Ipswich Docks From The Orwell Bridge - Geograph
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Ipswich () is a port town and borough in
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, England, of which it is the
county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
. The town is located in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
about away from the
mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the
Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...
railway and the A12 road; it is north-east of London, east-southeast of Cambridge and south of Norwich. Ipswich is surrounded by two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB): Suffolk Coast and Heaths and
Dedham Vale Dedham Vale is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the Essex-Suffolk border in east England. It comprises the area around the River Stour between Manningtree and Smallbridge Farm, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Bures, including the ...
. Ipswich's modern name is derived from the medieval name ''Gippeswic'', probably taken either from an
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
personal name or from an earlier name given to the
Orwell Estuary Orwell Estuary is a 1,335.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches along the River Orwell and its banks between Felixstowe and Ipswich in Suffolk. It is part of the Stour and Orwell Estuaries Ramsar site interna ...
(although possibly unrelated to the name of the
River Gipping The River Gipping is the source river for the River Orwell in the county of Suffolk in East Anglia, England, which is named from the village of Gipping, and which gave its name to the former Gipping Rural District. The name is unrelated to the ...
). It has also been known as ''Gyppewicus'' and ''Yppswyche''. The town has been continuously occupied since the
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
period, and is contested to be one of the oldest towns in the United Kingdom.Hills, Catherine
"England's Oldest Town"
Retrieved 2 August 2015.
Ipswich was a settlement of great economic importance to England throughout its history, particularly in trade. The town's historical dock, present-day Ipswich Waterfront, was known as the largest and most important dock in the kingdom.K. Wade, 'Gipeswic - East Anglia's first economic capital, 600-1066', in N. Salmon and R. Malster (eds), ''Ipswich From The First To The Third Millennium'' (Ipswich, 2001), 1-6. In terms of its population, Ipswich is also the third-largest settlement in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
(after Norwich and Peterborough) Ipswich's urban development overspills from the boundary of the town and borough significantly, with 75% of the town's population living within the borough at the time of the 2011 Census, when it was the fourth-largest urban area in the United Kingdom's
East of England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...
region, and the 42nd-largest urban area in England and Wales. In 2011, the town of Ipswich was found to have a population of 133,384, while the Ipswich Built-up area was estimated to have a population of 178,835 which extends from the town of Ipswich to
Kesgrave Kesgrave is a town in the English county of Suffolk on the eastern edge of Ipswich. Kesgrave forms part of the wider Ipswich Built-up area. History The area was recorded as ''Gressgrava'' in the Domesday Book, by the late 15th century its name ...
,
Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...
, Bramford and Martlesham Heath. The town is divided into various quarters, with central and the waterfront drawing the most footfall. Central is home to the town's retail shopping and the historic town square, the Cornhill. The waterfront is located south of the town centre on the bend of the River Orwell and is a picturesque setting housing the town's impressive
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
. The waterfront was historically an industrial port but has since been transformed into a trendy area lined with high-rise apartment buildings, restaurants, bars and cafés. The waterfront is also home to one of the UK's newest universities, the
University of Suffolk The University of Suffolk is a public university situated in Suffolk and Norfolk, England. The modern university was established in 2007 as University Campus Suffolk (UCS), the institution was founded as a unique collaboration between the Univer ...
, which was formed in 2016. Ipswich has become a tourist hotspot in the UK with 3.5 million people reported to have visited the county town in 2016. In 2020, Ipswich was ranked as an emerging global tourist destination by TripAdvisor. Ipswich was voted as the 7th most desirable place to live and work in England by the
Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...
in 2017. In 2007, Ipswich was awarded the cleanest town award and, in 2015, Ipswich was rated as the third happiest place to live in the UK.


History

Ipswich is one of England's oldest towns, and is claimed to be the oldest still continuing town to have been established and developed by the English, with continuous settlement since early Anglo-Saxon times.


Roman settlement

Under the Roman empire, the area around Ipswich formed an important route inland to rural towns and settlements via the rivers
Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitari ...
and Gipping. A large
Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
, part of the coastal defences of Britain, stood at Walton near Felixstowe (13 miles, 21 km), and the largest Roman villa in Suffolk (possibly an administrative complex) stood at Castle Hill (north-west Ipswich).


