Ipswich starts final leg of Thomas Wolsey 550 festival

They range from a parade on the Cornhill featuring children from across the town to a lecture on Tudor sexuality at the University of Suffolk.

The Thomas Wolsey 550 project was launched in March 2022. (Image: Warren Page/Ipswich Central)

The festival launched last spring for 550 days to mark the 550th anniversary of Thomas Wolsey's birth in Suffolk's county town. It came about following a successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid supported by Ipswich Central, who hosted the project team at its office in Lower Brook Street.

Thomas Wolsey rose from being the son of a humble food merchant (sometimes described as a butcher) to being the second most powerful man in England after King Henry VIII.

The last season of events kicks off next month with an event on May 18 at the appropriately-named Thomas Wolsey pub in St Nicholas Street where beer expert Martyn Cornell will talk about medieval brewing and a local brewery will be hosting a tasting session.

The walks include visits to churches Wolsey would have known like St Mary at the Elms (Image: Newsquest)

Over the summer there are several guided walks around the town where Tudor experts will show off places that Wolsey would have known - and churches that would have been important to him as he grew up.

One of the most eye-catching lectures that will be open to the public is at the University of Suffolk Waterfront Building on June 8 when Dr Eleanor Janega will be giving a brief guide to medieval sexuality.

This will discover the ways that medieval people thought and wrote about sex and sexuality - and find out that the medieval world’s idea of sexuality is extremely different from our own. 

Dr Janega gained her undergraduate degree in history (with honours) from Loyola University Chicago, and holds an MA (with distinction) in medieval studies and a PhD in history, both from University College London.

She is a guest teacher in the London School of Economics Department of International History.

Wolsey was a great educator - an element of his life reflected in his statue near Curson Lodge. (Image: Newsquest)

The Thomas Wolsey 550 festival runs until September - but many of its events are linked to schools because the Cardinal was a great educator.

So far as the schools element is concerned, the main event will be the Wolsey Celebration Parade from the Waterfront, through the Saints to the Cornhill on July 4 as schools are preparing to break up for the summer holidays.

Exact details - and which schools will be taking part in the event - are still to be finalised but it is expected to follow on from the major event last summer when Wolsey's Cardinal's Hat arrived in the town to go on display at the Hold.

Wolsey's Hat's arrival sparked a great deal of interest last summer. (Image: Charlotte Bond)

That sparked interest in the anniversary last year - and the parade will  herald more events that are expected to be arranged during the school holidays.

Kath Cockshaw, project director with the Wolsey 550 Project, said: “We wanted to create an innovative programme of events that will get people really talking and thinking about Wolsey’s Ipswich and I think this first phase of the project does just that.  

 “More events are still being planned – including community grants funded events, talks and concerts. I urge people to book tickets swiftly as we expect demand to be high.” 

Full details of all the events - and links to book them - can be found at the Thomas Wolsey 550 website.

More are expected to be added over the next few months.