california character area · noticeable in the area's relatively poor legibility; there is...

IPSWICH URBAN CHARACTERISATION STUDY

CALIFORNIACHARACTER AREA

CONTENTS

Introduction 3

History 4

Transport and access 6

Open space 7

Landform and views 8

Urban analysis 9

Character area description 10

Summary 13

CALIFORNIA CHARACTER AREA

INTRODUCTION 3

The California character area is a late 19thcentury residential suburb on the east side ofIpswich. It occupies level ground and its regulargrid of streets is bisected by the Felixstowebranch railway line, which runs in a cutting, andimportant east-west road connections such asthe Felixstowe and Woodbridge Roads.

The main roads are busy thoroughfares. Leadingoff from them at regular intervals are straightresidential streets lined with late 19th centuryhousing, an attractive mix of red brick terracesand detached houses, most with front gardens.

Many houses still have original features - slateand clay tiled rooves, sash windows anddecorative detailing in the brickwork and lintelsover doors and windows.

The orderly streetscene is interrupted by regularintersections and corner shops. Other buildingsprovide focal points - Victorian churches,schools and pubs, and small industrial sitestucked into backland plots.

As with other 19th century suburbs there is arelative lack of open greenspace or street treeplanting, but the garden plots are generous andthere are mature trees in both front and backgardens which help soften streetscapes. Anumber of public open spaces are located closeto the edge of the character area.

Pictures:

Top: Murray Road andthe Racecourse

Recreation Ground

Bottom: Clifford RoadSchool and housing

Aerial photo (Imagerycopyright Getmapping

PLC)


HISTORY 4

History California is one of the best examples in Ipswichof a planned suburb and it remains a popularresidential area over 150 years after the firstplans were laid.

In 1849 the Freehold Land Society (now IpswichBuilding Society) was set up in order to helpaddress the problem of poor housing in the townand support the cause of further social andpolitical reform.

The Society acquired the 98 acre Cauldwell Hallestate, between Foxhall and Woodbridge Roads,in 1849. It was criticised at the time for buyingland too far from the centre of Ipswich; in themid 19th century its site must have lookedremote and rural. Over time, Ipswich expandedto absorb the estate and by the 1870s it was

significant enough to be provided with its ownstation on the new Felixstowe branch line.

At this early stage in their history the Societywere not builders. Instead, they acquired land,divided it into plots and laid out roads (hencethe area's regular street grid). The plots wereallotted to Society members who had to pay forthe construction of property on their land.

This helps explain one of the areas distinctivefeatures - the mix of individual house types. Atypical California street has conventionalterraced housing alongside detached villas ofvarious types, including some quite substantialhouses. The variety of sizes and styles wasgoverned by personal preference and marketdemand - several early subscribers were localbuilders who saw a good long term investmentprospect.

Extract from theoriginal Cauldwell HallEstate Plan showingthe layout of newstreets and plots.

The California area in 1926 (Ordnance Survey map)


HISTORY 5

The success of the Cauldwell Hall estate laid thefoundations for the Society’s future as a localsupporter of housing projects and homeownership - the initials 'FLS' can be seen onproperties all over Ipswich. It also helps explainthe area's name - the rush to invest in 1849became associated in the popular imaginationwith the California gold rush of that year.

This area is characterised generally by lighterheathland soils. It was built-up prior to anyrequirements for archaeological investigation.Occasional, sparse finds from all periods arerecorded but it may have been more generallyopen land.

A major Palaeolithic site was excavated in1902-5 at Old Valley Brick Pit on Foxhall Road(TM 1856 2439, IPS 056, IPS 524)*

Handaxes were found relating to activity on aformer stream, feeding an ancient lake that wasthen in-filled with brick earth.

*Historic environment reference (HER) number.For further information about archaeologicalsites, visit http://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/

Above: St John the Baptist, Cauldwell Hall Road. Architect, SirArthur Blomfield. Schools and churches are landmarks in theCalifornia area, built to serve the growing suburb in the lateVictorian period. St Johns would have been even moreconspicuous if a planned spire had been built. Another largechurch nearby, St Bartholomews in Newton Road, was intendedto have a tower but this also was never built.

