Waldringfield Roll of Honour
Waldringfield
Roll of Honour can be found in Waldringfield Parish
Church.
A Brief History of Waldringfield
IN 1850 Waldringfield was but a small insignificant village,
with a few scattered houses and some 140 inhabitants. With the
exception of the old Rectory, now known as River's Hall, and a few
farm houses, the cottages generally were small and with little
windows peeping out from under the eaves. On the top of the hill
stood the Church and Buttrum's old windmill, distinctive landmarks
for miles around. At the foot of the hill, overlooking the river
was the Bush Inn. On the opposite side of the road was the little
brewery, which in the 1890’s belonged to John Hill, who grew his
own barley and brewed his own beer, selling it at a shilling a
gallon. Further away on the heath was the Chapel, the meeting place
of strict Baptists from the surrounding district.
Having its own farms, gardens, shop, inn and craftsmen
Waldringfield in those far off days was almost self-supporting.
Only occasionally did anyone, even the parson, venture as far a
field as Ipswich or Woodbridge, which were said to be a "long way
orf." The roads were full of holes and ruts, slushy in winter and
dusty in summer. Should they be ice-bound or flooded, then the only
way out was by the Deben, where a local boatman was always glad to
earn a shilling. The carrier brought in vital necessities, such as
groceries and clothing, and even he did not venture out when the
roads were icy, unless his pony's shoes were "roughed".
Most men worked on the farms, whilst a few were employed as
gardeners and coachmen at the bigger houses. Not many women went
out to work, being far too busy at home.
Young women, however, occasionally went out to work in the
fields, stone picking, haymaking and gleaning. As for the children,
boys did the bird-scaring, singling beet and tending hogs and
sheep, whilst the girls, barely in their teens, were usually
employed as maids by the local gentry, with whom they often stayed
till they were married. There was no village school in
Waldringfield a hundred and fifty years ago.
Very little time was given up to
leisure and entertainment in Waldringfield during those
mid-Victorian days. Like country folks in general, they were
quite happy at work. Their most exciting events of the year
were the summer outings to the sea-side or Ipswich in newly
painted wagons, drawn by magnificent Suffolk Punches and
crowded with men, women and children all dressed in their
Sunday best ambling along the pretty country lanes.
In 1888 the village celebrated Queen Victoria’s jubilee
The village’s history is industrial. From about 1860 to 1895,
coprolite was being dug out from pits in the fields, washed and
sifted on the beach and shipped by barge to be processed in
factories in Ipswich, as part of the early fertiliser industry.
Towards the end of the 19th century Mason’s cement-making industry
sprang up, using mud from the river mixed with chalk brought in by
barge from the Medway.
Served by one hundred barges a month and employing twelve
‘bottleneck’ kilns, the industry survived until 1907.
The kilns were demolished in 1912 so the most noticeable
reminder of the industry is the row of ‘cement’ cottages in Cliff
Road, so called because they were built to house the cement workers
and the moon on the topsails of the barges operating from Mason’s
Works at Waldringfield which gave rise to the well-known Blue
Circle symbol of the Mason’s Works at Claydon.
The demolition of the factory lasted from 1907 to 1912, the work
being carried out by Arthur Quantril, assisted by Territorial
units, who were responsible for the blasting. Those were exciting
days in the village when the chimneys and kilns were filled and the
pier taken down.
By 1912 Waldringfield had again settled down to its former pastoral
life, with the Regatta, Flower Show and Sunday school outings being
the main events of the year.
During the latter years of the 19th century Waldringfield
anchorage accommodated a fleet of Thames barges, snows, billyboys,
ketches and schooners, awaiting their turn to land or unload at the
quay and pier for the Cement Works, or the pilot to take them up to
Woodbridge. Some barges unloaded their cargoes of London manure,
bricks or timber on the beach, taking away coprolite, hay, or
straw. It was quite common in those days to see a dozen, of those
picturesque vessels peacefully at anchor at the Waldringfield
Reach. When the wind blew from the north, clouds, of dirty brown
smoke from the Cement Factory enveloped the beach, making it almost
untenable. Visitors in those days were few, and yachts were
practically unknown. Woodbridge was then, the recognized centre far
yachts and pleasure boats. Waldringfield was but a small
agricultural and industrial community, giving little time, or
thought to the beauties and attractions of the Deben.
