Ipswich Charter Festival 825
The History:
825 years ago, King John (you’ll remember him: the bad king in Robin Hood’s day) was short of money. He had only been king for a year but the economy was in a mess. There were wars to fight, barons to bribe and appearances to keep up. What’s a king to do? Raise taxes!
However, there’s little point raising taxes if no-one can pay. King John decided to grant charters to towns which were trading well but could do better with fewer restrictions. A Royal Charter would release the new class of merchants and
tradespeople from the authority of the aristocracy. They would be allowed to control their own economic affairs and trade with Europe, managing exports and imports as well as holding regular markets for local people. And in 1200, Ipswich was granted its very own Royal Charter, marking it out as a major place of business on the East coast of England.
Over the centuries, Ipswich has benefitted from this early recognition as a town with potential. Of course, at times, things have not gone so well but a town with such a rich heritage as ours will always bounce back. The early 21 st century has been a challenge as trade has fallen away but now, 825 years after King John granted Ipswich its Charter, it’s time to plan for a new era and work together to make our town a prosperous and happy place, where all can thrive.
What better way to start than with a Festival?
On 19th January 2025, 825 years after Ipswich was granted its Charter, St Mary le Tower church in Tower Street became Ipswich Minster. It was in the churchyard here that the iconic charter ceremony took place. Today, Ipswich Minster is a church with a mission, focussing on supporting the community and the people who live and work in the area. The whole Minster community is committed to turning Ipswich into the best town in East Anglia. Ipswich Minster has partnered with Ipswich.Love to lead the way, inviting other Ipswich organisations to remember the past and celebrate the future.
Schools:
To begin, every school in the town has been invited to explore the significance of the Charter with its pupils. A Key Stage 2 scheme of work, compatible with the National Curriculum, has been commissioned by Ipswich Minster using funds donated for this purpose. A similar scheme of work is available to every Secondary School for pupils at Key Stage 3. And for students in Years 12 and 13, there is a sophisticated Extended Project to enable them to gain an additional qualification, demonstrating important study skills. The materials have been produced by Dale and Aidan Banham, both experienced teachers, with support from The Hold, where Ipswich’s historic archives are kept. We hope hundreds of pupils in Ipswich will explore Ipswich’s historic Charter before the end of this academic year. They will learn why King John was prepared to release the citizens of Ipswich from the powerful sheriff (like the one in Nottingham, fighting Robin Hood). They will find out how much the citizens of Ipswich had to pay King John to gain their freedom (in silver shillings). They will discover who the original portmen were (not footballers)and lots more beside. And post-16 students can use the Charter as a springboard into their own research, developing valuable study- skills at the same time. Ipswich’s Charter marked a turning point in our town’s history. It opened the way to new freedoms and opportunities. It would be great if every young person in today’s Ipswich is able to take inspiration from this key event. And have fun too! If you are a parent of a pupil or student in an Ipswich school, please talk to teachers and find out how they plan to make use of these excellent resources.
Get involved!
We also want to celebrate something of the freedom and independence Ipswich gained by its Charter by launching two competitions, open to everyone. We are inviting you to explore the importance of the Charter and the freedom it brought, through art or poetry. You may want to reflect on the historical significance of the Charter but, equally important, you may want to express something about the way these principles of freedom and independence can take us forward into the future. These are bold concepts and there are no limits! Give those creative impulses free rein!
There are different categories for different ages: 11 and under; 12-14; 15-18; 18 and older. As many entries as possible will be displayed in a Town Hall gallery over the week starting Saturday 21 st June. We appreciate the generous support of Ipswich Borough Council in making this possible. There will be a surprise launch to the exhibition that morning in the Cornhill! Access will be free. It will be great opportunity for existing and emerging poets and creatives to demonstrate their skills. The exhibition will be a fantastic showcase for our town’s creativity. There will be lots of publicity for the entrants. Who knows? Your insightful poem or striking work of art may get picked out for particular notice.
If you want to know more about these competitions, here’s some wonderful stimulus material – information about the Charter (already made available to every school), and here’s how to submit your work
Let’s Celebrate!
Ipswich Minster has commissioned a Charter 825 concert to be held on Friday 27th June in the Corn Exchange. Details of the programme will follow in due course but one thing we can promise is that an Ipswich Charter Anthem will be performed for the very first time with great lyrics composed by some of Northgate School’s budding poets. Using the Key Stage 3 Charter scheme of work commissioned by Ipswich Minster, Year 7 pupils have been studying the Charter and the turbulent history of the time. When King John succeeded his brother, Richard the Lionheart, he inherited some serious money-problems caused by the cost of Richard’s crusading and the rebellion of his subjects in France. (We sometimes forget that, in those days, the kings of England owned more of France than the French kings!) The King’s troubles worked in Ipswich’s favour as it gained the town a Charter, freeing its citizens from their feudal overlords, allowing them to trade without restrictions and to govern themselves as they saw fit. In Ipswich, each of the twelve parishes elected a representative to the new council. These men were called portmen. They had the right to graze their livestock on the meadows near where the football stadium now stands. That is how our famous Portman Road got its name. You could say the town’s footballers are our new ‘portmen’. This amazing history is all picked up in Northgate’s lyrics. We are hugely grateful to the pupils who studied this period of Ipswich’s history so enthusiastically and the way the scheme of work generated such excellent words for our new anthem. These lyrics will be set to original music by an Ipswich composer. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the anthem gets performed many times over the coming years – maybe even sung from the terraces too!
Charter 825 Events
We are delighted that other organisations are enthusiastically enrolling at Ipswich.Love to show how they are going to contribute to the Ipswich Charter 825 Festival year. If you’re a business, charity, organisation or organiser, we invite you to identify an event, or events, taking place at any point in 2025, which would be fitting as a Charter825 event. That is, an event that says something of the brilliance of this town and its people through your organisation. It may be something you plan especially; it may be something already scheduled – it doesn’t matter! But our hope is that we can bring together a diverse programme under one banner that speaks of the talent, creativity, joy and hope of our Ipswich community.
Ipswich Minster has commissioned a logo and brand pack to give to all Charter825 partners for FREE. Once events are registered – by emailing [email protected] we simply ask that this is included in your own advertising. But to support you in that, and to increase advertising and footfall to ALL events, we will be promoting Charter 825 into the grassroots communities of this town. Download the postcard to the right, and pass it on to anyone hosting events this year!
Take a look at events that have already been highlighted as Charter 825 events here
There’s going to be lots happening over the coming months. Ipswich Minster’s contributions will focus on the week starting Saturday 21st June, close to the actual day, 825 years ago, when King John’s emissaries arrived, bringing the Charter with them. But you do not have to be part of an organisation to support the Festival. We can all play our part in helping Ipswich thrive if only by keeping our streets free of litter to make the town more attractive to visitors. And don’t forget the Art and Poetry competitions are open to all. To find out more just contact Ipswich.Love. Remember to log in regularly at Ipswich.Love to keep up to date on all Ipswich Charter 825 news.
Read more articles written by David Matthews, Churchwarden, Ipswich Minster here:
