Broomhill Park is a semi-natural woodland park between Sherrington Road and Valley Road in

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 Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

, Suffolk, England. In older times it was called Broom Hill. The park contains many fine historic oaks and an abundance of Scots Pines. The park contains Broomhill Pool, a Grade II listed lido, which the Broomhill Pool Trust is campaigning to re-open.

History

For many years this was a privately owned hilltop wood on the outskirts of Ipswich called Broom Hill. In the 19th and early 20th century the land between the hill and Norwich Road was sold for housing. Broom Hill Road for example was built in 1888. In 1925 George Sherrington sold Broom Hill to

Ipswich Borough Council Ipswich Borough Council, founded in 1974 after the abolition of the County Borough of Ipswich, governs the non-metropolitan district of Ipswich in Suffolk. It is the second tier of a two-tier system, fulfilling functions such as refuse collecti ...

. A ring road around Ipswich was built in 1926 and Valley Road then divided the woodland in half, with a larger piece to the North of Valley Road, and a smaller piece to the South.

Football ground

The park has historical importance for

Ipswich Town Football Club 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 Town Association Football Club played their first matches from 1877 to 1883 at Broomhill. The land was owned by George Sherrington, who was a driving force in forming and administering the club in its first 20 years. George Sherrington and his brother, William, who were educated at

Ipswich School Ipswich School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 3 to 18 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. North of the town centre, Ipswich School has four parts on three adjacent sites. The Pre-Prep and Nursery ...

, both played for Ipswich Town Association FC in the 1870s and 1880s. The players used a shed at the Inkerman Pub across the road as a dressing room. In 1883 when Ipswich Town AFC moved to its ground at

Portman Road 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 internation ...

, the Broomhill ground was used by the rugby club. In 1888 ITAFC merged with Ipswich Rugby Club to form Ipswich Town Football Club.

Facilities

The park has no facilities as such, as it is just semi-natural woodland. The park is popular for walkers, dog walkers, bird and insect spotting; and for children, who can play in natural sandpits, tree roots, and lush grass. A public library called Westbourne Library, on Sherrington Road, backs onto the park. The building is believed to have been built as a decontamination unit in 1938.Westbourne Library, Ipswich

References

{{Clear Forests and woodlands of Suffolk Parks and open spaces in Ipswich Ipswich Town F.C.