Stowupland Local History Group

Stowupland Stories - A History of Saxham street
2026-08-05 19:30 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | United Reformed Church, Church Road, Stowupland, IP14 4BQ, United Kingdom

"The Armoury Through Time" by Kathleen Hallaways
2026-07-01 19:30 - 21:00 | United Reformed Church, Church Road, Stowupland, IP14 4BQ, United Kingdom
How the Mendlesham Armoury defied the years to become a unique survivor of our vanished past

Stowupland Stories (6) - Thorney Green and Stowupland Councils
2026-06-03 19:30 - 21:00 | United Reformed Church, Church Road, Stowupland, IP14 4BQ, United Kingdom

"Medieval Pilgrimages to Woolpit" by Dr Shelona Klazow
2026-05-06 19:30 - 21:00 | United Reformed Church, Church Road, Stowupland, IP14 4BQ, United Kingdom

"Onehouse Paupers Graveyard Project" by Julie Johnson MSc QG
2026-04-01 19:30 - 21:00 | United Reformed Church, Church Road, Stowupland, IP14 4BQ, United Kingdom

Stowupland Stories (5) - Schools and Education, Learning in Stowupland.
2026-03-04 19:30 - 21:00 | United Reformed Church, Church Road, Stowupland, IP14 4BQ, United Kingdom

"Orchards of Eastern England" by Gerry Barnes
2026-02-04 19:30 - 21:00 | United Reformed Church, Church Road, Stowupland, IP14 4BQ, United Kingdom
From mediaeval times orchards would have been a common feature in Stowupland from a few fruit trees in cottage gardens to larger plots adjacent to farmhouses. In a rental from 1552 a John Randall was paying rent for “one acre of land lyinge at the ende of his orchard”.These orchards were small, providing enough fruit for the household’s needs with perhaps a small surplus that could be sold. The trees would be mostly apples but also pears, cherry, plums and nuts. A large number of small orchards was still the norm in 1839, when about 30 orchards are listed in the tithe apportionment for Stowupland of that year, with an average area of just half an acre. Large scale commercial fruit farming took off around 1850 with several national companies becoming established in East Anglia, including Wilkins Jam at Tiptree, Gaymers cider in Attleborough and Chivers in Cambridgeshire and more locally Aspal Cyder.When foreign imports made fruit farming less profitable, efforts to cut costs included a fruit packing station in Mill Street run by Mid-Suffolk Growers Ltd. Formed in 1960, this co-operative included 23 farms by 1966 with an acreage of 276 acres of fruit. Another cost saving scheme was pick-your-own. Today, many of the old orchards have been grubbed up, but we still have the remnants of a few orchards and of course, we can buy plums from the old caravan near the co-op for a few days every year.

“Mistress Kathleen's Kitchen - Exploring Tudor Cooking" by Kathleen Hallaways
2025-12-03 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom

“Stowupland Stories" - Crime and punishment
2025-11-05 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom

“The Siege of Haughley castle & the Battle of Fornham" by Dr. Michael Walker
2025-10-01 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom

“Stowupland Stories" - The poor and Sick
2025-09-03 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom

“Over paid, Over Sexed & Over Here: American air force in East Anglia 1942 – 1944" by Geoffrey Kay
2025-08-06 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom

“Stowupland Stories” - Shops and Trades
2025-07-02 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom

Exploring the Gipping Navigation
2025-06-04 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom
with Gerry Crease

"Stowupland Stories - Lost paths and New Ways"
2025-05-07 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom
A new series of talks presented by the group, each focusing on a different theme. The first in the series will be: “Lost Paths and New Ways – Getting Around in Stowupland”

"All Aboard the Charabanc" by Katie Howson
2025-04-02 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom
A musical tour around some Mid Suffolk pubs

“Celebrating Suffolk Women” by Sarah Doig
2025-03-05 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom
A potpourri of stories about the county’s famous and not-so-well-known women for Women’s History Month.

"Historic Carpentry in Rural Suffolk" by Rick Lewis
2025-02-05 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom
Rick, of Taditional Oak Carpentry in Wetheringsett, has repaired over 100 timber framed buildings and has a rare insight into timber framed buildings.

No meeting
2025-01-08 19:30 - 21:00

"Stowupland's pubs - past and present" by Neil Langridge
2024-12-04 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom
As a christmas present there will be no charge for this talk.

“Stow Lodge” by Dot Marsden
2024-11-06 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom
Dot was matron at Stow Lodge Hospital and will discuss the building and its origins as a Stow Union workhouse.

“The Women’s Timber Corps in Suffolk” by Nicky Reynolds.
2024-10-02 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom
A couple of years ago Nicky gave a popular talk on the Women’s Land Army, now she will talk about Suffolk “lumberjills”

Members of the Women’s Timber Corps, known as ‘Lumber Jills’, were employed directly by the Home Timber Production Department during the war, which paid their wages. They were employed directly by the British state, unlike Land Girls who were employed by independent farmers or County.

“Health Visiting in Ipswich 1907-1930” by Anne Folan.
2024-09-04 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom
Anne has researched many aspects of Ipswich’s public health services.

“Bench Ends in Suffolk Churches” by Robert Halliday.
2024-08-07 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 4BG, United Kingdom
Many of Suffolk’s churches contain examples of intriguing and quirky carving.

“A Photographic Tour of Stowmarket” by Darren Dordoy.
2024-07-03 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 4BG, United Kingdom
Darren the chair of Stowmarket Local History Group will show views of the town old and new.

“1930s and 40s Stowupland - as revealed in our Archive”
2024-06-05 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 4BG, United Kingdom
In our 12 years we have amassed a surprising amount of photos, documents and personal recollections of Stowupland, we will look and talk about a few treasures tonight.

Parish Fire Engines & their Development by Geoff Robinson.
2024-05-01 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 4BG, United Kingdom
Geoff has recently had Worlingworth’s ancient fire engine restored by “The Repair Shop” The engine was donated in 1760 by John Major of Worlingworth Hall. A few years earlier Nathaniel Gurdon had donated a similar machine to Stowmarket which is now in safe-keeping at The Food Museum.

'By the monelight I go to my booke: Schools and Schooling in Medieval Suffolk' by Kate Jewell.
2024-04-03 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 4BG, United Kingdom
The late-Middle Ages saw families embracing formal education as a way to give their children a better start in life. Who was now going to school, where they were going, what schools were like, what were they learning?

“Angels & Demons” by Sarah Doig
2024-03-06 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 4BG, United Kingdom
Sarah will talk about her recent book in which she gives her personal choice of favourite Suffolk Churches

Stowmarket British School by Gill Marchant
2024-02-07 19:30 - 21:00 | Stowupland Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, IP14 5BQ, United Kingdom
The recently demolished building in Childer Road was founded as a school run on non-conformist principles