Middle Ages

The modern town took shape in
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
times (7th–8th centuries) around the Port of Ipswich. As the coastal states of north-western Europe emerged from the collapse of the Roman Empire, essential North Sea trade and communication between eastern Britain and the continent (especially to Scandinavia, and through the Rhine) passed through the former Roman ports of London (serving the kingdoms of Mercia, the
East Saxons la, Regnum Orientalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the East Saxons , common_name = Essex , era = Heptarchy , status = , status_text = , government_type = Monarch ...
, Kent) and York (Eoforwic) (serving the Kingdom of Northumbria). ''Gipeswic'' (also in other spellings such as ''Gippeswich'') arose as the equivalent to these, serving the Kingdom of East Anglia, its early imported wares dating to the time of King Rædwald, ruler of the East Angles (616–624). The famous ship-burial and treasure at
Sutton Hoo Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near the English town of Woodbridge. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when a previously undisturbed ship burial containing a ...
nearby (9 miles, 14.5 km) is probably his grave. The Ipswich Museum houses
replica A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...
s of the Roman Mildenhall and
Sutton Hoo treasure Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near the English town of Woodbridge. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when a previously undisturbed ship burial containing a ...
s. A gallery devoted to the town's origins includes
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
weapons, jewellery and other artefacts.
The seventh-century town was centred near the quay. Towards 700 AD, Frisian potters from the Netherlands area settled in Ipswich and set up the first large-scale potteries in England since Roman times. Their wares were traded far across England, and the industry was unique to Ipswich for 200 years. With growing prosperity, in about 720 AD a large new part of the town was laid out in the Buttermarket area. Ipswich was becoming a place of national and international importance. Parts of the ancient road plan still survive in its modern streets. After the invasion of 869 Ipswich fell under Viking rule. The earth ramparts circling the town centre were probably raised by Vikings in Ipswich around 900 to prevent its recapture by the English. They were unsuccessful. The town operated a mint under royal licence from King
Edgar Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...
in the 970s, which continued through the Norman Conquest until the time of
King John King John may refer to: Rulers * John, King of England (1166–1216) * John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237) * John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314) * John I of France (15–20 November 1316) * John II of France (1319–1364) * John I o ...
, in about 1215. The abbreviation ''Gipes'' appears on the coins. King John granted the town its first
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
in 1200, laying the medieval foundations of its modern civil government. Thenceforth Ipswich strongly maintained its jurisdiction over the Liberty of Ipswich, an administrative area extending over about 35 square kilometres centred on the town. In the next four centuries it made the most of its wealth. Five large religious houses, including two
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...
Priories (St Peter and St Paul, and Holy Trinity, both mid-12th century), and those of the
Ipswich Greyfriars Ipswich Greyfriars was a mediaeval monastic house of Friars Minor (Franciscans) founded during the 13th century in Ipswich, Suffolk. It was said conventionally to have been founded by Sir Robert Tibetot of Nettlestead, Suffolk (before 1230–1298), ...
( Franciscans, before 1298),
Ipswich Whitefriars Ipswich Whitefriars was the medieval religious house of Carmelite friars (under a prior) which formerly stood near the centre of the town of Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk, UK. It was the last of the three principal friaries to be founded i ...
( Carmelites founded 1278–79) and
Ipswich Blackfriars Ipswich Blackfriars was a medieval religious house of Friars-preachers (Dominicans) in the town of Ipswich, Suffolk, England, founded in 1263 by King Henry III and dissolved in 1538. It was the second of the three friaries established in the tow ...
( Dominicans, before 1263), stood in medieval Ipswich. The last Carmelite Prior of Ipswich was the celebrated
John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...
, author of the oldest English historical verse-drama (''Kynge Johan'', c.1538). There were also several hospitals, including the leper hospital of St Mary Magdalene, founded before 1199. During the Middle Ages the Marian Shrine of
Our Lady of Grace Our Lady of Grace is a Titles of Mary, Title of Mary. The feast day associated with this title is February 7. The title of Our Lady of Grace is venerated in many countries throughout the world under various aspects. Many parishes, churches, and sch ...
was a famous pilgrimage destination, and attracted many pilgrims including
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
and Katherine of Aragon. At the Reformation the statue was taken away to London to be burned, though some claim that it survived and is preserved at Nettuno, Italy. Around 1380,
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
satirised the merchants of Ipswich in ''
The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, ...
''. Thomas Wolsey, the future
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
, was born in Ipswich in 1473 as the son of a wealthy landowner. One of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
's closest political allies, he founded a college in the town in 1528, which was for its brief duration one of the homes of the Ipswich School. He remains one of the town's most famed figures.


Early-modern era

During the 14th to 17th centuries Ipswich was a kontor for the
Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
, the port being used for imports and exports to the
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
. In the time of Queen Mary the
Ipswich Martyrs The Ipswich Martyrs were nine people burnt at the stake for their Lollard or Protestant beliefs around 1515-1558. The executions were mainly carried out in the centre of Ipswich, Suffolk on The Cornhill, the square in front of Ipswich Town Hall. ...
were burnt at the stake on the Cornhill for their Protestant beliefs. A monument commemorating this event now stands in Christchurch Park. Ipswich was a printing, bookseller centre, and a entrêpot for continental books in the 16th century. From 1611 to 1634 Ipswich was a major centre for emigration to New England. This was encouraged by the Town Lecturer, Samuel Ward. His brother Nathaniel Ward was first minister of
Ipswich, Massachusetts Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,785 at the 2020 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island. A reside ...
, where a promontory was named 'Castle Hill' after the place of that name in north-west Ipswich, UK. Ipswich was also one of the main ports of embarkation for puritans leaving other
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
n towns and villages for the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
during the 1630s and what has become known as the Great Migration. The painter Thomas Gainsborough lived and worked in Ipswich. In 1835, Charles Dickens stayed in Ipswich and used it as a setting for scenes in his novel '' The Pickwick Papers''. The hotel where he resided first opened in 1518; it was then known as The Tavern and later became known as the Great White Horse Hotel. Dickens made the hotel famous in chapter XXII of ''The Pickwick Papers'', vividly describing the hotel's meandering corridors and stairs. In 1797 Lord and Lady Nelson moved to Ipswich, and in 1800 Lord Nelson was appointed High Steward of Ipswich.


