825 years ago, this June, a group of noblemen arrived in Ipswich and presented the townsfolk with their first Charter, signed by King John. This document was incredibly significant. It gave our ancestors the right to govern their town as they saw fit. It gave them freedom to trade and gain in prosperity. It gave them a chance to make something of themselves and carve out their own future.
825 years later, this January, the church in Tower Street (St Mary le Tower) where that iconic ceremony took place became Ipswich Minster. You might have seen the procession on Sunday morning or noticed the banners in Tavern Street. It is a church with a mission, focussing on supporting the community and the people who live and work in the area. Tom Mumford, the vicar, along with the whole Minster community, is committed to helping us turn Ipswich into the best town in East Anglia.
To mark this great ambition, Ipswich Minster is pushing ahead with the Charter 825 Festival. We are delighted that, already, other organisations are enrolling with Ipswich.love CIC to show they want to be part of the celebrations. There’s going to be lots happening this year. For Ipswich Minster, the focus will be on the week starting Saturday 21st June, close to the actual day when those nobles arrived with King John’s Charter.
Let’s all make a new year resolution (it’s still January!) to get Ipswich thriving, having fun and celebrations as we go!
Who wrote this about Ipswich?
David Matthews
David is a Churchwarden, St Mary-le-Tower and Acting Chair of Trustees of Essex and Suffolk Children’s University. For the last eleven years of his professional career, David was headteacher of a comprehensive school in South London.
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