THE PRINCE OF WALES
Ipswich Street

The first mention I have found is in 1871 but in the 1861 census this public house seems to have been named "The Falcon", possibly it was renamed on the occasion of The Prince Of Wales marriage in 1868.

The Prince Of  Wales can be seen in the centre of the picture with the name on the wall just visible.

The Prince Of Wales was one of the many "beerhouses" which proliferated in the second half of the 19th century. By the early years of the 20th century pressure from the Temperance Movement to reduce the number of public houses resulted in The Licensing Act of 1904. When a licence came up for renewal one factor considered was how many other public houses existed in the area. I have been lucky to find the application for renewal of the licence for The Prince Of Wales dated 1906, the application was refused and the pub closed. The grounds were that there were more licensed houses in the neighbourhood than were required and the Prince Of Wales was the least suitable for use as a public house. Evidence by John Foulger Page Superintendent Of Police for Stowmarket states that the previous taproom had recently been converted into a butcher's shop [this was the premises of Claud Gammer, pork butcher]. The interesting statistic is also given that there were 27 licensed houses in Stowmarket or one to every 106 of the population over 15 and that there were five other public houses in Ipswich Street within 150 yards and indeed there was one right next door to The Prince Of Wales [The Royal Oak]. Compensation would have been paid to the brewery which owned a public house which was closed down, in this case Tollemache & Co.

STOWMARKET HISTORY AND HERITAGE
2007
email neil@stowman.plus.com