19th and 20th centuries

In 1824 Dr George Birkbeck, with support from several local businessmen, founded one of the first Mechanics' Institutes which survives to this day as the independen
Ipswich Institute reading room and library
The building is located at 15 Tavern Street. In the mid-19th century coprolite (fossilised animal dung) was discovered; the material was mined and then dissolved in
acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
, the resulting mixture forming the basis of Fisons fertiliser business. The Tolly Cobbold brewery, built in the 18th century and rebuilt in 1894–96, is one of the finest
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
in the UK. There was a Cobbold brewery in the town from 1746 until 2002 when Ridley's Breweries took Tolly Cobbold over. Felix Thornley Cobbold presented Christchurch Mansion to the town in 1896. Smaller breweries include St Jude's Brewery, situated in an 18th-century
coach-house A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack. In Great Britain the farm building was called a cart shed. These typically were open fr ...
near the town centre. Ipswich was subject to bombing by German Zeppelins during World War I but the greatest damage by far occurred during the German bombing raids of World War II. The area in and around the docks were especially devastated. Eighty civilians died by enemy action in the Ipswich county borough area during the latter war. The last bombs to fall on Ipswich landed on Seymour Road at 2a.m. on 2 March 1945, killing 9 people and destroying 6 houses. The Willis Building is a glass-clad building owned by Willis. Designed by Norman Foster, the building dates from 1974, when it was known as the Willis Faber & Dumas building. It became the youngest grade I listed building in Britain in 1991, being at the time one of only two listed buildings to be less than 30 years old. In September 1993, Ipswich and
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
, Nord Pas-de-Calais, France, became twin towns, and a square in the new Buttermarket development was named Arras Square to mark the relationship. Ipswich formerly had a municipal airport to the south-east of the town, which was opened in 1929 by the Ipswich Corporation. The airport was controversially closed in 1996. The site was redeveloped for housing as the Ravenswood estate.


21st century

Ipswich has experienced a building boom in the early part of the 21st century. Construction has mainly concentrated around the former industrial dock which is now known as the Ipswich Waterfront. Regeneration to the area has made it a hub of culture in Ipswich, the area boasts fine dining restaurants, a boutique hotel, and the new regional university, the
University of Suffolk The University of Suffolk is a public university situated in Suffolk and Norfolk, England. The modern university was established in 2007 as University Campus Suffolk (UCS), the institution was founded as a unique collaboration between the Univer ...
. The new high rise buildings of the Regatta Quay development has topped the list of the tallest buildings in Ipswich. The mixed-use high rise building, the Cranfield Mill, is currently the tallest building in East Anglia. Ipswich has made several unsuccessful bids for city status. The town does not have a cathedral, so the
Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Martin Seeley. The Bishop's residence is the Bishop's House, Ipswich ...
is based at
Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
, the former
county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
of
West Suffolk West Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * West Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * West Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral dist ...
.


Localities

The waterfront is now devoted primarily to leisure use and includes extensive recent development of residential apartment blocks and a university campus. Businesses operated from the dock include luxury boats and a timber merchant. Other industries have been established to the south of the wet dock. The area was flooded in 2013 during a tidal surge. In February 2019 a flood gate, which protects the "New Cut", was unveiled. The flood barrier, similar in design to the Thames Barrier, cost £67m. The
Ipswich Village Development The Ipswich Village Development is a 125-acre area, situated around Portman Road stadium, Ipswich England. The main road of the development is Russell Road which was built to House TXU Corporation and bring the corporation under one roof however ...
, begun in 2002 around Russell Road, is home to
Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. History Establ ...
and Ipswich Borough Council.
Holywells Ward, Ipswich Holywells Ward is a ward in the South East Area of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It returns three councillors to Ipswich Borough Council. It is designated Middle Layer Super Output Area Ipswich 011 by the Office of National Statistics. It is compo ...
is the area around
Holywells Park Holywells Park is a public park in Ipswich, England situated between Nacton Road and Cliff Lane, near to the Ipswich Waterfront. History Tools from the stone age have been found on the site, as well as bronze age axes and Roman coins. In the ...
, a 67-acre (27 ha) public park situated near the docks, and the subject of a painting by Thomas Gainsborough. Alexandra Park is the nearest park to the waterfront's northern quay, and situated on Back Hamlet, adjacent to
University of Suffolk The University of Suffolk is a public university situated in Suffolk and Norfolk, England. The modern university was established in 2007 as University Campus Suffolk (UCS), the institution was founded as a unique collaboration between the Univer ...
. Localities outside the town centre include
Bixley Farm Bixley is a former civil parish now in the parish of Caistor St Edmund and Bixley, in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. According to the 2001 census and 2011 census it contained 60 households and a population of 144. It covered ...
, Broke Hall, California, Castle Hill, Chantry, The Dales, Gainsborough, Greenwich,
Maidenhall The Maidenhall Estate is a council estate in Ipswich, in the Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Or ...
, Pinewood, Priory Heath, Racecourse, Ravenswood (built on a former airfield), Rose Hill, Rushmere, Springvale, St Margarets,
Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...
,
Warren Heath Purdis Farm is a civil parish, in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the eastern edge of Ipswich and includes areas of suburban housing and industrial development along the A1156, ...
, Westbourne, Whitehouse and Whitton. To the east of the town is Trinity Park near Bucklesham the home of the annual
Suffolk Show The Suffolk Show is an annual show that takes place in Trinity Park on the eastern edge of Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away f ...
, a typical county show. The 'Trinity' is the name given to the three animals native to the county of Suffolk, namely Red Poll cattle, the powerful Suffolk Punch horse and the black-faced
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
sheep.


