1.
Old Ipswich Town Hall
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Old Ipswich Town Hall is a heritage-listed former town hall at 116 Brisbane Street, Ipswich, City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by James Percy Owen Cowlishaw and built from 1861 to 1879 and it is also known as Mechanics School of Arts and the School of Arts. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992, since its inception in 1861 the building has had many uses, and several extensions. The old town hall was originally the Ipswich School of Arts incorporating a library, the façade of the building fronting Brisbane Street dates from 1864 and is 2 stories of brick with render finish and rich decoration. The Ipswich Town Council assumed control of the building in 1869 when the School of Arts committee experienced financial problems, during the 1940s dances were a big drawcard. The hall closed to the public and became council offices in 1969, the Old Ipswich Town Hall is a two-storeyed painted rendered masonry building with a clock tower and a hipped corrugated iron roof at the rear. It is located in the centre of Ipswich fronting Brisbane Street to the north, the building was constructed in three stages, with the rear section in 1861, the Brisbane Street section in 1864, and the clock tower in 1879. Schools of Arts were synonymous with Mechanics Institutes, established in Britain early in the 19th century, the movement was instituted by George Birkbeck, who in 1800 established a class for journeymen mechanics in Glasgow, and later formed the first Mechanics Institute in London in 1824. The purpose of forming such an institute was to improve the education of working men, by the late 19th century, Mechanics Institutes had become popular agencies of adult education in general. In the Australian colonies, Mechanics Institutes were more likely to be called Schools of Arts, the provision of reading rooms, museums, lectures and classes were still important, but the Australian schools were also more likely to include a social programme in their calendar of events. The Ipswich Literary Institution was formed at a meeting held on 31 July 1850, with its aim being to provide a news room. In July 1854 the name of the institution of the School of Arts became the Ipswich Subscription Library. Records indicate that at the time a cottage used as the Courthouse was being occupied. The Government selected the site of the old Courthouse and lock-up in Brisbane Street, in one or other sense all men in Ipswich are working men. The first stage section, set back from the Brisbane Street frontage, housed a library and meeting rooms which were used for events, evening classes. The hall originally had a truss roof, but a plaster ceiling was installed in 1878 to improve the rooms acoustics. The ceiling incorporated iron bolts with rings for the convenience of acrobats, trapeze artists, gas was officially turned on in Ipswich on 15 August 1878, and two large sunlights containing 16 burners each were installed in the building. This was granted early in 1861 but a further request for money to build the hall was refused
2.
Ipswich
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Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk, England, located on the estuary of the River Orwell, about 60 miles north east of London. The town has been occupied since the Saxon period. It has also known as Gyppewicus and Yppswyche. Ipswich is one of Englands oldest towns, if not the oldest, the claim has also been made of the Essex town of Colchester, but that town was abandoned for some time, leaving Ipswich to claim to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in England. Under the Roman empire, the area around Ipswich formed an important route inland to towns and settlements via the rivers Orwell. A large Roman fort, part of the defences of Britain, stood at Walton near Felixstowe. The modern town took shape in Anglo-Saxon times around Ipswich dock, gipeswic ) arose as the equivalent to these, serving the Kingdom of East Anglia, its early imported wares dating to the time of King Rædwald, supreme ruler of the English. The famous ship-burial and treasure at Sutton Hoo nearby is probably his grave, the Ipswich Museum houses replicas of the Roman Mildenhall and Sutton Hoo treasures. A gallery devoted to the towns origins includes Anglo-Saxon weapons, jewellery, the 7th-century town was centred near the quay. Towards 700 AD, Frisian potters from the Netherlands area settled in Ipswich and their wares were traded far across England, and the industry was unique to Ipswich for 200 years. With growing prosperity, in about 720 AD a large new part of the town was out in the Buttermarket area. Ipswich was becoming a place of national and international importance, parts of the ancient road plan still survive in its modern streets. After the invasion of 869 Ipswich fell under Viking rule, the earth ramparts circling the town centre were probably raised by Vikings in Ipswich around 900 to prevent its recapture by the English. The town operated a mint under royal licence from King Edgar in the 970s, the abbreviation Gipes appears on the coins. King John granted the town its first charter in 1200, laying the foundations of its modern civil government. In the next four centuries it made the most of its wealth, Five large religious houses, including two Augustinian Priories, and those of the Greyfriars, Ipswich Whitefriars and Ipswich Blackfriars, stood in medieval Ipswich. The last Carmelite Prior of Ipswich was the celebrated John Bale, there were also several hospitals, including the leper hospital of St Mary Magdalene, founded before 1199. During the Middle Ages the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Grace was a pilgrimage destination
3.
