Stowmarket

{{Wikisource|Harper's New Monthly Magazine/Vol. XLIV/No. 261/February 1872/Editor's Scientific Record/Explosion of Gun-Cotton at Stowmarket|An account of the gun cotton factory explosion.}}

Disaster struck Stowmarket on 11 August 1871, when an explosion at a local gun cotton factory claimed twenty-eight lives and left seventy five injured.{{cite web|title=Archive Reference HC411|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=173-hc411&cid=0#0|work=The National Archives|access-date=20 January 2014}} The site of the explosion is now home to a large paint factory.

Stowmarket High School was founded in 1909.

On 8 June 1918, the first UK astronomical observation of nova V603 Aquilae{{Cite web|url=http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-journal_query?volume=78&plate_select=NO&page=569&plate=&cover=&journal=MNRAS|title=1918MNRAS..78..569C Page 569|website=articles.adsabs.harvard.edu|access-date=2017-08-09}} was made from Stowmarket by A. Grace Cook. History repeated itself on 13 December 1934 when amateur astronomer J. P. M. Prentice discovered DQ Herculis{{Cite web|url=http://www.britastro.org/vss/00191a.html|title=DQ Her|website=www.britastro.org|access-date=2017-08-09}} from the town.

Just before midday on Friday 31 January 1941, a solitary German bomber plane (eyewitness accounts differ on the model) was spotted over Stowmarket firing its guns.{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Steve|title=The Destruction of Stowmarket Congregational Church|url=http://www.stowmarket-history.co.uk/bombing.html|work=Stowmarket History|access-date=22 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202135948/http://www.stowmarket-history.co.uk/bombing.html|archive-date=2 February 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} The bomber strafed a large area of the town, before dropping bombs onto the High Street. The Stowmarket Congregational Chapel, a Gothic-style building that was built in the 19th century, was completely destroyed.{{cite web|last=Knott|first=Simon|title=United Reformed Church, Stowmarket|url=http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/stowurc.htm|work=Suffolk Churches|access-date=22 January 2014}} There was one casualty, Mrs Rhoda Farrow, who had just returned from seeing her son Ronald and his fiancée off at the railway station.{{cite news|title=Day death fell from the skies over Stowmarket|url=http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/features_2_483/day_death_fell_from_the_skies_over_stowmarket_1_801469|access-date=22 January 2014|newspaper=East Anglian Daily Times|date=14 February 2011}}

On 17 July 2002, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visited Stowmarket during the Golden Jubilee Celebrations.{{cite web|title=The Queen's Golden Jubilee programme|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2002/TheQueensJubileeprogramme.aspx|work=official website of The British Monarchy|publisher=The Royal Household|access-date=22 January 2014}} This was the Queen's second visit to Stowmarket, having first visited the town in July 1961.{{cite web|title=Anglia Archive: The Queen in Suffolk in 1961 |url=http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2012-06-05/anglia-archive-the-queen-in-suffolk-in-1961/|work=Anglia Archives|date=5 June 2012|publisher=ITV|access-date=22 January 2014}} During the visit, they visited the local market, meeting stall holders before the Queen unveiled a new Town Sign and met representatives from local organisations while the Duke of Edinburgh met students who took part in The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and viewed a display at the Museum of East Anglian Life.{{cite web|title=Royal visit to Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/suffolk/features/jubilee/queen_buryvisit.shtml|work=BBC Suffolk East|publisher=BBC|access-date=22 January 2014}}

File:Stowmarket - Church of St Peter & St Mary.jpg]]

The church of St Peter and St Mary is in the Decorated style and dates to the 14th century.{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=N. |last2=Radcliffe |first2=E. |title= Suffolk |year=1974 |series=The Buildings of England |pages=443–444 |publisher=Harmondsworth}}{{NHLE |num=1208624|grade=I|desc=Church of St Peter and St Mary |access-date=24 March 2013}} The 16th-century former vicarage, now the town council offices and register office, has associations with John Milton; Milton's Tree in its grounds is believed to be an offshoot of one of the many trees he planted there.

Haughley Park is an historical house situated in Haughley to the west of the town, of some significance, listed in the English Heritage Register. It is a large red brick country house built in about 1620 for the Sulyard family who were very prominent landowners in this area.

