Ipswich failed Wolsey for generations

Previously, I had written about Cardinal Wolsey's college in Ipswich. Though this seems to be a niche topic of historical interest, it is my belief that it should become a symbol of civic pride in Ipswich. That is, something of which everyone in the town is aware, and discusses.

Much of the discourse, in my opinion, has been reduced to creating artists' impressions of the physical space. These not only include the Monumental Constructions project, or the visual rendering produced as part of Tracing the Footprint - it is in plain sight, on every Ipswich Town Football Club shirt. Arguably, these depictions of the gate have been allowed to become simulacra with respect to the gate or the college itself.

When discussing the college, my idea has been to present a vision for Ipswich. I did not intend in my writing to be prescriptive. This even extends to whether or not we should build the college - there are likely organisations in Ipswich that honour Wolsey's desire that Ipswich become a seat of education, and debate ought to be had. That is, whether those organisations have been successful in this regard.

However, even if we ignore the college completely for a moment, we still failed. We need to do better.

"Pleasure should mingle with study so that the child may think learning an amusement, rather than a toil" - Cardinal Wolsey

Ipswich seems to be doing a good job at making education something to be enjoyed by children. I would like to genuinely praise the great work done by the Thomas Wolsey 550 project in engaging with local schools about Wolsey. They have run some great events, and I only wish that I could have attended more of them. TW550 has announced a new phase, which will continue their great work into the new year - this is very exciting, and something the whole town should get behind.

However, I would argue that the context of this quotation is important. It was said over 500 years ago - has the spirit embodied in this quotation been embodied for those of Wolsey's time to today? There have been generations of children educated in Ipswich between Cardinal Wolsey founded his college and today.

That is, I would argue that one means of ascertaining whether we have been successful in creating a seat of education is whether everyone educated in Ipswich alive today expresses a pleasure in their schooling in the town. Knowing the quotation is not necessary, as its underlying spirit is arguably more important.

I would argue that we have failed Wolsey on education, as Ipswich is not known as a place of learning (with or without a college):

• One interpretation of this quote is that the classroom should encourage its students to learn, rather than punish them to conform. If we had taken the ethos to heart, why did places of learning in Ipswich commit corporal punishment on her students for centuries? There are people alive with memories of being caned or worse - the fact is, they are likely to associate toil with learning as a result, rather than amusement. Why did Ipswich not buck this abhorrent national trend?
• If we were a centre of education, then someone like Katie Hopkins would not feel comfortable enough to book a show in Suffolk and expect an audience. This is because Hopkins relies on stoking an audience with ill-informed, anti-intellectual and divisive rhetoric, which is arguably antithetical to education

Rather than simply raising the issue as a complaint about historical points, I would like to propose that we work together as a town to work out how we can make Ipswich a centre of learning that works well for everyone. This would motivate saving and public investment, in a similar way that dreaming of a nice car motivates saving.

• We need to talk more about Cardinal College so that it is not a niche issue, but one which everyone in Ipswich is well-versed. It needs to become as central to the town's identity as the success of the football club. This is not a question of a literal reconstruction, but ascertaining what Wolsey planned and actually following through with something rather than just passing it off as a historical folly
• Our current places of learning, particularly our University, should promote events for students of any age and level. These can include Open Lectures or Freshers/Society activities. Every effort should be made to encourage students to attend, to improve the diversity of ages engaged with Wolsey. Whilst Wolsey is a historical figure, we should not engage him from a solely historical perspective
• I think that people should engage more with creating art conveying the need to acknowledge Wolsey's college. I was inspired by the recent campaign of Ipswich Town posters, and by the ITFC mural on Barrack Lane. For my part, I have submitted poetry for a community hub zine, and I plan to do more artistic endeavours on the subject