The Ipswich & Suffolk Freehold Land Society (FLS) held the first meeting on Tuesday 4 December. The president was Richard Dykes Alexander, the head of the ‘Alexander’ Banking family. The Recapitulation Book was first updated with the daily investments on 11 December 1849, with the same journal still updated monthly to this day.
Founded in 1849. Still here today.
Suffolk Building Society was established in 1849 as the Ipswich & Suffolk Freehold Land Society, as part of a national movement to create ‘forty-shilling freeholders’ – giving the ordinary man the chance to buy enough land to enable him to vote.
The Society’s declared aim was to “improve the social position and promote the moral elevation of the unenfranchised population of this country”. People would be able to invest their savings with the Society, with that money being used to purchase areas of freehold land.
This land would be divided into plots of sufficient size to confer its owner the right to vote. Through the Ipswich & Suffolk Permanent Benefit Building Society arm we assisted members with affordable mortgages to help with their purchase.
Now, over 170 years on, Suffolk Building Society still exists to benefit our members – now and for the future, helping them to buy a home and save their money with an organisation they can trust.
Heritage
A short story about
our heritage.
At the first meeting on 4 December 1849 at the Ipswich Temperance Hall (demolished 1964), the Society enrolled 140 members with 150 shares taken. Within a week this had increased to 400 shares.
By 1858 the first come, first served model of allocating plots to members was replaced by balloting. Members interested in a particular development would submit their ballot paper to the Secretary; should their corresponding numbered ball be drawn out they could proceed to purchase outright – or through an affordable mortgage with the Ipswich & Suffolk Permanent Benefit Building Society.
The Society built houses for the first time, having already allotted 1,000 plots of land across 22 estates. The Society laid out two new Roads, Palmerston and Lancaster, with 28 houses built and sold by ballot for £145.
A notable occasion in the Society’s history was the election of a new solicitor. Since the position was worth a decent return for a solicitor’s practice, the sense of competition was intense and public interest high. The election was made at the Society’s Annual General Meeting – the East Anglian Daily Times called it “one of the largest and most representative gatherings ever to be held in the town”. Mr E P Ridley of Birkett, Ridley and Bartley won and was duly elected.
The Society built for the last time in 1933, with twelve semi-detached houses on Shafto Road, Ipswich, boasting “electric light points to all rooms and hall”. By this time the Society had developed over 50 estates in Ipswich, and more across Suffolk including Felixstowe, Stowmarket, Lowestoft, Framlingham and Hadleigh.
In June concern was growing with the increasing number of air raids, so the Society’s directors arranged for the microfilming of all deeds for properties mortgaged by the Society, along with other important records.
For the very first time the Society had a branch which opened six days a week, with a second Ipswich office located within the Debenhams department store. On the second floor, the branch soon became so busy that more space was needed and, in 1990, a move to the new Tower Ramparts shopping centre was on the cards.
In 1992 the Society adopted a new brand identity, with a logo capturing the essence of the Suffolk environment with a suggestion of sea, sky, wheat fields and countryside.
Online for the first time, the Society’s website was launched.
150 years on and one of less than 70 building societies in the country, the Society boasts assets approaching a quarter of a billion pounds and has over 40,000 members. This landmark occasion was celebrated with a staff gathering at Christchurch Mansion. As staff arrived the bells of nearby St Margaret’s Church rang out in jubilation.
SUFFOLK BUILDING SOCIETY
Our name through the ages.
We’ve not always been called Suffolk Building Society, but we’ve always been a mutual organisation rooted in our local community.
1849
Ipswich and Suffolk Permanent Benefit Building Society and Ipswich and Suffolk Freehold Land Society established
1969
‘Permanent Benefit’ cut from the name, resulting in Ipswich & Suffolk Building Society
1975
Took in Ipswich & District Building Society, resulting in Ipswich Building Society
2021
Renamed Suffolk Building Society
Research
Access our archives.
Our large archive is on permanent loan to Suffolk Archives, ensuring it remains accessible to the public. It is one of the most useful and diverse collections available, especially for property history researchers. The principal contents of the archive are FLS estate plans and some house plans & specifications, ballot notices, minute books, mortgages and over 300 bundles of title deeds to estates across the county, though with a bias towards East Suffolk.
The contents of the collection is fully catalogued on CALM and can be searched on the Suffolk Archives website, reference GF419.