Waldringfield during the early twenties showed definite signs of
development.
New houses sprung
up alongside the main road leading down to the river and near
the quay. Each successive year saw an increase of boats and
yachts on the river. Little huts were erected in all sorts of
nooks and corners along the cliff-side
In the spring of 1921 a meeting was held in "Gorse Cabin" close
to the site of the present Club House, which was attended by eleven
enthusiastic sailors. In this humble manner the Waldringfield
Sailing Club was born .
The first President was
the late Sir Clifford Patterson, the Chairman Mr. A. W.
Stollery and the Secretary Mr. H. Nunn, who a few months
earlier had started the business of Nunn Bros., boat builders,
in a small building on the quay, near the old coal shed.
The Treasurer was T. N. Waller, Esq., of "Novacastria."
A piece of yellow and blue bunting happened to be lying an the
table, and when the question of the club burgee arose, someone saw
this bunting, picked it up and said, “This will do." It was
promptly adopted as the club's Official colours, and has remained
so ever since.
By 1930 the membership of the club
had risen to 30, but it was still very much a village affair. On
the 16th of May 1932 the old Club House was opened the first of its
kind on the river. In 1937 the club was affiliated to the Yacht
Racing Association, and the
Fairway Committee
was established under the jurisdiction of the Club to regulate
the foreshore and anchorage. From that time until the second
World War membership gradually increased, the club becoming
less and less a village affair, gradually passing into the
hands of yachtsmen, who made Waldringfield their
headquarters.
Just as Waldringfield was getting into its stride World War II
broke out, when that peaceful little beach was converted into a
front line of defence, barricaded with barbed wire and sinister
looking iron spikes. Boats and yachts were laid aside, their owners
generally leaving for the Forces, where their knowledge of winds,
sails and tides stood them in good stead. For the duration of the
war the beach and slipways were taken over by the Navy who, besides
barricading the foreshore, constructed a "dummy 'fleet" out of iron
poles and painted canvas.
When lit up at night this "fleet" was quite impressive, and
could be seen for miles around. From all accounts it served a
useful purpose, giving the enemy a false impression of our naval
strength in East Anglian waters and the actual intentions of the
High Command. For six years the war put an end to the club's
activities. The Royal Navy patrolled the river, while the majority
of the club members were employed on war service.
Today, the river is given over to leisure. Waldringfield Sailing
Club, formed in 1921, now has a membership of 650 of whom around 80
live in the village. In addition to providing club dinghy racing,
the WSC hosts open meetings, runs training courses and plays a
prominent role in the annual Deben Week Regatta.
The Maybush was
originally an old farmhouse. Like most inns in, the Deben
area, it was most probably licensed round about 1745.
According to Isaac Johnson’s map of 1825 it was first known as
the Cliff Inn. Later it was called "The Bush." (See White's
Suffolk Directory of 1844).
It was during the last twenty years of the 19th century that the
Maybush had some of its most exciting days. That was the time when
coproliters, cement workers and bargemen were the inn's chief
patrons. The busiest time was at eleven o'clock in the morning,
when dusty throated workmen crowded the taproom, where they always
found some three dozen pints of beer standing ready for them on the
table.
The most hectic time at
the Maybush during the nineties was at the weekends when, in
addition to local patrons, visitors came over from Kirton and
Newbourn far a game of quoits or skittles and of course, a
booze. Those lively meetings usually finished in furious
arguments and a fight in the backyard.
Waldringfield History Group
This group has been set up to investigate the local
history of the area covering most aspects from very early times to
the modern day. Members are following up their own paricular
interests from geological, archeological and industrial, to social
and family history. If you are interested in being involved
please contact :Joe
Clark 736670