Above: The ‘Garden Farms’ were houses built within two acreplots facing Foxhall Road. The plots have long since beenredeveloped, but a handful of the semi-detatched housessurvive.

The earliest houses on the Cauldwell Estate, such as theseexamples on Freehold Road, have flint walling. Bricks wereexpensive in the mid 19th century, even though there wereseveral brickworks in Ipswich.

Above: Clifford Road housing and school

Left: The Asylum Hotel, Foxhall Road. Now a TescosExpress. Families visiting patients at the nearby StClements hospital would have used the hotel.

Archaeology


TRANSPORT AND ACCESS 6

Transport and accessAlthough the street grid was laid out for horsesand pedestrians, it still functions as a permeableroute network for local traffic and on the mainroads for heavier through traffic.

The straight residential roads are wide enoughfor on-street parking on both sides, and this isalso an effective speed control measure (withouthaving to resort to speed humps).

The adaptability of the street grid has helpedcompensate for the relative lack of marked cycleways or pedestrian footpaths - most residentialstreets are pleasant to walk and cycle along, andprovide practical through routes.

The lack of road widening or enlargement is animportant aspect of traffic management in thearea, helping maintain the appearance of streetsand junctions.

Many ofCalifornia’sstreets retaintheir originalappearance

The well preservedscale and detail ofstreet corners is

an importantaspect of the

character area.

© Crown Copyright and database right 2014. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100021566)


OPEN SPACE 7

BiodiversityThe California area is notable for its lack of openspaces. Those which do exist do not containhigh quality habitat, such as RacecourseRecreation Ground. This makes gardenscritically important for biodiversity in this area.Canopy cover is relatively low at 6.8% and thegardens are not particularly big, but they arenevertheless important in the absence of otherhabitat. The area is traversed by the Felixstowerailway line, which will be an important corridorfor wildlife movement, linking this area intohabitats elsewhere. The St Clements Hospitalsite is adjacent to California and RushmereHeath SSSI is a short distance to the east sothere are valuable habitats nearby.

Swifts nest in this area and should beaccommodated in new development through theinstallation of swift bricks.

Above right:Gardens are an important habitat

Right: Pollarded trees, Marlborough Road

Racecourse Recreation Ground and houses on Murray Road

No public open space was planned by theFreehold Land Society, apart from the grid ofstreets. The 282 private plots on the CauldwellHall estate, however, were large enough forowners to grow their own produce and thesehave survived as mature front and rear gardens,which contribute to the streetscape. The loss offront gardens to paved parking areas is asignificant threat to the quality of the localenvironment.

New development should provide formaintainable, defensible garden space towardsthe street, and for street tree planting wherepossible. Although mature trees are not aconspicuous part of the existing streetscape,their planting should be encouraged.

The focal space between the Railway Hotel andthe station is poorly laid out and deserves amore masterplanned approach to paving, streetfurniture and street tree planting.


LANDFORM AND VIEWS 8

Landform and viewsThe street grid, laid out in the 19th century onlevel ground, is the dominant feature. Althoughthe site overlooks the town centre to the west,there are few views beyond the area’s distinctiveperimeter blocks.

Landmarks also tend to be local - pubs andchurches for instance - and there are no reallyprominent buildings visible across the area. Themain roads and the railway cutting provide themajor points of orientation for visitors - awayfrom these features it is easy to get lost.