Suffolk
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Suffolk is an East Anglian county of historic origin in England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west, the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich, other important towns include Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and Felixstowe, the county is low-lying with very few hills, and is largely arable land with the wetlands of the Broads in the north. The Suffolk Coast and Heaths are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, by the fifth century, the Angles had established control of the region. The Angles later became the folk and the south folk. Suffolk and several adjacent areas became the kingdom of East Anglia, Suffolk was originally divided into four separate Quarter Sessions divisions. In 1860, the number of divisions was reduced to two, the eastern division was administered from Ipswich and the western from Bury St Edmunds. Under the Local Government Act 1888, the two divisions were made the administrative counties of East Suffolk and West Suffolk, Ipswich became a county borough. A few Essex parishes were added to Suffolk, Ballingdon-with-Brundon and parts of Haverhill. On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, East Suffolk, West Suffolk, the county was divided into several local government districts, Babergh, Forest Heath, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk, St. Edmundsbury, Suffolk Coastal, and Waveney. This act also transferred some land near Great Yarmouth to Norfolk, in 2007, the Department for Communities and Local Government referred Ipswich Borough Councils bid to become a new unitary authority to the Boundary Committee. The Boundary Committee consulted local bodies and reported in favour of the proposal and it was not, however, approved by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Beginning in February 2008, the Boundary Committee again reviewed local government in the county, West Suffolk, like nearby East Cambridgeshire, is renowned for archaeological finds from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. Bronze Age artefacts have been found in the area between Mildenhall and West Row, in Eriswell and in Lakenheath, other finds include traces of cremations and barrows. The majority of agriculture in Suffolk is either arable or mixed, Farm sizes vary from anything around 80 acres to over 8,000. Soil types vary from clays to light sands. The continuing importance of agriculture in the county is reflected in the Suffolk Show, although latterly somewhat changed in nature, this remains primarily an agricultural show. Below is a chart of regional gross value added of Suffolk at current basic prices published by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling, well-known companies in Suffolk include Greene King and Branston Pickle in Bury St Edmunds
4.
Victorian architecture
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Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. Victorian refers to the reign of Queen Victoria, called the Victorian era, however, many elements of what is typically termed Victorian architecture did not become popular until later in Victorias reign. The styles often included interpretations and eclectic revivals of historic styles mixed with the introduction of middle east, the name represents the British and French custom of naming architectural styles for a reigning monarch. Within this naming and classification scheme, it follows Georgian architecture and later Regency architecture, during the early 19th century, the romantic medieval Gothic revival style was developed as a reaction to the symmetry of Palladianism, and such buildings as Fonthill Abbey were built. Paxton also continued to build houses as Mentmore Towers, in the still popular English Renaissance styles. In this era of prosperity new methods of construction were developed, other notable Scottish architects of this period are Archibald Simpson and Alexander Marshall Mackenzie whose stylistically varied work can be seen in the architecture of Aberdeen. Victorian architecture usually has many intricate window frames inspired by the famous architect Elliot Rae, some chose the United States, and others went to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Normally, they applied architectural styles that were fashionable when they left England, thus, the influence of English architecture spread across the world. Several prominent architects produced English-derived designs around the world, including William Butterfield, the Victorian period flourished in Australia and is generally recognised as being from 1840 to 1890, which saw a gold rush and population boom during the 1880s in the state of Victoria. There were fifteen styles that predominated, The Arts and Crafts style and Queen Anne style are considered to be part of the Federation Period, during the British colonial period of British Ceylon, Sri Lanka Law College, Sri Lanka College of Technology and the Galle Face Hotel. In the United States, Victorian architecture generally describes styles that were most popular between 1860 and 1900, a list of these styles most commonly includes Second Empire, Stick-Eastlake, Folk Victorian, Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Shingle. As in the United Kingdom, examples of Gothic Revival and Italianate continued to be constructed during this period, some historians classify the later years of Gothic Revival as a distinctive Victorian style named High Victorian Gothic. Stick-Eastlake, a manner of geometric, machine-cut decorating derived from Stick, on the other hand, terms such as Painted Ladies or gingerbread may be used to describe certain Victorian buildings, but do not constitute a specific style. The names of architectural styles varied between countries, many homes combined the elements of several different styles and are not easily distinguishable as one particular style or another. San Francisco is well known for its extensive Victorian architecture, particularly in the Haight-Ashbury, Lower Haight, Alamo Square, Noe Valley, Castro, Nob Hill, the extent to which any one is the largest surviving example is debated, with numerous qualifications. The Distillery District in Toronto, Ontario contains the largest and best preserved collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America, cabbagetown is the largest and most continuous Victorian residential area in North America. Other Toronto Victorian neighbourhoods include The Annex, Parkdale, and Rosedale, in the USA, the South End of Boston is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest and largest Victorian neighborhood in the country. Old Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky also claims to be the nations largest Victorian neighborhood, richmond, Virginia is home to several large Victorian neighborhoods, the most prominent being The Fan
5.