Culture

Ipswich is home to many artists and has a number of galleries, the most prominent of which are at Christchurch Mansion, the Town Hall, in
Ancient House The Ancient House, also known as Sparrowe's House, is a Grade I listed building dating from the 15th century located in the Buttermarket area of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. In 1980 the building was acquired by Ipswich Borough Council. The buildi ...
and the Artists' Gallery in Electric House. The visual arts are further supported with many sculptures at easily accessible sites. The Borough Council promotes the creation of new public works of art and has been known to make this a condition of planning permission. The town has three museums: Ipswich Museum, the
Ipswich Transport Museum The Ipswich Transport Museum is a museum in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, devoted principally to the history of transport and engineering objects made or used in its local area. The museum collection was started by the Ipswich Transport Preservat ...
and Christchurch Mansion. The New Wolsey Theatre is a 400-seat theatre situated on Civic Drive. Although the Wolsey Theatre was built in 1979, The New Wolsey Company took on the management and running of the Wolsey Theatre in 2000, opening its first production in February 2001. DanceEast, which has the primary aim of advocating innovation and development of dance in the East of England is now resident in their new premises as part of the waterfront development. They are building new premises as part of the waterfront development. These are the first custom built dance facilities in the east of England at a cost of around £8 million. Spill Festival of Performance was launched in Ipswich in 2007 and alternates between London and Ipswich yearly. In 2018,
Clarion Call Clarion may refer to: Music * Clarion (instrument), a type of trumpet used in the Middle Ages * The register of a clarinet that ranges from B4 to C6 * A trumpet organ stop that usually plays an octave above unison pitch * "Clarion" (song), a 2 ...
is the signature installation in the Festival Installed at the historic town centre and waterfront in Ipswich,
Clarion Call Clarion may refer to: Music * Clarion (instrument), a type of trumpet used in the Middle Ages * The register of a clarinet that ranges from B4 to C6 * A trumpet organ stop that usually plays an octave above unison pitch * "Clarion" (song), a 2 ...
is a sonic intervention calls out to the setting sun in daily incantations, its voices reflecting contemporary Britain while exploring the local history of the World War I, using audio technology originally employed in war and emergencies, and the voices and songs of women and girls, to create a soundscape of immense scale. Eastern Angles Theatre Company is based at the Sir John Mills Theatre in Ipswich, named after the famous actor who lived in Felixstowe as a child. In 2012 it celebrated its 30th anniversary. The group engages in rural tours and seasonal performances. The Ipswich Arts Festival, known as 'Ip-art' has been the town's annual summer arts festival since 2003 and seen a developing and varied programme of events from visual arts, performing arts, literature, film and music, notably a free music day in Christchurch Park. The Ipswich Jazz Festival is a jazz music and arts festival started in 2015 in partnership with the Ipswich Arts Festival and mixes established jazz talent, rising stars and regional players. Ipswich had a notable punk scene and influential grindcore band Extreme Noise Terror, formed in the town in 1985. It also features art and photography exhibitions, film screenings and workshops held in venues across the town. Norwich remains the regional centre for TV broadcasting, but both BBC East and Anglia TV have presenters and offices in Ipswich. The town has five local radio stations, BBC Radio Suffolk covering the entire county, where the
East Anglian Accent East Anglian English is a dialect of English spoken in East Anglia, primarily in or before the mid-20th century. East Anglian English has had a very considerable input into modern Estuary English, which has largely replaced it. However, it has r ...
can be heard on its many phone-ins, the commercial station Heart East which was founded in 1975 as Radio Orwell covering the A14 corridor in Suffolk, and
Ipswich 102 Nation Radio Suffolk is an Independent Local radio station owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting. It broadcasts from Ipswich in Suffolk. As of December 2022, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 27,000, according to RAJAR. Histo ...
who took over the FM frequency in 2018, until 2020 when it rebranded as Greatest Hits Radio Ipswich & Suffolk. Then in September 2022, the station was rebranded again as
Nation Radio Suffolk Nation Radio Suffolk is an Independent Local radio station owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting. It broadcasts from Ipswich in Suffolk. As of December 2022, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 27,000, according to RAJAR. Histo ...
where it has one local show on weekday afternoons 1pm-4pm, hosted by Rob Chandler (who hosted the local afternoon show prior to the rebrand). The younger audience is catered for with Suffolk-based Kiss 105-108.
Ipswich Community Radio Ipswich Community Radio (ICR FM) is a community radio station in Ipswich, Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Se ...
was launched in 2007. The town's daily newspaper is the ''
Ipswich Star The ''Ipswich Star'' (formerly ''Evening Star'') is a daily evening local newspaper based in Ipswich, UK published by Archant. The newspaper started publication on 17 February 1885 and is published Monday to Friday. History The newspaper was kno ...
'' a sister title to the county's daily newspaper the '' East Anglian Daily Times''.