Opened in 1967, The Food Museum (formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life) occupies a {{convert|70|acre|ha|adj=on}} site close to the town centre.

The Karnser is a raised pavement in Station Road West, next to the church. The name is the East Anglian dialect word caunsey, meaning a causey (causeway).{{Cite web|url=http://keithbriggs.info/The_Karnser_Stowmarket.html|title=Keith Briggs: : The_Karnser_Stowmarket}}

File:2013 at Stowmarket station - main buildings.jpg

Stowmarket railway station, on the Great Eastern Main Line, is served by railway routes operated by Greater Anglia: {{rws|Peterborough}} to {{rws|Ipswich}} (via {{rws|Ely}} and {{rws|Bury St Edmunds}}); {{rws|Cambridge}} to Ipswich (via Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and {{rws|Needham Market}}); and {{rws|Norwich}} to London Liverpool Street (via {{rws|Diss}}, Ipswich, {{rws|Colchester}}, {{rws|Chelmsford}} and {{rws|Stratford}}).

In the 18th century, the River Gipping was made navigable between Stowmarket and Ipswich by a series of locks. The newly created canal was known as the Ipswich and Stowmarket Navigation.{{cite PastScape |mnumber=1383928 |mname=Ipswich and Stowmarket Navigation |access-date=24 March 2013}}

Suffolk County Council has built a road from the Central Roundabout, a short distance to the east of Stowmarket, to Gipping Way in central Stowmarket at a cost of £21 million.{{cite web |url=http://www.go-east.gov.uk/goeast/news/newsarchive/626085/ |title=Rosie Winterton, Transport Minister announces £21m relief for Stowmarket |date=30 November 2007 |access-date=21 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070629142429/http://www.go-east.gov.uk/goeast/news/newsarchive/626085/ |archive-date=29 June 2007 |df=dmy-all }} The scheme was completed in summer 2010. The new road bridges the railway line and the River Gipping.{{cite web

|url = http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/TransportAndStreets/Roadworks/StowmarketReliefRoad2.htm

|title = B1115 Stowmarket Relief Road

|access-date = 14 October 2009

}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia. Television signals are received from either the Sudbury or Tacolneston transmitters.{{cite web | url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Sudbury | title=Sudbury (Suffolk, England) Full Freeview transmitter | date=May 2004 }}{{cite web | url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Tacolneston | title=Tacolneston (Norfolk, England) Full Freeview transmitter | date=May 2004 }}

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Suffolk on 103.9 FM, Heart East on 96.4 FM and Greatest Hits Radio Ipswich & Suffolk on 106.4 FM.{{cite web | url=http://www.stowmarket.co.uk/Media/Television___Radio/ | title=Media: Television & Radio - Stowmarket, Suffolk }}

The Stowmarket Mercury is the town's local newspaper.{{cite web | url=https://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-eang/stowmarket-mercury/ | title=Stowmarket Mercury | British Newspapers Online | date=9 December 2013 }}

{{Infobox coat of arms

|image=Stowmarket Town Sign.JPG

|caption=Town sign, Market Place, unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002

|shield=Or three Crowns Gules on a Chief Azure a Mitre Argent garnished Or.

|motto=Sit Anima Mea Cum Christo (May My Soul Be With Christ)

|notes=Granted to the urban district council in 1970. Transferred to the successor parish council in 1974.{{cite web|url=http://civicheraldry.co.uk/east_of_england.html#stowmarket%20tc |title= STOWMARKET TOWN COUNCIL (SUFFOLK) |publisher=Robert Young |access-date=31 October 2019}}}}

Stowmarket Town Council is the first tier of local government for Stowmarket. Formed in 1974 from the Stowmarket Urban District Council, the Town Council serves a population of approximately 20,000 people in four wards. It is made up of 16 elected members backed up by a staff of over 30. The council is located in the historic Milton House.

