Enid in Ipswich.

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Rilloby
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Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Rilloby »

I read somewhere that when Enid trained to be a teacher at Ipswich High School she lived in Christchurch Street Ipswich.

Most of the houses in Christchurch Strreet seem to have survived intact, although many have been converted to flats. Does anyone know what number house Enid lived in? Is there a plaque on the wall? If not there ought to be.

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Tony Summerfield
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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I am not sure whether Enid can be said to have 'lived' in Christchurch Street, she was in lodgings there with a kindergarten teacher at Ipswich High School, Ida Hunt. Enid knew the Hunt family as she had stayed with them at Seckford Hall.

I can't provide a number for you I'm afraid, but I am absolutely certain that the house wouldn't have a blue plaque on it as it did not belong to Enid, who was only a lodger.

I am assuming that you haven't already read this, Rilloby, so I am adding to it. I have just spoken to Enid's Biographer, Barbara Stoney, and she trawled through her original notes and came up with the address 73 Christchurch Street.
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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Rilloby »

Thanks Tony and Barbara for going to the trouble of checking this out.

I'll have a look at 73 Christchurch Street next time I'm passing.

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Rilloby
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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Rilloby »

No. 73 Christchurch Street, Ipswich gets a mention and a picture here:-

http://www.ipswich.gov.uk/downloads/chr ... _st_1_.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Of course it's possible that some renumbering of houses has taken place since Enid was in Ipswich.

Ipswich High School for Girls was a couple of hundred yards away in Constable Road, but has since moved to a new site.
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Thanks, Rilloby. It's good to see the picture of number 73. It looks as if it's a pub/restaurant now. I wonder if the owners are aware that Enid Blyton once lodged there?

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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Eddie Muir »

I think you may be looking at the wrong picture for number 73, Anita. You need to scroll down to page 8 to see a photo of the house.
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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

You're right, Eddie, I was looking at the wrong house before! I've now found number 73, on the corner at the end of a row of terraces.

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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Katharine »

I wonder what Enid would make of this news?

http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/heart ... -1-5192084" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I can only imagine that Enid would have welcomed the news. A character in The Naughtiest Girl in the School remarks that going to Whyteleafe (a co-educational school) is like joining a big family of sisters and brothers, and Enid's own little "experimental school" at Southernhay also took boys and girls. The same goes for Miss Brown's school in Enid Blyton's Book of the Year. Although she sent her own daughters to girls' schools, I feel that Enid Blyton had a great interest in co-education.
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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Courtenay »

Thanks for sharing the article, Katherine, and interesting thoughts from Anita. I'm just thinking, though, how Enid also wrote two very popular series set in all-girls' schools — St Clare's and Malory Towers, of course — so I guess she either saw value in single-sex education as well or perhaps felt under pressure to write more school stories in that genre!

I can understand the negative reactions of some parents to the news about Ipswich High School going co-ed. I went to an all-girls' school for my last three years of high school and it was by far the best school I ever attended. Mind you, that was probably because it was a really good school all round, not just because there were no boys! :lol: :wink: It certainly doesn't mean single-sex education will be best for all children or that co-eds don't have significant arguments in their favour too. It really depends on the school and indeed on the individual child, I think.
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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Eddie Muir »

Thanks for the link, Katharine. I'm inclined to agree with Anita. I think Enid would have welcomed the news.
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Re: Enid in Ipswich.

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Courtenay wrote:Thanks for sharing the article, Katherine, and interesting thoughts from Anita. I'm just thinking, though, how Enid also wrote two very popular series set in all-girls' schools — St Clare's and Malory Towers, of course — so I guess she either saw value in single-sex education as well or perhaps felt under pressure to write more school stories in that genre!
According to Barbara Stoney, it was Alan White of Methuen who suggested (after the success of The Naughtiest Girl in the School) that Enid Blyton write "girls' school stories with a more conventional background." It's clear from the energy and sparkle of the St. Clare's and Malory Towers series that Enid Blyton thoroughly enjoyed writing them but I expect she took a keen interest in developments in education (it's believed that A.S Neill's experimental Summerhill School was one of the inspirations for Whyteleafe) and would have been interested in the notion of mixed-sex schools providing a more natural environment for learning and interacting.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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