Buildings

In addition to the Christchurch Mansion and Ancient House, Ipswich in the 21st century has some important cultural buildings including the New Wolsey Theatre and the Regent Theatre—the largest theatre venue in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
where, in the 1960s, the Beatles performed when it was still known as the Gaumont. There are several medieval Ipswich churches but the grandest is
St. Mary-le-Tower St Mary-le-Tower is the civic church of Ipswich and a Grade II* listed building. It was in the churchyard of St Mary that the town charter of Ipswich was written in 1200. History Although medieval, the church mostly dates from 1860 to 1870, wh ...
, rebuilt by the Victorians. Holy Trinity Church by the waterfront is one of the few churches in the country which was built during the reign of William IV and whilst the outside looks plain, the interior is quite spectacular. The world's oldest circle of church bells is housed in St Lawrence Church. The
Ancient House The Ancient House, also known as Sparrowe's House, is a Grade I listed building dating from the 15th century located in the Buttermarket area of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. In 1980 the building was acquired by Ipswich Borough Council. The buildi ...
in the
Buttermarket The Buttermarket Centre is a four-level, £65 million shopping centre located in the centre of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The centre was opened on 1 October 1992, comprising over four levels. There is also a 430-space underground car park covering ...
is an example of a merchant house which features tudor pargeting and the
Ipswich window An Ipswich window is a variety of oriel window in which the window juts out from the main wall on an upper floor without reaching down to the ground floor. However, its distinguishing feature which marks it as different from a Venetian window is in ...
. The former
East Suffolk County Hall East Suffolk County Hall is a historic building located in St Helen's Street in Ipswich. The building, which was the headquarters of East Suffolk County Council until 1974 and then of Suffolk County Council until 2004, is a Grade II listed buil ...
is just east of the centre of Ipswich. It is listed as a building at risk by the Victorian Society. The Town Hall remains in use as an arts centre and events venue; it dates from 1866 (architects: Bellamy & Hardy of Lincoln). The 18th Century Grade II listed Old Post Office, which was built in 1881, has been renovated and is now home to the Botanist bar. Modern buildings include
Endeavour House Endeavour House is a municipal building in Russell Road in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It is the meeting place and offices of Suffolk County Council. The Babergh District Council and Mid Suffolk District Council also use the building for the ...
(headquarters of
Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. History Establ ...
and formerly home of the
TXU Corporation TXU Energy is an American retail electricity provider headquartered in Irving, Texas, serving residential and business customers in deregulated regions of Texas since the deregulation of the Texas electricity market in 2002. A subsidiary of Vist ...
),
Grafton House Grafton House (known as Ipswich Borough Council HQ) is the headquarters for Ipswich Borough Council and Smartest Energy. Located on Russell Road (Ipswich) opposite Endeavour House, Grafton House is a 6-storey building and was designed by Consarc ...
(home of Ipswich Borough Council) and
Ipswich Crown Court Ipswich Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Russell Road, Ipswich, England. It was completed in 2004. History Until the early 21st century, crown court hearings were held in the Civic Centre complex in Crown ...
, all located on Russell Road in the area known as the
Ipswich Village Development The Ipswich Village Development is a 125-acre area, situated around Portman Road stadium, Ipswich England. The main road of the development is Russell Road which was built to House TXU Corporation and bring the corporation under one roof however ...
, which includes Portman Road stadium. The stadium has hosted England under-21, under-23, and international
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
matches, as well as rugby union and hockey matches. In the waterfront area The Mill is the
tallest building This list of tallest buildings includes skyscrapers with continuously occupiable floors and a height of at least . Nonbuilding structure, Non-building structures, such as towers, are not included in this list (for these, see ''List of tallest ...
in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
, reaching 23 storeys. On the north-west side of Ipswich lies Broomhill Pool, a Grade II listed Olympic-sized lido which opened in 1938 and closed in 2002, since which time a campaign to see it restored and re-opened has been run by the Broomhill Pool Trust. On the southern side of Ipswich is historic Belstead Lodge, now the
Belstead Brook Hotel The Belstead Brook Hotel in Ipswich, Suffolk is a building of historical significance. It was originally a 16th-century hunting lodge but was used later as a family residence. The property was then converted to a hotel which now provides accommod ...
.