File:John Peel Centre Centre for Creative Arts.JPG]]

Stowmarket has a non-League football club, Stowmarket Town, which plays at Greens Meadow.{{cite web|title=Stowmarket Town – Greens Meadow Stadium|url=http://www.fanzone.co.uk/Team/Stowmarket-Town-Football-Club.aspx|work=Fanzone: The away fan's bible|publisher=FanZone|access-date=20 January 2014}} There is also a rugby club located at Chilton Fields, to the north of the town. Chilton fields also hosts a parkrun each Saturday morning where runners, joggers and walkers can complete a free of charge 3-lap multi-terrain 5 km course supported by volunteers.{{cite web |title=Chilton Fields parkrun |url=https://www.parkrun.org.uk/chiltonfields/ |website=Chilton Fields parkrun |access-date=1 December 2024}} A junior parkrun takes place every Sunday morning on the Recreation Ground where 4-14 year olds can participate for free, cheered on by volunteers.{{cite web |title=Stowmarket junior parkun |url=https://www.parkrun.org.uk/stowmarketrecground-juniors/ |website=Stowmarket junior parkun |access-date=1 December 2024}} A running club called Stowmarket Striders welcomes runners of all abilities to join and holds several running events each year.{{cite web |title=Stowmarket Striders |url=https://stowmarketstriders.org.uk/ |website=Stowmarket Striders |access-date=1 December 2024}} Stowmarket is home to a handful of gyms and also boasts its own leisure centre complete with swimming pools, climbing wall, bowls green, gym, and artificial turf football pitch.{{cite web|title=Fitness Centres, Swimming Pools and Gyms|url=http://www.stowmarket.co.uk/Sport_and_Hobbies/Fitness_Centres__Swimming_Pools___Gyms/|work=Stowmarket Area Guide|access-date=20 January 2014}} The town has several grassroots clubs playing various sports.{{cite web |url=http://stowsport.blogspot.com/ |title=Stowmarket Sport}}

The Regal Theatre cinema has been in operation in the town centre for more than fifty years,{{cite news|last=Hunter|first=Matt|title=Stowmarket: James Bond film Skyfall gives boost for Regal Theatre|url=http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/stowmarket_james_bond_film_skyfall_gives_boost_for_regal_theatre_1_1677439|access-date=20 January 2014|newspaper=Ipswich Star|date=3 November 2012}} offering films, concerts and theatre productions.

The former corn exchange underwent a £1 million refurbishment in 2012 to become a music venue, art gallery and theatre named the John Peel Centre for Creative Arts.{{cite news|title=John Peel Centre in Stowmarket closes for £1m rebuild|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-18650229|work=BBC News|date=30 June 2012|publisher=BBC}} It is named after the late influential DJ and broadcaster who lived in nearby Great Finborough.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-21277967 |access-date=31 January 2013 |work=News Suffolk |publisher=BBC |title=John Peel Centre in Stowmarket reopens |date=31 January 2013}}.{{cite news |newspaper=East Anglia Daily Times |url=http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/stowmarket_john_peel_centre_for_creative_arts_prepares_for_first_music_gig_1_1831753 |access-date= 31 January 2013 |title=John Peel Centre for Creative Arts prepares for first music gig |author=Matt Hunter|date=30 January 2013 }}

Stowmarket has a maritime climate type as is typical for the bulk of the British Isles. Wattisham is the nearest official weather station, about 4 miles south-south-west of Stowmarket town centre.

The absolute maximum temperature recorded was {{convert|35.3|C}}{{cite web

|url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=14&year=2003&indexid=TXx&stationid=1842

|title=August 2003

|access-date=26 February 2011}} during the August 2003 heatwave. In an average year 11.9 days{{cite web

|url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=SU&stationid=1842

|title= 1971-00>25c days

|access-date=26 February 2011}} will report a temperature of {{convert|25.1|C}} or above, with the warmest day of the year rising to {{convert|29.0|C}}.{{cite web

|url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=TXx&stationid=1842

|title=Average Warmest Day

|access-date=26 February 2011}}

The absolute minimum temperature is {{convert|−14.6|C}},{{cite web

|url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=7&year=1979&indexid=TNn&stationid=1842

|title=January 1979 minimum

|access-date=26 February 2011}} set in January 1979, although given online records only date back to 1960; it is likely the winter of 1947 saw lower temperatures. In an average year, 48.3{{cite web

|url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=FD&stationid=1842

|title=Average Air frosts

|access-date=26 February 2011}} air frosts can be expected.

Sunshine, averaging over 1,635 hours{{cite web

|url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=SS&stationid=1842

|title=Sunshine average.

|access-date=26 February 2011}} a year, is amongst the highest for inland areas of Britain. Annual rainfall totals average below 575mm, with over 1mm of rain falling on 109.4 days.{{cite web

|url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=RR1&stationid=1842

|title=1971-00 raindays

|access-date=26 February 2011}} All averages refer to the observation period 1971–2000.