Views

a Gordon Road – view of St John theBaptist

b View down St Johns Road from CauldwellHall Road / Freehold Road junction

c View along Marlborough Roadd Derby Road – view of The Railway Hotel

1 St Marys RC Church

2 The Case is Altered (public house)

3 Golden Key (former public house – now a

Sainsburys Local)

4 Barclays Bank

5 St John the Baptist (Listed Grade II)

6 Old Times (public house)

7 Ipswich Cooperative Society, Stables and

Confectionary Bakery (former)

8 The Lions Head (public house)

9 Clifford Road School and Air Raid Museum

10 The Railway (public house)

11 The Heathlands, formerly The Asylum Hotel

(public house)

12 St Clements Hospital

13 Alan Road Methodist Church

14 St Bartholomews Church (Listed Grade II)

15 The Royal Oak (public house)

Top: Alan Road Methodist Church

Left: The Railway. This former hotel was built at the same time asthe Derby Road station. The site was also used for stabling forthe horse drawn trams and later garaging for the electric trams

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2014


URBAN ANALYSIS 9

California’s urban character reflects its 19thcentury origins as a speculative development.The area has a dense grid of streets with activefrontages and a minimum of blank or inactivesites. The large number of junctions andintersections with major through routes hasenabled the development of successful localcentres with a range of shops and services.

There is a lack of urban masterplanning,noticeable in the area's relatively poor legibility;there is very little hierarchy of building form, orlandmark buildings, to signify where the focus ofthe community is or the relationship to the towncentre. This is particularly noticeable in the areabetween the railway station and the RailwayHotel, a natural focal space which lacks anysense of coherence and is dominated by trafficand traffic engineering.

New development should follow the establishedperimeter block form, with active frontage facingthe street. It should also (where appropriate)contribute to placemaking, for instance throughthe creation of new local landmarks and anemphasis on urban focal points.

Left: Traditional shopfront, corner of Woodbridge Road and Schreiber Road

Below: Typical residential street, well defined frontage althoughlacking focal features

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2014


CHARACTER AREAS 10

Character area descriptionThe development pattern established by theFreehold Land Society, of straight residentialroads running north-south between existingthoroughfares, was continued by otherdevelopers. The urban character across thewhole area is consistent, so no sub areas havebeen identified and California will be describedas a single unit.

The typical California residential property is asolid red brick two storey 19th century house.Terraced, semi or detached - and all three typescan be found in a typical street - the houses areinvariably set back behind a wall and garden,sometimes with its original decorative ironrailings. The terraces form elongated perimeterblocks, enclosing the long narrow back gardenswhich cannot be seen from the street.

New development should take this context intoaccount; each street has an established patternof scale and form which depends upon buildingand eaves height and position of frontage andfront door in relation to the street. Garden type isalso important, and architectural detail which insome cases is quite ornate. Front doors, forinstance, are often paired under an ornamentalstone hood and bay windows sometimes havedecorative mullions. Window proportions anddetails are particularly significant.

Infill development which is aiming to reproducevernacular detail should do so with reference tosurrounding designs - the depth of reveal ofwindows for instance, and the proportions ofwindow openings. The distinctive pattern ofindividual plot development allows for someflexibility in the design of individual houses,provided the scale is approriate and the qualityof the detailing is good.

New development which has a contrasting styleis also be acceptable provided it maintains thetypical active and overlooked street frontage andreflects the contribution made by front gardensto the streetscape. The mixed architecturalcharacter of California allows for innovation, andcontextual modern design is welcome.

Building projects which contribute newlandmarks and improve the legibility of thestreetscape are welcome, provided they followthe established pattern of good active frontageand avoidance of dead space - eg carparkingareas - at the back of pavements. Developmentson street corners make a particular contributionto the area, and their design should reflect thebuilding line and proportions of the junction.

The Derby Road junction between the stationand the Railway Hotel is a poorly defined area atthe heart of California. New build and landscapetree planting in this area should emphasise itsfocal role and improve its placemaking qualities.

Backland plots have already been redevelopedin a number of places, though several modernhousing developments lack the permeability anddistinctiveness of the surrounding area. Futuredevelopment should aim either to integrate withthe surrounding streetgrid, or create analternative, more imaginative layout thatprovides a different kind of streetspace. Avoidstandardised solutions, eg culs de sac.

