are fine brasses from the original church in the chancel. The early 18th century pulpit, contemporary with and similar to the one in the Unitarian chapel, is a bit sombre, but an excellent example of Grinling Gibbons-style carving. The screen moved from the chancel arch can now be found at the east end of the north aisle, where it softens the metal organ pipes. It is slightly older than its near-twin that separates off the Lady Chapel.
The Decorated-style east window has a certain delicacy, and the otherwise windowless and heavy-wooded chancel was clearly designed for dark, shadowy, incense-led worship. The best feature of the chancel, and perhaps of the whole church, is the grand reredos, piscina and sedilia in the sanctuary, all of about 1900. A lush Arts and Crafts crucifixion surmounts the altar, done in gesso work on wood. East Anglian Saints flank the walls. This sanctuary is the ultimate expression of late 19th century Tractarianism in Suffolk. To think that this was only a few decades after the events at Claydon! You really feel as if you might be in a 19th century colonial Cathedral.
The Lady Chapel is also a delightful piece, full of Victorian and Edwardian sentiment. The reredos shows the transfiguation, but I like best the early 20th century paintings on the south wall, especially the touching infant Christ, as he plays at the feet of St Joseph.
The excellent set of twelve apostles and twelve angels on the choir stalls (still in use for their original purpose) are by Pfeiffer, who did the external statues. You can see his signature on the back of St Luke's icon of the Blessed Virgin.
The Victorian stained glass windows in the nave are of variable quality. The woodwork is much better; it is also largely 19th century, much the work of Pfeiffer and the always excellent Henry Ringham; more of his work can be seen at Great Bealings. The front pews are the so-called 'Corporation pews'; the Tower styles itself the civic church of Ipswich, and one can see the same attempt to merge the municipal with the sacramental as at Phipson's other major work for the diocese, the internal restoration of St Peter Mancroft in Norwich. The bench ends show the Ipswich symbols of a seahorse, and a lion carrying a ship.
If you look carefully at the back of the church, however, you will see that the churchwardens pews still retain their medieval bench ends.
The arcades are from the medieval church, and must have had a slender grace rather lost now - they yearn for white light to enfold them.
The famous Cobbold family provided ministers for this church for many years in the 18th and 19th centuries, and their tombs can be seen in the north chancel aisle, beyond the organ. The family embraced Tractarianism wholeheartedly, being largely responsible for the building of St Bartholomew near their home at Holywells Park. They probably had an influence over the Bacon family, whose wealth went towards the rebuilding, and whose symbol of a boar may be found in the floor tiles.
One memorial you must not miss is that to William Smart, MP for Ipswich, which you can find on the wall in the north west corner of the nave. It is painted on wood, and features a panoramic view of the Ipswich townscape as it was in 1599, when he died.
This parish is unusual in having virtually no resident population, and the congregation is of people drawn from a wide area attracted by the liberal teaching, musical tradition and peculiar cathedral-style high churchmanship of the church. It may not be the biggest congregation in Ipswich, but it is a friendly one.
I have a beautiful old box full of buttons from my grandmother. This is three of the sweet buttons.
This weeks #TwPhCh is "nær" (close).
Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do!
Who leaves Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do! We do!
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do! We do!
Who robs cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do! We do!
song / lyrics from Homer il grande" ("Homer the Great"). Stonebreakers “vietato agli Homer”
Chi controlla la Corona Inglese?
Chi boicotta il sistema metrico decimale?
Noi! Noi!
Chi cancella Atlantide dalle mappe?
Chi tiene segreta l'esistenza dei marziani?
Noi! Noi!
Chi boicotta un veicolo elettrico efficiente?
Chi ha reso famoso Steve Guttenberg?
Noi! Noi!
Chi priva i pesci grotta della loro vista
Chi combina i risultati dei Premi Oscar?
Noi! Noi!
Familiar to residents and visitors alike, the great Victorian spire of St Mary-le-Tower rises above the shopping streets of central Ipswich, the nearest thing the town will ever have to a cathedral. This is Suffolk's Victorian church par excellence. It is full of the spirit of its age, from the Suffolk flushwork to the international gothic of the spire itself. One could no more imagine Ipswich without 'the Tower' than without the Orwell Bridge.
There were six town centre churches dedicated to St Mary in the Middle Ages; four survive, picturesquely differentiated as St Mary le Tower ('the Tower'), St Mary at Elms ('the Elms'), St Mary at Quay and St Mary at Stoke.
There was a church here in 1200, when the Borough of Ipswich was declared in the churchyard by the granting of a charter. When the Diocese of Norwich restored it in the mid-nineteenth century, they decided on a complete rebuild in stone on the same site. The Diocesan Architect R.M. Phipson was chosen for the job, and the old church was effectively demolished in the 1860s, and a new one built in its place. The old foundations were used, with an extension towards Northgate Street, which is why the northern part of the churchyard is so severely cut off.
There never was a north door, and the west door is beautiful but rather useless, since it is below street level and the path merely leads round to the south. The only parts of the medieval church retained were a doorway, the nave arcades, and a few fixtures and fittings. From the outside it is virtually all Phipson's work, all of a piece, and quite magnificent. The flushwork is exuberant; being a flint-knapper must have been a good living in the 1860s.
The entrance is in the style of the area's south-west tower porches, although on a much grander scale. The actual entrance arch seems to have been retained, as it appears to be the same in the photograph of the 1850s (above), albeit with the tablets now removed. If so, then it is 15th century. There is a fine 19th century Madonna and child in the niche above by Richard Pfeiffer, full of Victorian Anglo-catholic sentiment. Away to the east, the same sculptor produced St John the Evangelist and St Mary of Magdala on the end of the chancel.
The spire is about 60m tall. The chequerboard pattern of the lower tower is rather alarming in comparison with the subtlety of some Suffolk churches, but must have been the very thing in the late 19th century (see the same at Butterfield's south porch of St Mary at Stoke), or at least until the confection of St Lawrence across the road was finished 20 years later. The spire is heartier than Phipson's other more feminine Suffolk spires at Great Finborough and Woolpit,.
The porch inside is grand, stone and marble rising to a painted wooden ceilure. St Peter and St Paul, in the windows either side, look on. A little door to the north-east leads up to the belfry, with a ring of thirteen bells. Their renewal was completed in 1999; I am told that it is actually a ring of twelve, and the thirteenth is a sharp 2nd for use when fewer than twelve are rung. The doorway into the church has been given lovely stops representing the Annunciation, with the angel to the west, and Mary at her prayer desk to the east. As part of the Millenium project, all of this has been guilded, and it is all absolutely gorgeous.
Inside, the vastness swallows all sound. Everywhere there is the gleam of polished wood and tile. Sadly, it was fashionable in the 1950s and 1960s to remove tiles from walls, but you can still make out where these would have been. Also removed was the chancel screen. The old memorials crowd uncomfortably at the west end - Phipson was having no truck with them - but the majestic view to the east is testimony to Phipson's competency. Everything is done to the letter, with the finest attention paid to detail.
The demolished church was very dark and serious inside, so it must have made quite a contrast when the town saw inside its new church. There is a drawing of the inside of this in the north aisle, along with part of the Jacobean chancel arch. Now, the great Perpendicular-style west window fills the nave with coloured light in the afternoons, a perfect foil for evening prayer. A fine Charles II royal arms hangs above.
The font is an excellent example of the typical 15th century East Anglian style, and deserves to be better known. It is in very good condition indeed, probably because this was a town that embraced protestantism whole-heartedly, and it was plastered over in the mid-16th century to make it plain and simple. The lions around the pillar stand on human heads, and there are more heads beneath the bowl. On the bowl itself are more lions, in a curious echo of the font of St Peter, albeit some four hundred years later. There are fine brasses from the original church in the chancel. The early 18th century pulpit, contemporary with and similar to the one in the Unitarian chapel, is a bit sombre, but an excellent example of Grinling Gibbons-style carving. The screen moved from the chancel arch can now be found at the east end of the north aisle, where it softens the metal organ pipes. It is slightly older than its near-twin that separates off the Lady Chapel.
The Decorated-style east window has a certain delicacy, and the otherwise windowless and heavy-wooded chancel was clearly designed for dark, shadowy, incense-led worship. The best feature of the chancel, and perhaps of the whole church, is the grand reredos, piscina and sedilia in the sanctuary, all of about 1900. A lush Arts and Crafts crucifixion surmounts the altar, done in gesso work on wood. East Anglian Saints flank the walls. This sanctuary is the ultimate expression of late 19th century Tractarianism in Suffolk. To think that this was only a few decades after the events at Claydon! You really feel as if you might be in a 19th century colonial Cathedral.
The Lady Chapel is also a delightful piece, full of Victorian and Edwardian sentiment. The reredos shows the transfiguation, but I like best the early 20th century paintings on the south wall, especially the touching infant Christ, as he plays at the feet of St Joseph.
The excellent set of twelve apostles and twelve angels on the choir stalls (still in use for their original purpose) are by Pfeiffer, who did the external statues. You can see his signature on the back of St Luke's icon of the Blessed Virgin.
The Victorian stained glass windows in the nave are of variable quality. The woodwork is much better; it is also largely 19th century, much the work of Pfeiffer and the always excellent Henry Ringham; more of his work can be seen at Great Bealings. The front pews are the so-called 'Corporation pews'; the Tower styles itself the civic church of Ipswich, and one can see the same attempt to merge the municipal with the sacramental as at Phipson's other major work for the diocese, the internal restoration of St Peter Mancroft in Norwich. The bench ends show the Ipswich symbols of a seahorse, and a lion carrying a ship.
If you look carefully at the back of the church, however, you will see that the churchwardens pews still retain their medieval bench ends.
The arcades are from the medieval church, and must have had a slender grace rather lost now - they yearn for white light to enfold them.
The famous Cobbold family provided ministers for this church for many years in the 18th and 19th centuries, and their tombs can be seen in the north chancel aisle, beyond the organ. The family embraced Tractarianism wholeheartedly, being largely responsible for the building of St Bartholomew near their home at Holywells Park. They probably had an influence over the Bacon family, whose wealth went towards the rebuilding, and whose symbol of a boar may be found in the floor tiles.