Question Time (TV series)
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Question Time is a BBC topical debate television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions. The independent production company Mentorn has made the programme for the BBC since 1998, Question Time is presented by David Dimbleby. It is usually recorded about two hours prior to transmission, but occasionally it has been broadcast live and it is now shown once a month on Tuesday night with Noel Thompson. Nowadays BBC One NI have their own show called The View, this is broadcast live from 10. 35pm to 11. 05pm, presented by Mark Carruthers. Although the show is intended for UK viewers, it is seen on BBC World News as news events warrant. Additionally, the episode originally aired just a week before the 2015 UK general election was seen on the US channel C-Span. Question Time began on Tuesday 25 September 1979, as a version of the BBC Radio 4 programme Any Questions. Originally intended to have only a run, the programme became very popular and was duly extended. The guests on the very first show were Edna OBrien, Teddy Taylor, Michael Foot and Derek Worlock, from 21 February 1980 the series moved to its current Thursday-night slot and became fully networked within BBC, with Scotland and Northern Ireland broadcasting the series from this point onwards. In 1998, the panel was enlarged to five, with another member or leading member of a fourth political party joining the panel. The chairman sits in the middle and chairs the debate, deciding who can speak on the panel, Questions are submitted by the audience before the programme goes on air. The programme makers select some to put to the panel, who never know the questions before recording begins, every audience member is asked to bring a question and those chosen are informed immediately prior to filming. Question Time audiences are not a sample of the public. Mandatory fields on the form include the applicant’s desired questions, voting intention, political party membership, occupation, ethnicity. Usually, filming takes place on the evening of broadcast, to ensure issues are as up-to-date as possible, during general election campaigns, the programme has taken a different format, with the party leaders appearing as single guests and fielding questions from the audience. In 2007 the BBC commissioned a new programme called The Big Questions and it is broadcast on BBC One on Sunday mornings between 10am and 11am. Both programmes are produced by Mentorn Media, veteran newsman Sir Robin Day was the programmes first chairman, presenting it for nearly 10 years until June 1989. The programme soon gained popularity under Days chairmanship, with his quick wit and his famous catchphrase when he had introduced the panel was, There they are, and here we go
6.