The thoroughfares which bisect the Californiaarea tend to be busier and are fronted with largercommercial buildings. They are also part of thedense street grid, however, and commercial andother development types should reflect thestreet frontage and corner plot pattern in theresidential side streets. Lower density modernretail units which are set back from the roadbehind carparking and create inactive gaps onthe road frontage should be avoided.

1 Rosehill Library. The locally listed 1895 building is a typical'village' scale landmark

2 Hatfield Road Congregational Church. An example of amodern building (1957) successfully designed into a traditionalstreetscape

3 Parkside School, Spring Road. Modern materials are usedsuccesfully alongside the decorative brickwork of a 19th centuryschool building

Rosehill Road . Individually developed plots, mid-late Victorian Bristol Road. More regular development pattern, typical of theEdwardian period

1 2

3


CHARACTER AREAS 11

California streetscape materials. Red brick predominates, often in combination with decorative materials such as carved stonework.Other building materials include flint, Suffolk white brick and painted render; the typical streetscape is colourful and there is scope foradditional finishes, eg timber cladding

Traditional shopfront, Felixstowe Road. These should beretained and restored wherever possible

Marlborough Road. A particularly well preserved street of early20th century housing. The distinctive semi detached villas werebuilt by a local developer and have decorative porches andindividual name plates

Decorative cast iron front garden railings. These examples were cast at the Crown Street Ironworks in Ipswich


CHARACTER AREAS 10

Typical mixed California streetscapes.1 Cauldwell Hall Road2 Alan Road3 Hatfield Road4 Murray Road

1 and 2 Some moderndevelopment lacks thestreetscape quality andlegibility typical of theCalifornia area.

3 The Felixstowe BranchLine, opened by theFelixstowe Railway and PierCompany in 1877, runs in acutting through California. Itprovides a valuable wildlifecorridor through the urbanarea

4 Some backland areascontain long establishedbusinesses. The traditionalyard and outbuildingsarrangement works well inthe residential setting.

7 Cauldwell Hall Road. Housing adapted to form shopfronts. This kind of flexibilityis typical of the 19th century suburbs in Ipswich; modern development should alsobe capable of being adapted to different uses.

5 Felixstowe Road. Maturetrees are relatively rare inthis area, and worthy ofspecial protection for theirstreetscape value.

6 Marlborough BowlingClub. A rare example ofgreen space within thecharacter area. Its retentionwould be desirable.

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• Make use of the perimeter blocks and existing buildings, adapting where possible rather than replacing.

• Maintain the existing building line and active frontages to junctions and streets. Avoid junction enlargement.

• New development should reflect the predominant 2 storey domestic scale. Contrast should be justified interms of its impact on its streetscape surroundings.

• Create new landmarks where they can be justified in terms of sightlines, function and quality of architecturaldesign.

• Retain where possible the detail of existing frontages, including window and door lintels, garden railings anddecorative footpath tiling. The distinctive appearance of individual streets should be taken into account whenplanning new development.

• Complementary or contrasting materials and architectural styles are welcome and should be justified in termsof their impact on the surrounding streetscape.

• Where new development aims to reproduce historic forms, the detail should accurately reflect the choice ofmaterials and features such as the proportion of window openings, the depth of reveals and the design ofchimneys.

• Avoid the paving of front gardens for vehicle hardstanding or the creation of street edge carparking or otherhard surfaced areas to the back of pavements.

• Create maintainable, defensible garden space towards the street, and space for street tree planting wherepossible.

• Enhance the biodiversity of the area through the protection of front and rear gardens and street trees, and thecreation of new features and habitat where possible.

• Enhance the urban space between the Railway Hotel and the station where possible; better pedestrianaccess, improved public realm and buildings which define the space would be welcome here.

• Backland plots should be redeveloped imaginatively rather than for conventional culs de sac. Contrastingforms and materials are possible in these enclosed sites.

SUMMARY

california character area · noticeable in the area's relatively poor legibility; there is...

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