-
The gatehouse and inner courtyard
-Beautifully maintained lettering plaques in gold,
red and black
paint
on the relief moulding celebrate these ancient endowments to the town
by
two (or more) of its wealthiest sixteenth century merchant
philanthropists
- although the actual buildings are more recent replacements.
-
Reading from the upper (town end) of Foundation Street:-
'HENRY TOOLEY portman of Ipswich by his will dated Nov. 15 1550 left
several
estates for the purpose of erecting ALMS houses and for the main
finance
of poor persons therein'
'In powerfull Silence lett great Toolie rest
Whose charitable Deeds bespeak him blest
A.D. 1551'
-
'The Almshouses were founded in the year 1550 and
rebuilt in the year
1849
on and near the site of the original edifice'
and imperceptibly on to Smart's Almhouses:
'William Smart portman of Ipswich by his will dated January 9 1598 left
several estates for the purpose of maintaining sundry poor persons and
funding
them in clothes, coals &c'
-
'Let gentle Smart sleep on in pious trust
Behold his charity, respect his dust'
And much more recently - and in slightly more municipal lettering high
on
the last gable:-
'NATHANIEL CATCHPOLE Alderman of the Borough of Ipswich and Justice of
the
Peace for the County of Suffolk by a munificent gift of TEN THOUSAND
POUNDS
much needed at the time greatly increased the Usefulness of these
Almshouses
26th June 1902'
And finally (with an individual use of full-stops) a
roll-call of
well-known
Ipswich and Suffolk names on a plaque near the main entrance:-
'TRUSTEES OF THE IPSWICH CHARITIES 1846
H. Aldrich. Esq.
H. Bond. Esq.
Benjn. Beame. Esq.
C. Colchester. Esq.
Rev. J.C. Ebden M.A.
J. Footman. Esq.
W.C. Fonnereau. Esq.
J. Head. Esq.
Peter B. Long. Esq.
Rev. J.C. Nottidge. Esq.
S. Ray. Esq.
W. Rodwell. Esq.
M. Turner. Esq.
W. Turner. Esq.
S.A. Nottcutt. Clerk.'
More (and more ancient) almshouse lettering can be
found in Elm Street
and in Colchester.
Reading
'Great Tooley of Ipswich' by John Webb. Boydell Press, first
published 1970 (Suffolk Records Society). ISBN-13: 9780900716102
When Henry Tooley drew up his will shortly before his death in 1551 he
ensured the survival of two monuments to his career as a merchant in
Ipswich: the almshouses which still stand in the town, and an account
book which the Corporation originally acquired to administer his
bequest and now hold in their archives. From this rare and valuable
record, augmented by a few family and business letters and a thorough
search of local and national archives the author has written a brief
but impressive biography. A major consideration throughout this
biography has been to place the subject in the social and economic
framework of his time. This aim is followed most effectively, not only
in the chapters on overseas and internal trade but also in the account
of his participation in town government. Great Tooley is thus more than
a simple biography; it presents, with meticulous scholarship, an
illuminating picture of wider problems and developments in the early
Tudor period.