R & W Paul @ Ipswich Docks

[SteveyDee68]

Canada Road modelled the R & W Paul building from Ipswich Docks, but looking at a couple of photos I wonder if anyone can tell me what the purpose of the indicated structure was, what it housed etc...

 

 

A more up to date photo screen grabbed from Google maps shows access from the main building. Did it contain a conveyor? A walkway? What was at the dock end? It looks like a shed on top of a tower, but surely there was more to it than that?

 

 

Outline can clearly be seen on the first floor level, left hand side of the frontage (as we look at it) above the red/brown door.

 

Many thanks for any help.

 

Steve S

Edited January 18, 2021 by SteveyDee68
Second photo added / typos!

[Johann Marsbar]

As far as I know it was originally a conveyor used for direct loading into shipping. I'll have a dig around to try and find a better photo of that end of it as I'm sure I've got one somewhere.

I can't remember it being used as such though (certainly from the mid 70's) and it all ended up being totally enclosed at the waterside end and stayed like that until it was demolished.

 

I just built my version in the totally enclosed state......

 

 

[Johann Marsbar]

I found these two on a USB stick, so can load them a lot quicker than any others....

 

The original structure in the early 1900's. Its post 1904 as the ICT tram route to Bourne Bridge is electrified .  Obviously well before the concrete building was constructed but shows barges by the quayside...

 

This copy of the photo is not clear enough to make out what equipment is at the waterside end though.

 

 

This photo shows a small portion of the end of the later structure in the 1960's and it can be seen that the bottom part consisted of exposed girders at that stage...

 

 

Suitable vessels could still tie up next to it at this stage, but they later built large concrete anti-flooding defence walls there which effectively made the quay there redundant. As that part is tidal, Thames barges and other flat bottomed vessels would have been the only ones that served that section of quayside.

 

Will have a look what other photos I have later on today.

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by Johann Marsbar

[Ian Smeeton]

A very similar building at Wells next the Sea.

 

In fact, I think it was a Pauls Mill as well. Apparently the last regular cargo sailing ship used it until at least the 80's

 

Regards

 

Ian

[Johann Marsbar]

I've found a couple of arial photos of the docks area which were published in the 1950 Ipswich Official Handbook, but they are too small to reproduce here.

One shows the structure in its later form, though the building it is linked to is the one shown in the early 1900's photo. There is a distinct black vertical linear structure  running the full height of the end by the quayside, which looks to be identical to similar ones on other Pauls buildings in the Wet Dock area which are loading/unloading apparatus from shipping.  A barge is moored by the end on the arial photo as well. I would estimate the photo is late 1920's from the rather pristine concrete work on Stoke Bridge and the condition of the adjacent trolleybus. There is also a large sailing ship unloading timber at Wm Browns which would put it at the very early 1930's at the latest.