Richard I of England
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Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes and he was the third of five sons of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was known as Richard Cœur de Lion or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a military leader. He was also known in Occitan as Oc e No, because of his reputation for terseness, by the age of 16, Richard had taken command of his own army, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father. Richard spoke both French and Occitan and he was born in England, where he spent his childhood, before becoming king, however, he lived most of his adult life in the Duchy of Aquitaine, in the southwest of France. Following his accession, he spent very little time, perhaps as little as six months, most of his life as king was spent on Crusade, in captivity, or actively defending his lands in France. Rather than regarding his kingdom as a responsibility requiring his presence as ruler, nevertheless, he was seen as a pious hero by his subjects. He remains one of the few kings of England remembered by his epithet, rather than regnal number, Richard was born on 8 September 1157, probably at Beaumont Palace, in Oxford, England, son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was a brother of Count William IX of Poitiers, Henry the Young King. As the third son of King Henry II, he was not expected to ascend the throne. He was also a brother of Duke Geoffrey II of Brittany, Queen Eleanor of Castile, Queen Joan of Sicily, and Count John of Mortain. Richard was the younger maternal half-brother of Countess Marie of Champagne, the eldest son of Henry II and Eleanor, William, died in 1156, before Richards birth. Richard is often depicted as having been the son of his mother. His father was Angevin-Norman and great-grandson of William the Conqueror, contemporary historian Ralph of Diceto traced his familys lineage through Matilda of Scotland to the Anglo-Saxon kings of England and Alfred the Great, and from there linked them to Noah and Woden. According to Angevin legend, there was even infernal blood in the family, while his father visited his lands from Scotland to France, Richard probably spent his childhood in England. His first recorded visit to the European continent was in May 1165 and his wet nurse was Hodierna of St Albans, whom he gave a generous pension after he became king. Little is known about Richards education, during his captivity, English prejudice against foreigners was used in a calculated way by his brother John to help destroy the authority of Richards chancellor, William Longchamp, who was a Norman. One of the charges laid against Longchamp, by Johns supporter Hugh
7.
Thomas Wolsey
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Thomas Wolsey was an English churchman, statesman and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the Kings almoner, the 1515 appointment of Wolsey as a cardinal by Pope Leo X gave him precedence even over the Archbishop of Canterbury. The highest political position Wolsey attained was Lord Chancellor, the Kings chief adviser, in that position, he enjoyed great freedom and was often depicted as an alter rex. After failing to negotiate an annulment of Henrys marriage to Catherine of Aragon and he retreated to York to fulfill his ecclesiastical duties as Archbishop of York, a position he nominally held, but had neglected during his years in government. He was recalled to London to answer to charges of treason — a common charge used by Henry against ministers who fell out of favour —, Thomas Wolsey was born about 1473, the son of Robert Wolsey of Ipswich and his wife Joan Daundy. Widespread traditions identify his father as a butcher and a cattle dealer, Wolsey attended Ipswich School and Magdalen College School before studying theology at Magdalen College, Oxford. On 10 March 1498 he was ordained as a priest in Marlborough, Wiltshire and remained in Oxford, first as the Master of Magdalen College School, between 1500 and 1509 he held the living of Church of Saint Mary, Limington, in Somerset. In 1502 he left and became a chaplain to Henry Deane, archbishop of Canterbury and he was then taken into the household of Sir Richard Nanfan, who made Wolsey executor of his estate. After Nanfans death in 1507, Wolsey entered the service of King Henry VII, Wolsey benefitted from Henry VIIs introduction of measures to curb the power of the nobility - the king was willing to favour those from more humble backgrounds. Henry VII appointed Wolsey royal chaplain, in this position Wolsey served as secretary to Richard Foxe, who recognized Wolseys innate ability and dedication and appreciated his industry and willingness to take on tedious tasks. Thomas Wolseys remarkable rise to power from humble origins testifies to his intelligence, administrative ability, industriousness, ambition for power, in April 1508, Wolsey was sent to Scotland to discuss with King James IV rumours of the renewal of the auld alliance. Wolseys rise coincided with the accession of the new English monarch, Henry VIII, whose character, policies and diplomatic mindset differed significantly from those of his father. In 1509 Henry appointed Wolsey to the post of Almoner, a position that gave him a seat on the Privy Council, providing an opportunity to raise his profile and to establish a rapport with the King. A factor in Wolseys rise was the young Henry VIIIs relative lack of interest in the details of governing during his early years, Henry soon appointed to his Privy Council individuals more sympathetic to his own views and inclinations. Warham and Foxe, who failed to share the Kings enthusiasm for the French war which started in 1512, fell from power, in 1515, Warham resigned as Lord Chancellor, probably under pressure from the King and from Wolsey, and Henry appointed Wolsey in his place. Wolsey carefully tried to destroy or neutralise the influence of other courtiers, Wolseys rise to a position of great secular power paralleled his increased responsibilities in the Church. He became a Canon of Windsor in 1511, the year that he became a member of the Privy Council. In 1514 he was made Bishop of Lincoln, and then Archbishop of York in the same year, Pope Leo X made him a cardinal in 1515, with the titular church S. Cæciliæ trans Tiberim
8.