One memorial you must not miss is that to William Smart, MP for Ipswich, which you can find on the wall in the north west corner of the nave. It is painted on wood, and features a panoramic view of the Ipswich townscape as it was in 1599, when he died.
This parish is unusual in having virtually no resident population, and the congregation is of people drawn from a wide area attracted by the liberal teaching, musical tradition and peculiar cathedral-style high churchmanship of the church. It may not be the biggest congregation in Ipswich, but it is a friendly one.
Fossiliferous chert nodule with a fossil sponge from the Cretaceous of Britain. (public display, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA)
Sedimentary rocks form by the solidification of loose sediments. Loose sediments become hard rocks by the processes of deposition, burial, compaction, dewatering, and cementation.
There are three categories of sedimentary rocks:
1) Siliciclastic sedimentary rocks form by the solidification of sediments produced by weathering & erosion of any previously existing rocks.
2) Biogenic sedimentary rocks form by the solidification of sediments that were once-living organisms (plants, animals, micro-organisms).
3) Chemical sedimentary rocks form by the solidification of sediments formed by inorganic chemical reactions. Most sedimentary rocks have a clastic texture, but some are crystalline.
Chert is a cryptocrystalline-textured, siliceous sedimentary rock. It is composed of quartz (SiO2). Traditionally, light-colored varieties were called “chert” by geologists, and dark-colored varieties were called “flint”. This arbitrary distinction is no longer preferred. “Flint” is now an archaeological term for chert that has been worked by early humans. "Flint" is generally perceived by rockhounds to be high-quality material (from a flint-knapper's point of view, apparently), whereas "chert" is perceived as low-quality material. Chert nodules in Cretaceous chalks of Britain are still called “flint” by some geologists. Chert meganodules at Flint Ridge, Ohio are called “flint” in the geologic literature.
Individual quartz crystals are incredibly small in cherts, and generally cannot be seen with normal microscopes. Chert comes close to having the physical properties of a glassy textured rock - it is very hard (H = 7), has conchoidal fracture (smooth & curved fracture surfaces), and has sharp broken edges.
Cherts vary in color. Common chert colors include whitish, grayish, brownish to dark gray, very dark blue, and black. Reds, yellows, and greens are sometimes present. Some cherts are complexly multicolored.
Some cherts form biogenically, but other cherts have a chemical origin. As a result, chert cannot be placed cleanly or neatly or unambiguously into a traditional sedimentary rock category (siliciclastic, biogenic, chemical).
The chert nodule shown above is from an Upper Cretaceous chalk succession at Warminster, England. It contains a fossil sponge (Animalia, Porifera).
Flint & flint breccia from the Pennsylvanian of Ohio, USA.
Flint is the state gemstone of Ohio. "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. In early times, light-colored material was called "chert" and dark-colored material was called "flint". Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules). Another proposed origin for some chert / flint is altered quartzose eolian dust deposits on ancient seafloors.
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric Americans quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old flint pits can be seen along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("Flint Ridge State Memorial"; "Flint Ridge Ancient Quarries & Nature Preserve"). Many prehistoric artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Nethers Flint Quarries - flint pit in the woods on the southwestern side of Flint Ridge Road, eastern Flint Ridge, far-western Muskingum County, east-central Ohio, USA (vicinity of 40° 00.137’ North latitude, 82° 11.544’ West longitude)
Flint-knapped spearpoint from the Oligocene of Georgia, USA. (~11.3 centimeters tall)
Knapper: Ronnie Miller
"Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
Seen here is a knapped spearpoint - it's a modern replica. The rock is "Flint River Chert", derived from the "Flint River Formation" in Georgia. Oligocene-aged fossils have been reported from the fossiliferous chert component of the unit.
Stratigraphy: chert clast in the "Flint River Formation", Oligocene
Locality: unrecorded/undisclosed site at or near the town of Albany, southern Georgia, USA
Flint-knapped arrowhead. (~5.6 centimeters tall)
Knapper: Chris Miller
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio (actually, there's no such thing as "official" anything). "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate, incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Studies done by geologists at Ohio State University at Newark indicate that the Vanport Flint has a relatively complex history, the details of which are still being worked out.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric American Indians quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old Indian flint pits can be examined along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("State Memorial"). Many authentic Indian artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoints - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
The arrowhead shown here is a modern replica, produced by a skilled knapper named Chris Miller.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Nethers Flint Quarries - flint pit in the woods on the southwestern side of Flint Ridge Road, eastern Flint Ridge, far-western Muskingum County, east-central Ohio, USA (vicinity of 40° 00.137’ North latitude, 82° 11.544’ West longitude)
This image and others where kindly donated to the Society by Leon Knapper whose grandfather worked at the Formby Power House from about 1916 to 1959.
Marc Knapper, U.S. Embassy Seoul Chargé d’Affaires ad interim; Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, U.S. Forces Korea commander; and South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director General for North American Affairs Lee Choong-myon await the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at Osan Air Base outside of Seoul, South Korea, on March 17, 2017. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]