Governance

Ipswich is governed locally by a two-tier council system. Ipswich Borough Council fulfils district council functions such as refuse collection, housing and planning and
Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. History Establ ...
provides the county council services such as transport, education and social services. The town is covered by two parliamentary constituencies: Ipswich, which is represented by Conservative MP Tom Hunt and covers about 75% of the town, and Central Suffolk & North Ipswich, which covers the remaining 25% and is represented by Conservative MP Dan Poulter. In April 2006 the borough council initiated public discussions about the idea of turning the borough into a unitary authority; Ipswich had constituted a county borough from 1889 to 1974, independent of the administrative county of
East Suffolk East Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * East Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * East Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * East Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral dist ...
, and this status was not restored by the Banham/Cooksey Commission in the 1990s. Ipswich, Norwich,
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
and Oxford united to campaign for unitary authority status for the four towns, hoping to use the window of opportunity presented by the October 2006 Local Government White Paper. In March 2007, it was announced that Ipswich was one of 16 shortlisted councils and on 25 July 2007, the secretary of state announced that she was minded to implement the unitary proposal for Ipswich, but that there were 'a number of risks relating to the financial case set out in the proposal', on which she invited Ipswich to undertake further work before a final decision was taken. Early in December plans were thrown into doubt as the government announced that it had "delayed" the unitary bids for Ipswich and Exeter. In July 2008 the Boundary Committee announced its preferred option was for a unitary authority covering Ipswich and the south eastern corner of Suffolk, including Felixstowe.


Industry

Being the county town of agricultural Suffolk, industry around Ipswich has had a strong farming bias with Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Ltd, one of the most famous agricultural manufacturers, located in the town. It is notable that the world's first commercial motorised lawnmower was built by Ransomes in 1902. Ransomes & Rapier was a major British manufacturer of railway equipment and later cranes, from 1869 to 1987. There was a
sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...
factory at Ipswich for many years; it was closed in 2001 as part of a rationalisation by British Sugar. This agricultural link is preserved in the local football club's nickname "The Tractor Boys". Phillips & Piper Ltd on Old Foundry Road employed many women who sewed equestrian and hunt jackets for Harrods, Pytchley, and other labels for 130 years, finally closing down in June 1982. The British Telecom Research Laboratories were located to the east of the town in 1975 at Martlesham Heath; it is now a science park called Adastral Park. The area was originally
RAF Martlesham Heath Royal Air Force Martlesham Heath or more simply RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was active between 1917 and 1963, and played an important role in the development of ...
, a World War II airfield. Part of the old airfield is now the site of
Suffolk Constabulary Suffolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Suffolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 761,000 in a mostly rural area of 1,466 square miles (3,796 km2), including 49 miles of coastline and ...
's police headquarters. A key employment sector is insurance, both wholesale and retail sectors. Some of the major players with a key presence in Ipswich include
Axa Axa S.A. (styled as ''AXA'' or GIG in the Middle East) is a French multinational insurance company. The head office is in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. It also provides investment management and other financial services. The Ax ...
,
Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
, Legal & General, LV and Willis Towers Watson. Access to a skilled and experienced workforce has also led to the establishment of ancillary businesses serving these companies, including call centres dealing with sales and claims. Ipswich is one of the Haven ports and is still a working port, handling several million tonnes of cargo each year. Prior to decommissioning, HMS ''Grafton'' was a regular visitor to the port and has special links with the town and the county of Suffolk. HMS ''Orwell'', named after the river, is also closely linked with Ipswich.


Demography


Ethnicity


Religion


Transport


Railway

The town has two railway stations: Ipswich and Derby Road. It is situated on the
Great Eastern main line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...
from London to Norwich, the East Suffolk line to
Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...
and the Felixstowe branch line. Trains in Ipswich are run by Greater Anglia, who operate direct services to cities in the region including London, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Norwich and Peterborough. The town's railway engine shed opened in 1846 and closed in 1968. Ipswich is still a signing-on point for locomotive crews and a
stabling point In the UK, a stabling point is a place where rail locomotives are parked while awaiting their next turn of duty. A stabling point may be fitted with a fuelling point and other minor maintenance facilities. A good example of this was Newport ...
.


Buses

Bus services in Ipswich are operated by Ipswich Buses,
First Norfolk & Suffolk First Eastern Counties is a bus operator providing services in Norfolk and Suffolk in eastern England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. It has seven depots which are part of five operating areas spread out across East Anglia. The five operatin ...
, Beestons and several smaller companies. Town services mainly operate from Tower Ramparts bus station and regional services from the Ipswich Old Cattle Market bus station.


Roads

Ipswich is located close to the A12 and the A14 roads. The Orwell Bridge which carries the
A14 road A14 may refer to: * Aero A.14, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft built after World War I * Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System 14 ( ATC code A14) ''Anabolic agents for systemic use'', a subgroup of the ATC Classification Syst ...
over the River Orwell is an important bridge for the region which connects the Port of Felixstowe to the rest of the country. The bridge is occasionally closed as a result of incidents or high winds; the closure of the bridge brings Ipswich to a standstill with diverted traffic.


Air

Ipswich Airport was closed in 1996, but the town is an hour away from Stansted Airport.


Other

It is 40 minutes away from Harwich international port and is also on Sustrans's National Cycle Route 1 and
National Cycle Route 51 National Cycle Route 51 is an England, English long distance cycle route running broadly east-west connecting Colchester and the port of Harwich to Oxford via Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Bedford, Milton Keynes, Bicester, and Kidlington. ...
. The port of Felixstowe is a major container port to the east.