John, King of England
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John, also known as John Lackland, was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death in 1216. The baronial revolt at the end of Johns reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, John, the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, was at first not expected to inherit significant lands. Following the failed rebellion of his brothers between 1173 and 1174, however, John became Henrys favourite child. He was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England, Johns elder brothers William, Henry and Geoffrey died young, by the time Richard I became king in 1189, John was a potential heir to the throne. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against Richards royal administrators whilst his brother was participating in the Third Crusade, John spent much of the next decade attempting to regain these lands, raising huge revenues, reforming his armed forces and rebuilding continental alliances. Johns judicial reforms had a impact on the English common law system. An argument with Pope Innocent III led to Johns excommunication in 1209, Johns attempt to defeat Philip in 1214 failed due to the French victory over Johns allies at the battle of Bouvines. When he returned to England, John faced a rebellion by many of his barons, although both John and the barons agreed to the Magna Carta peace treaty in 1215, neither side complied with its conditions. Civil war broke out shortly afterwards, with the barons aided by Louis of France and it soon descended into a stalemate. John was born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine on 24 December 1166, Henry had inherited significant territories along the Atlantic seaboard—Anjou, Normandy and England—and expanded his empire by conquering Brittany. The result was the Angevin Empire, named after Henrys paternal title as Count of Anjou and, more specifically, its seat in Angers. The Empire, however, was fragile, although all the lands owed allegiance to Henry. As one moved south through Anjou and Aquitaine, the extent of Henrys power in the provinces diminished considerably, scarcely resembling the concept of an empire at all. Some of the ties between parts of the empire such as Normandy and England were slowly dissolving over time. It was unclear what would happen to the empire on Henrys death, most believed that Henry would divide the empire, giving each son a substantial portion, and hoping that his children would continue to work together as allies after his death. To complicate matters, much of the Angevin empire was held by Henry only as a vassal of the King of France of the line of the House of Capet. Henry had often allied himself with the Holy Roman Emperor against France, shortly after his birth, John was passed from Eleanor into the care of a wet nurse, a traditional practice for medieval noble families. Eleanor then left for Poitiers, the capital of Aquitaine, and sent John and this may have been done with the aim of steering her youngest son, with no obvious inheritance, towards a future ecclesiastical career
9.
Big Ben
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Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London and is usually extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower as well. The tower is known as Elizabeth Tower, renamed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012, previously. When completed in 1859, it was, says clockmaker Ian Westworth, “the prince of timekeepers, a British cultural icon, the tower is one of the most prominent symbols of the United Kingdom and is often in the establishing shot of films set in London. The new parliament was built in a neo-gothic style, the tower is designed in Pugins celebrated Gothic Revival style, and is 315 feet high. The bottom 200 feet of the structure consists of brickwork with sand-coloured Anston limestone cladding. The remainder of the height is a framed spire of cast iron. The tower is founded on a 50 feet square raft, made of 10 feet thick concrete, the four clock dials are 180 feet above ground. The interior volume of the tower is 164,200 cubic feet, however, the tower currently has no lift, though one is planned, so those escorted must climb the 334 limestone stairs to the top. Due to changes in conditions since construction, the tower leans slightly to the north-west, by roughly 230 millimetres over 55 m height. This includes a maximum of 22 mm increased tilt due to tunnelling for the Jubilee line extension. Due to thermal effects it oscillates annually by a few millimetres east and west, journalists during Queen Victorias reign called it St Stephens Tower. As MPs originally sat at St Stephens Hall, these referred to anything related to the House of Commons as news from St. Stephens. The usage persists in Welsh, where the Westminster district, and this was thought to be appropriate because the large west tower now known as Victoria Tower was renamed in tribute to Queen Victoria on her diamond jubilee. On 26 June 2012, the House of Commons confirmed that the change could go ahead. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced the change of name on 12 September 2012 at the start of Prime Ministers Questions. The change was marked by a ceremony in which the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. The clock and dials were designed by Augustus Pugin, the clock dials are set in an iron frame 23 feet in diameter, supporting 312 pieces of opal glass, rather like a stained-glass window. Some of the pieces may be removed for inspection of the hands