{{Weather box

|location = Wattisham, elevation 87m, 1971–2000, extremes 1960–

|collapsed =

|metric first = y

|single line = y

|Jan record high C = 14.1

|Feb record high C = 17.0

|Mar record high C = 21.7

|Apr record high C = 24.1

|May record high C = 27.6

|Jun record high C = 33.0

|Jul record high C = 32.1

|Aug record high C = 35.3

|Sep record high C = 28.5

|Oct record high C = 24.7

|Nov record high C = 17.9

|Dec record high C = 15.3

|year record high C = 35.3

|Jan high C = 6.3

|Feb high C = 6.6

|Mar high C = 9.5

|Apr high C = 11.9

|May high C = 15.8

|Jun high C = 18.7

|Jul high C = 21.4

|Aug high C = 21.6

|Sep high C = 18.3

|Oct high C = 13.9

|Nov high C = 9.3

|Dec high C = 7.1

|year high C = 13.4

|Jan low C = 0.7

|Feb low C = 0.7

|Mar low C = 2.3

|Apr low C = 3.7

|May low C = 6.8

|Jun low C = 9.5

|Jul low C = 11.8

|Aug low C = 11.9

|Sep low C = 9.9

|Oct low C = 7.2

|Nov low C = 3.5

|Dec low C = 1.9

|year low C = 5.8

|Jan record low C = −14.6

|Feb record low C = −10.0

|Mar record low C = −8.6

|Apr record low C = -4.6

|May record low C = −2.3

|Jun record low C = -0.4

|Jul record low C = 3.8

|Aug record low C = 3.6

|Sep record low C = 1.5

|Oct record low C = −3.5

|Nov record low C = −7.0

|Dec record low C = −13.2

|year record low C = −14.6

|Jan precipitation mm = 49.5

|Feb precipitation mm = 35.1

|Mar precipitation mm = 42.5

|Apr precipitation mm = 41.2

|May precipitation mm = 43.7

|Jun precipitation mm = 52.2

|Jul precipitation mm = 42.4

|Aug precipitation mm = 47.1

|Sep precipitation mm = 55.1

|Oct precipitation mm = 57.2

|Nov precipitation mm = 55.6

|Dec precipitation mm = 52.1

|year precipitation mm = 573.8

|Jan sun = 57.4

|Feb sun = 75.7

|Mar sun = 111.3

|Apr sun = 159.0

|May sun = 213.6

|Jun sun = 208.2

|Jul sun = 212.7

|Aug sun = 205.8

|Sep sun = 148.5

|Oct sun = 117.5

|Nov sun = 73.2

|Dec sun = 52.4

|year sun = 1635.2

|source 1 =MetOffice{{cite web

|url = http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/sites/wattisham.html

|title = Climate Normals 1971–2000

|publisher = MetOffice

|access-date = 26 February 2011

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629220054/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/sites/wattisham.html

|archive-date = 29 June 2011

|df = dmy-all

}}

|source 2 = KNMI{{cite web

| url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/mapserver/climatology.php?indexcat=**&indexid=RR&periodidselect=1971-2000&seasonid=0&scalelogidselect=no&minx=-374761.904762&miny=-4711904.761905&maxx=491904.761905&maxy=-4061904.761905&MapSize=560%2C420&imagewidth=560&imageheight=420&mainmap.x=287&mainmap.y=208&CMD=QUERY_POINT&CMD=QUERY_POINT#bottom

| title=Climate Extremes 1960

| publisher=KNMI

| access-date=26 February 2011}}

|date=Feb 2011

}}

Stowmarket has held an annual carnival for over sixty years, with 2023 being celebrated as the 60th. The main event is held in the recreation park{{cite web|title=Domesday Reloaded|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-604000-258000/page/17|work=BBC History|publisher=BBC|access-date=20 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925061523/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-604000-258000/page/17|archive-date=25 September 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} featuring a funfair, a procession through the town and local entertainment.{{cite web|title=Past Photos|url=http://www.stowmarketcarnival.co.uk/old-carnival-photos|work=Stowmarket Carnival|publisher=Stowmarket Carnival Committee|access-date=20 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201214539/http://www.stowmarketcarnival.co.uk/old-carnival-photos|archive-date=1 February 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} The procession starts at Meadlands Social Club and travels via Combs Ford, Ipswich Road, The Regal, Ipswich Street, Market Place, Tavern Street and Finborough Road, ending in Recreation Road. For the first time in many years, Stowmarket Carnival was free to attend in 2023, making it accessible to all. Stowmarket Carnival is run by a team of volunteers.

