The Lower School History Club visited the school archives recently to further their understanding and work that they have been doing on the life of Thomas Wolsey and his connections to Ipswich School.

It was fascinating to see pictures of the original school in Ipswich that he attended, known as Felawhouse and to be able to handle fragments of the original building that were in the archives. We found out about Wolsey’s plans to build a new college in Ipswich and to make this one of the greatest schools in the country. We saw the plan of the land where the college was meant to be built and learnt about the demise of the project, connected to Wolsey’s fall from favour.

Mr Howgego, the Ipswich School Historian, talked to us all about Wolsey’s relatively humble beginnings in Ipswich and his meteoric rise to power during the reign of Henry VIII particularly. The students were able to talk about the recent display that they have made on Wolsey in the History corridor, sharing what they had learnt and building on this.

Lilia C said: “It was really great to go to the archives and see objects that have come before us, to get a feel of how things were and how different things looked in the time of Wolsey’s Ipswich.” Summer added: “It was really cool to see relics that you would not be able to see in any place other than the archives.” Miss Manson and her History Club students would like to thank Mr Howgego for his time and passion in sharing the artefacts with us.

Miss Manson, History Teacher