Tributes remember celebrated Sudbury historian and musician Dr Peter Cooper

Tributes have been paid to a celebrated Sudbury historian, who left a lasting legacy as a founding organiser and contributor to the town’s long-running history lectures.

Dr Peter Cooper – a prominent history expert, considered one of the foremost authorities on Victorian-era Sudbury – died at West Suffolk Hospital on January 27, aged 87.

The Cornard-born academic was widely known over many years as one of the key figures behind the popular Quay Theatre history talks, which continue to this day.

Alongside his research, he was also an accomplished pianist and organist and was an active member of the Royal Society of Arts, the Prayer Book Society and the National Liberal Club.

Marianne Gilbert, who knew Dr Cooper his entire life – described him as ’a very kind man’, who was also godfather to her son Oliver.

“Peter had a formidable brain,” Marianne said. “He was highly intelligent and could remember everything.

“He came from humble beginnings and was both unassuming and self-deprecating. He had an appreciation of the humour that resides in obscure things.

“As a Sudbury friend and character himself, he will be greatly missed.”

Andrew Cooper, a fellow Sudbury historian, remembered him as a ‘beloved individual in the town’ and a ‘local person to his core’, well-known by hundreds of people.

“I looked up to him because he had an enormous amount of knowledge, but it was always understated and delivered in such a down-to-earth way,” he said.

“He was an engaging conversationalist, witty and informed and, from a knowledge point of view, he always shared his information.”

Born in Sudbury on October 22, 1937, Dr Cooper spent his early years in Great Cornard, where his grandparents ran the former Five Bells pub for many decades.

His childhood education took him to Cornard Primary School, The Lymes in Friars Street, Sudbury Modern Secondary School and Sudbury Grammar School.

Despite failing his 11+ exam – at the time, the primary assessment for progressing into higher education – he earned a place at Selwyn College in Cambridge in 1958, to study history.

From there, he obtained a doctorate in Victorian church history and became president of Cambridge University Liberal Club, before teaching history in America.

He later returned to the UK to teach at All Saints’ College London, Middlesex Polytechnic and the Open University, while maintaining close ties to his alma mater in Cambridge.

It was at the Quay Theatre where Dr Cooper made his name in Sudbury, sharing his knowledge of the town’s history and arranging talks by dozens of other speakers.

Combining his love of music, he even used his connections at Selwyn to arrange for guests to perform short pieces to illustrate the topics of history he discussed.

Fellow Sudbury historian Ashley Cooper said: “He had an extraordinary background.

“At the time of the 11+, he actually failed this and was not considered to have an academic future at all, but from there, he was able to go to Cambridge.

“He also had a great love and knowledge of music and, on a number of occasions, he used his connections with Selwyn to add music to his lectures.

“I especially remember Peter for opening a window into the times of Victorian Sudbury. This is something he was a great expert on – all of the significant characters and events of the time.

“He took the Quay Theatre history lectures to a new intellectual level that the rest of us deeply appreciated.

“He was a most engaging lecturer. There was something endearingly eccentric about him, with his mane of silver hair. He shared his knowledge generously and thoughtfully.

“As a local historian, I really appreciated what he did and the years of Quay Theatre meetings he organised. I enormously enjoyed the talks he gave there.

“He transported you into a different world and you felt you were in the world of one of the novels of Anthony Trollope or George Elliot. He was like a character from a Victorian novel.

“He had a deep appreciation from all those who benefited from his learning and all the dedicated research he did.”

In addition to numerous papers, he wrote two books – Selwyn College: A History in 1994, followed in 1999 by an account of Little Cornard history, titled Fossils, Faith and Farming.

Throughout his life Dr Cooper remained close to nephews Philip and Robert, as well as one of his past students, Jake, and his sons, Maks and Aleks – all of whom helped care for him in his final years.