Stowmarket also plays host to the Stow-Fest music festival, a live music open air event that takes place annually at Chilton Fields in the north of Stowmarket.{{cite web|title=What is StowFest?|url=http://www.stowfest.co.uk/|work=Stowfest|access-date=20 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202093042/http://www.stowfest.co.uk/|archive-date=2 February 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} Since 2010 the town has hosted the Stowblues Festival, organised in partnership with BBC Radio Suffolk.{{cite web|url=http://www.eastanglianlife.org.uk/whats-on/2015/06/06/stowblues-festival.html|title=Museum of East Anglian Life|work=eastanglianlife.org.uk|access-date=23 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524193604/http://www.eastanglianlife.org.uk/whats-on/2015/06/06/stowblues-festival.html|archive-date=24 May 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

The Mix is located on Ipswich Street and is a flagship youth and community centre in Suffolk.{{cite web |title=The Mix Stowmarket |url=https://www.themixstowmarket.org |access-date=20 August 2022}}{{dead link|date=February 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

The poet John Milton made regular visits to the town as his tutor, Dr Thomas Young, became vicar of Stowmarket in 1628.Paine, C. St Peter and St Mary's Church, Stowmarket, Official Church Guide, St Peter and St Mary's Church, Stowmarket

Other notable residents included political writer William Godwin, who spent time as minister at the Stowmarket Independent Church; and singer / West End actress, Kerry Ellis, who was brought up in the nearby village of Haughley and attended Stowmarket High School. Delia Smith also resides nearby in Combs. Stowmarket has produced professional footballers, James Scowcroft, who played for the local junior sides and Ipswich Town, among others. Professional wrestler Neil Faith has lived in Stowmarket. Sally Eastall, who competed in the 1992 Olympics marathon, was born in Stowmarket. The poet George Crabbe went to school in the town. The amateur astronomers A. Grace Cook and J. P. M. Prentice{{Cite journal|url=http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1982QJRAS..23..452L|title=1982QJRAS..23..452L Page 452|journal=Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society|bibcode=1982QJRAS..23..452L|access-date=2017-08-09 |last1=Lovell |first1=B. |year=1982 |volume=23 |page=452 }} lived in the town. Gareth Snell, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, is from Stowmarket.

Murder victim Matthew Pyke grew up in Stowmarket.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Host Planet Earth, by Colin Cooper,{{Cite web |title=SFE: Cooper, Colin |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cooper_colin |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=sf-encyclopedia.com}} is largely set around a fictional rocket launch site near Stowmarket.

• Stowmarket (Central) Ward
• Stowmarket (North) Ward
• Stowmarket (South) Ward
• Stowmarket (UK Parliament constituency)
• Stowmarket by-election, 1891
• Stowmarket Guncotton Explosion
• Stowmarket High School
• Stowmarket railway station
• Stowmarket Town F.C.
• Church of St Peter and St Mary, Stowmarket
• Ipswich & Stowmarket Navigation

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Wikivoyage|Stowmarket}}

{{Commons category|Stowmarket}}

• [http://www.stowmarket.org/ Stowmarket Town Council]
• [http://www.stowmarket.co.uk/ Stowmarket Area Guide]
• [http://www.stowmarket-history.co.uk/ Stowmarket History and Heritage]
• [http://www.stowmarketflyer.co.uk/ Stowmarket Flyer (Local News – Printed Monthly and Online]
• [http://stowsport.blogspot.com/ Stowmarket Sport (Grassroots coverage of sports, clubs and teams in a three-mile radius of Stowmarket)]
• [http://www.stowmarketparishchurch.co.uk/ Stowmarket Church (St. Peter and St. Mary Stowmarket)]

{{Mid Suffolk}}

{{Suffolk}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Market towns in Suffolk

Category:Mid Suffolk District

Category:Towns in Suffolk

Category:Civil parishes in Suffolk