If you are undertaking research please note we are unable to assist with individual enquiries and do advise you to search our collection through Suffolk Archives.
The bulk of Estate Plans and Ballot Notices are bound into 2 very large and heavy plan books. These are now too fragile to be produced for research but a list of their contents can be found at Catalogue References GF419/FLS1849/3/1/1 and GF419/FLS1849/3/1/2. Digital images of the entire contents of both books are available and thumbnails of these are linked to each entry on CALM. All street names on each plan are also indexed on CALM (not yet available on Suffolk Archives version of database).
Estate plans usually show name of estate, date, size and price of individual plots and are often marked in pencil with the name of the Member to whom each plot was balloted.
Ballot Notices give full details (including price and fortnightly repayment amounts) of property to be balloted and date, time and place of ballot. In the case of ballots for FLS houses a description of accommodation and local facilities is often included. Occasionally ballot notices include drawings of front elevation of houses.
There are also a number of loose architect’s specifications and plans and/or drawings for houses built by the I & SFLS. Details of these can be found at Reference GF419/FLS1849/3/4 & GF419/FLS1849/3/5.
Estate plans usually show name of estate, date, size and price of individual plots and are often marked in pencil with the name of the Member to whom each plot was balloted.
Ballot Notices give full details (including price and fortnightly repayment amounts) of property to be balloted and date, time and place of ballot. In the case of ballots for FLS houses a description of accommodation and local facilities is often included. Occasionally ballot notices include drawings of front elevation of houses.
There are also a number of loose architect’s specifications and plans and/or drawings for houses built by the I & SFLS. Details of these can be found at Reference GF419/FLS1849/3/4 & GF419/FLS1849/3/5.
The archive includes numerous bundles of title deeds for the large areas of land purchased by I & SFLS and subsequently developed as FLS Estates. Many of these contain conveyances dating back to the 18th century and some to the 17th century. Several include sale particulars and plans drawn up when outlying parts of ‘country’ estates were first sold for building accommodation. Thus researchers may find pre 19th century records for the land on which their house was eventually built.
Minute books recording the work of I & SFLS/I & SPBBS are available from 1869 onwards, but those relating to business matters after 1920 will not be made accessible to researchers due to Data Protection issues. Some early Minute books are indexed; the binding of some is in rather poor condition. Included in the earlier minute books are details of all arrangements necessary for the development of FLS Estates e.g. Instructions to selected Committee members to attend auctions to purchase land, price to be offered, tenders received for construction of roads, fences and houses when built, ballot arrangements including price of property sold and names of successful ballottees entitled to purchase each plot of land or house.
The archive contains many of the original mortgages taken out by members successful in obtaining a plot of land or house on FLS Estates. These frequently give name of member, calling (occupation), and amount of mortgage; occasionally the member’s present address is included.
The archive includes approximately 700 claim forms for mortgaged property in Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex & London that was damaged by bombing. Details include borrower’s name, address of damaged property, borrower’s address if different, and date and extent of damage. A few of the claims also have builders estimates for repair. Many relate to extensive raids on Lowestoft and Ipswich.
1. Use plans to identify name of I & SFLS estate on which house is built and date of development if not already known.
2. Check relevant Minute Books for details of Estate development and ballot.
3. Identify bundle of title deeds retained by I & SFLS for earlier history of land.
4. Check mortgages for details of early owners of plot of land and/or house.
Contents of the collection is fully catalogued on CALM and can be searched on the Suffolk Archives website: https://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk/
2. Check relevant Minute Books for details of Estate development and ballot.
3. Identify bundle of title deeds retained by I & SFLS for earlier history of land.
4. Check mortgages for details of early owners of plot of land and/or house.
Contents of the collection is fully catalogued on CALM and can be searched on the Suffolk Archives website: https://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk/
Downloads
450 Years of Change in St Nicholas Street, Ipswich – From 1850 through to the 1930s many parts of Ipswich, as well as other Suffolk towns, were developed by Suffolk Building Society under its original name of the Ipswich & Suffolk Freehold Land Society. Here you’ll find the story of one street in Ipswich.
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We’re proud to be a mutual organisation, founded in 1849 by a group of Ipswich businessmen to help the local community to prosper. It’s a simple ethos and one we are still rooted by today.
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