Sport

Ipswich's sole professional association football club is
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
, which was established in 1878 and, , plays in the third-tier
EFL League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
at the 30,300-capacity
Portman Road stadium Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internatio ...
. Elected to the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in 1938, they have a strong rivalry with Norwich City, and were the previous club of the two most successful England managers,
Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager fr ...
, who was buried in the Old Cemetery in the town on his death in 1999, and Bobby Robson. Ipswich won the First Division title in 1961–62 in their first season as a top division club during Ramsey's reign, as well as the 1978 FA Cup and the 1981 UEFA Cup under Robson. The club are also undefeated at home in all European competitions, having won 25 and drawn six of 31 matches. Ipswich is also home to several
non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
clubs, including Ipswich Wanderers and Whitton United in the
Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...
, and Achilles, Crane Sports, and Ransomes Sports among others in the
Suffolk & Ipswich League The Suffolk and Ipswich Football League is a football competition based in Suffolk, England. The league has a total of eight divisions; the Senior Division and Divisions 1–3 for first teams, three divisions (Leagues A, B and C) for reserve te ...
. The town has representation in both codes of
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
. There are two rugby union teams – Ipswich RFC, who play in London 2 North East League, and Ipswich YM RUFC – and one rugby league side –
Ipswich Rhinos The Eastern Rhinos Rugby League Football Club is a British rugby league club based in Colchester, in the county of Essex. Their first team plays in the South Premier Division of the Rugby League Conference. Eastern Rhinos A-side play in the L ...
, who play in the Rugby League Conference.
Ipswich Cardinals The Ipswich Cardinals are an American Football team from the United Kingdom based in Ipswich, Suffolk. The team plays in the National Division South East Conference of BAFANL – the second tier of the BAFA National Leagues. Formation Formed ...
are an American football team, playing in the South-East Conference of BAFACL 1; the second tier of the
BAFA Community Leagues The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) are the primary American football domestic League competition in Great Britain. The League is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate contact football within England, Scotland and Wales. ...
. The speedway team, the Ipswich Witches, have ridden at Foxhall Stadium on the outskirts of Ipswich since 1951 and have won the top-tier league title four times, the knock-out cup five times and the second-tier knock-out cup twice. The stadium is also used regularly for
Hot Rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...
, Stock Car and Banger racing events, hosting major events throughout the year on the stadium's outer tarmac oval.
Ipswich Gymnastics Centre Ipswich Gymnastics Centre in Ipswich is one of only three fully London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) accredited gymnastics facilities in the United Kingdom and was used for training sessions in the run up to the 2004 Olympic G ...
is one of only three fully
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
accredited gymnastics facilities in the UK. Ipswich Swimming, formed in 1884 as Ipswich Swimming Club, is based at the town's Crown Pools, and also uses the Fore Street swimming pool. The most successful club member is World Championship
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
list
Karen Pickering Karen Denise Pickering, MBE (born 19 December 1971) is a former freestyle swimmer from Great Britain. Swimming career She made her international senior debut in 1986. She was first selected to represent her country at the European Junior Cham ...
. Ipswich had a racecourse which ran a mix of flat and National Hunt races.


Education


Schools

State-funded secondary schools include comprehensive schools such as
Copleston High School Copleston High School is a secondary school for ages 11–18 in Ipswich, England. It is an academy, and caters for around 1,800 students, as well as between 340-370 students in the sixth form which was shared with Holywells High School until 20 ...
, St Alban's Catholic High School, Holbrook Academy, Holbrook Primary and Northgate High School and academies such as
Ipswich Academy Ipswich Academy (formerly ''Holywells High School'') is a mixed secondary school in Ipswich, Suffolk for students aged 11 to 16. Since September 2010, it has been an Academy. It has the capacity for over 1,300 students but had around 900 as o ...
and
Chantry Academy Chantry Academy (formerly Suffolk New Academy and Chantry High School) is a secondary school with academy status in the Chantry area of Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk. The school educates children aged 11 to 16 and has around 750 pu ...
. Ipswich is also home to several independent schools, including Royal Hospital School, Ipswich School (both are co-educational and members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference), Ipswich High School (has recently changed from girls only to girls and boys) and St Joseph's College (Catholic, co-educational) which hosts an international summer camp.


Further and higher education

Suffolk New College Suffolk New College (formerly Suffolk College) is a further education college in Ipswich. It provides courses for students from across south Suffolk. In 2009 it constructed a new building costing £70 million. Overview Suffolk New College is ...
is a
further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
college located in Ipswich, serving students from the town and wider area. There is also a sixth form college,
One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, which serves students from the same area. Ipswich is the location of the
University of Suffolk The University of Suffolk is a public university situated in Suffolk and Norfolk, England. The modern university was established in 2007 as University Campus Suffolk (UCS), the institution was founded as a unique collaboration between the Univer ...
,
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
's first Higher Education Institution (HEI), established in 2007. It was originally University Campus Suffolk, a collaborative venture involving the University of Essex in Colchester, the University of East Anglia in Norwich, various further education colleges and Suffolk County Council. However, the university was granted its own degree awarding powers in November 2015, and in May 2016 it was awarded university status. The university was renamed to the University of Suffolk in August 2016, prior to its former name University Campus Suffolk.


