The Ancient House, Ipswich

The Ancient House, Ipswich, also known as Sparrowes House, is a Grade I listed building dating from the 1400s located in the Buttermarket area. In 1980 the building was acquired by Ipswich Borough Council. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x774, 212 KB) The Ancient House in Buttermarket Ipswich has a facade which shows a particularly fine example of w:pargeting. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x774, 212 KB) The Ancient House in Buttermarket Ipswich has a facade which shows a particularly fine example of w:pargeting. ... Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk and a non-metropolitan district in East Anglia, England on the estuary of the River Orwell. ... Events and Trends Categories: 1400s ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Ipswich is a local government borough in Suffolk, England. ...

Architecture

The building sports detailed pargeting, and also elaborate wood carvings around the front of the house. Four panels of pargeting show a tudor impression of the world. The continents Africa, America, Asia and Europe are shown - notably lacking Australasia which was not discovered at the time. Pargeting is a decorative plastering applied to building walls. ... Tudor usually relates to the Tudor period in English history, which refers to the period of time between 1485 and 1558/1603 when the Tudor dynasty held the English throne. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... World map showing the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... World map showing Europe Political map (neighboring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Oceania. ...

Africa is represented by a naked man holding a spear, Asia by a horse and a mosque-like building, Europe by a woman with a horse and castle, and America by a man with a dog at his feet. Hunting spear and knife, from Mesa Verde National Park. ...

The front of the building as it can be seen today (in a restored state), was not an original feature of the building - it was later added by Robert Sparrowe between 1660 and 1670. It bears the royal crest of king Charles II, and the words "honi soit qvi mal y pense" which are old French for "shame upon him who thinks evil of it" which is also the motto of the Order of the Garter. // Events January 1 - Colonel George Monck with his regiment crosses from Scotland to England at the village of Coldstream and begins advance towards London in support of English Restoration. ... 1670 was a common year beginning on a Saturday in countries using the Julian calendar and a Wednesday in countries using the Gregorian calendar. ... Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... The Garter is the most recognizable insignia of the Order of the Garter. ...

History

The earliest reference to the house can be found in the 14th century, when it was owned by the knight, Sir Richard of Martlesham. In the 16th century the house was owned by a string of local merchants, including George Copping a draper and fishmonger who acquired the property in 1567. It is Copping that commissioned the paneling of the ground floor room at the front of the house, he also built the 'long gallery'. The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... Image:Martlesham - Suffolk dot. ... Merchants function as professionals who deal with trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves, in order to produce profit. ... The term draper can refer to a number of individuals and places. ... A fishmonger at Seattles Pike Place Market. ... Events The Duke of Alva arrives in the Netherlands with Spanish forces to suppress unrest there. ...

The Sparrowe family became the owners of the house in 1603, and continued ownership for the next 300 years. King James I of England/VII of Scotland, the first monarch to rule the Kingdoms of England and Scotland at the same time Events March - Samuel de Champlain, French explorer, sails to Canada March 24 - Elizabeth I of England dies and is succeeded by her cousin King James I of...

Today

The Ancient House is currently owned by Ipswich Borough Council with Lakeland Limited being the main tenant. There is also a small art gallery in the attic, which houses occasional exhibitions. Ipswich is a local government borough in Suffolk, England. ... The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. ... An attic is an area found above a house. ...

Restoration

The condition of the house by 1979 was so bad that it was in danger of collapsing. The foundations had sunk, among other structural problems. In addition to this, woodworm, dry & wet rot had set in, and the deathwatch beetle was rife. This page refers to the year 1979. ... A woodworm is not a specific species. ... Dry rot is a disease of trees, often caused by the fungal species Merulis lacrymans, Poria incrassata, and/or Serpula lacrymans. ...

Renovation began in 1984, and no part of the building was untouched. Foundations were underpinned, the rot & infestations were eradicated, floors were strengthened, plasterwork was restored, windows were releaded and features were exposed. The renovation was not without its problems, the foundations had sunk but the heavy fireplaces had sunk at a different rate. 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Over 260 tonnes of concrete was used in the foundations, and 11 tonnes of steel were used overall. A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ... The most common form of concrete consists of Portland cement, construction aggregate (generally gravel and sand) and water. ... The old steel cable of a colliery winding tower Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with carbon content between 0. ...

See also

• Map sources for Ancient House, Ipswich

References

• Material in the museum section of the building
• Images of england website