Timekeepers & Grounds
Explore the grounds and see the historic Timekeepers Building, War Memorial, Speakers Rostrum and Pompey the steam engine.
Timekeepers Building
This building was the office for the timekeepers who kept a record of hours worked by all Workshops employees. They also calculated and issued their pay. For many years, pay was placed in a small tin marked with the employee's number.
The timekeepers' office was a busy place on pay day. When The Workshops reached its peak in the 1950s, the pay for more than 3,000 workers was placed in pay tins and taken to the various shops on the site.
Speakers Rostrum
The Workshops was more than just a workplace - it was also a centre for social and cultural activities.
The rostrum was the focal point where speakers and performers entertained the employees at lunchtime and on special occasions. Lecturers spoke on subjects including astronomy, economics and psychology. Professional entertainers occasionally performed but more often the entertainers were Workshops employees.
The first public meetings were held during World War I to encourage workers to support the war effort. In 1920 a rostrum committee of employees was formed to organise activities.
The rostrum could attract large crowds. On pay day a collection plate was passed around and the money donated to different charities. Workers have fond memories of the rostrum entertainments and the many Workshops personalities who performed here.
This rostrum, opened in 2001, is the third on the site.
Pompey
This steam locomotive, affectionately known as Pompey, was one of six small tank engines manufactured at the Ipswich Railway Workshops in 1904. These locomotives were built for shunting duties, moving wagons and carriages around railway yards.
After working for almost 50 years, Pompey retired and was used at The Workshops. In the early 1970s Pompey was put on display at the front entrance to The Workshops and became a mascot for the employees.