Climate

Ipswich experiences an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
, like the rest of the British Isles, with a narrow range of temperature and rainfall spread evenly throughout the year. One of the two nearest for which data is available is East Bergholt, about south west of the town centre and at a similar elevation, and similar river valley/estuary situation. The average July maximum of is the third-highest for a major settlement in the country, behind London and Colchester, illustrating the relative warmth of the area during the summer part of the year. The record maximum is , set during August 2003. Typically, 24.9 days of the year will record a maximum temperature of or above, and the warmest day of the year should reach , on average. The absolute minimum is , set in January 1963, although frosts have been recorded in all months except July, August and September. In an average year, 55.33 nights will report an air frost. The lowest temperature to be recorded in recent years was during December 2010. As with much of East Anglia, rainfall is low, averaging 569.3mm in a typical year, with 103.8 days of the year reporting over 1mm of rain. All averages refer to the period 1971–2000. The weather station at Levington is even closer than East Bergholt at from the town centre further down the river estuary on the way to Felixstowe. It has a slightly more marine climate than East Bergholt, with slightly lower highs and milder lows throughout the year in the 1981–2010 average period. It is slightly less prone to frosts, averaging 35.5 such occurrences in a calendar year. Sunshine levels at 1,707.7 hours per annum are relatively high for the British Isles, but not abnormal for southern parts of England.


People

The Tudor Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was born in the town. Sir
Samuel Mayart Sir Samuel Mayart (1587–c.1646) was an English-born judge in seventeenth-century Ireland, who also had some reputation as a political theorist.F. Elrington Ball ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Volume 1 p.332 Early ...
, the judge and political theorist, was born in Ipswich in 1585. The artist Thomas Gainsborough and the cartoonist "Giles" worked here, Horatio, Lord Nelson, became Steward of Ipswich, and Margaret Catchpole began her adventurous career here.
Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager fr ...
and Bobby Robson were both successful managers of
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
. Ipswich was the birthplace in 1741 of Sarah Trimmer, née Kirby, writer and critic of children's literature and among the first to introduce pictorial material and animals and the natural world into it. Also born in Ipswich is Sam Claflin, who appeared in '' The Hunger Games'' and ''Peaky Blinders''. Actor and director Richard Ayoade, best known for his role as Maurice Moss in ''
The IT Crowd ''The IT Crowd'' is a British sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, written and directed by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Set in the offices of the fict ...
'', was brought up in Ipswich, as was the ceramic artist
Blanche Georgiana Vulliamy Blanche Georgiana Vulliamy (1869 – 4 August 1923) was an English ceramic artist, painter, and writer. Half-Belgian, after training as a portrait artist Vulliamy worked mainly as a designer of art pottery and is best known for her work portr ...
, and the musician
Nandi Bushell Nandi Lily Bushell (; born 28 April 2010) is a South African-born British musician, singer, songwriter, and social media personality. She became known for her drumming skill by posting cover versions of popular rock songs to her YouTube and Inst ...
.
Hugh Catchpole Hugh Catchpole CBE HI (26 May 1907 – 1 February 1997) was a British educationist and philanthropist, mostly active in British India, and later India and Pakistan. He was a teacher and administrator in military colleges and schools such as Pri ...
(
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, CBE, Hilal-i-Imtiaz), a noted educationist with over 60 years of association with military schools and colleges in India and Pakistan, was born in Ipswich.


Twin towns

Ipswich is twinned with: *
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
, France, since 1994


In popular culture

* In
Serena Valentino Serena Valentino is an American comic book writer, author, and storyteller. She created the comic book series '' Gloomcookie'' and '' Nightmares & Fairy Tales''. She also authored the ''Villain'' novels published by Disney Press, which have earned ...
's Villains novel ''Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch'', Ursula appears in the town of Ipswich and proceeds to turn the citizens of the town into twisted sea creatures, reminiscent of the horror tales of author HP Lovecraft. She is stopped upon the arrival of
King Triton This article lists information of animated original characters from Disney's ''The Little Mermaid (franchise), The Little Mermaid'' franchise, covering the The Little Mermaid (1989 film), 1989 film, its The Little Mermaid (TV series), prequel , i ...
. * In the '' Dead Parrot sketch'' by
Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known ...
, the Customer was sent to Bolton for a replacement but was falsely told he was in Ipswich: "C: This is Bolton, is it? O: (with a fake moustache) No, it's Ipswich."


See also

* List of college towns *
List of English districts This is a list of the districts of England, a type of country subdivision governed by a local authority, that cover all of England. Most English districts are known as non-metropolitan districts and are found in non-metropolitan counties. However ...
* List of locations in Australia with an English name *
List of tallest buildings and structures in Ipswich A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...
*
List of towns in England This is a list of towns in England. Historically, towns were any settlement with a charter, including market towns and ancient boroughs. The process of incorporation was reformed in 1835 and many more places received borough charters, whilst other ...
*
List of U.S. places named after non-U.S. places This is a list of US places named after non-US places. In the case of this list, ''place'' means any named location that's smaller than a county or equivalent: cities, towns, villages, hamlets, neighborhoods, municipalities, boroughs, townships, ci ...


References


External links

*
Ipswich Borough Council
* {{Authority control Towns in Suffolk County towns in England Non-metropolitan districts of Suffolk Port cities and towns of the North Sea River Orwell Trading posts of the Hanseatic League Unparished areas in Suffolk Populated places established in the 1st millennium Former civil parishes in Suffolk Boroughs in England