Ipswich Town Hall is a municipal building 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 ...

, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The first town hall had its origins in a chapel dedicated to St Mildrith which had been converted into a civic building by the insertion of an upper floor in the 18th century. This building together with an adjacent building standing to the east of it were remodelled with a new facade in the Paladian style by Benjamin Catt in 1818. The internal alterations to consolidate these two buildings properly into one civic space were not completed until 1842. The foundation stone for the current building was laid by the mayor,

Ebenezer Goddard Ebenezer Goddard (10 March 1816, Ipswich–19 October 1882, Ipswich) was an Ipswich engineer, businessman and politician. He worked for Ipswich Gas Company for many years and was Mayor of Ipswich three times: 1857-1858, 1865-1866 and 1872-1873. ...

, on 18 April 1866. The new building was designed by the Lincoln firm of architects

Bellamy and Hardy Bellamy and Hardy was an architectural practice in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England, that specialised particularly in the design of public buildings and Nonconformist (Protestantism), non-conformist chapels. Pearson Bellamy had established his ...

in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

. It was constructed on the site of the old town hall at a cost of £16,000 and was opened by

John Patteson Cobbold John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, the then mayor, in 1868. An Ipswich Society blue plaque was installed on the Town Hall in 2016 commemorating

Mary Whitmore Mary Whitmore (née Fletcher) (17 September 1884 – 19 July 1974) was a social activist who was the first woman to be Mayor of Ipswich, in 1946–47. Early life Whitmore was born Mary Fletcher in 1884 in Whitton, Suffolk, to Isaac Fletcher ...

, the first woman to be Mayor of Ipswich, in 1946.

Design

The building is built in a grand Italianate style with the figure heads of

King Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

, Cardinal

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the ...

and King John decorating the front wall. King Richard I promised the town its first charter but died before it was granted, King John granted the town's charter and Cardinal Wolsey was born and educated in

. Sitting above the figure heads are four statues representing Commerce, Agriculture, Law and Order and Justice. Placed on the smaller tower sits an open stone work lantern. The tower houses an illuminated four-dial turret striking clock designed by Messrs. Dent of 61 Strand who were the makers of the Big Ben.

John Warner & Sons John Warner and Sons was a metalworks and bellfoundry based in various locations in the UK, established in 1739 and dissolved in 1949. Previous businesses A company was founded by Jacob Warner, a Quaker, in 1739 and originally produced water pu ...

of the Crescent Foundry London, cast the bell that sits in the tower that was made in 1867. When it opened the town hall included a Council Chamber, a Quarter Sessions Court, a library, committee and retiring rooms, Grand and Petty Jury Rooms and a room for the Magistrates' business. The basement included a police station with seven cells and a parade area, a kitchen, offices and space for the Corporation fire engine and hose to be kept. It was subsequently altered to include two art galleries. Works of art contained in the building include a bust of the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

by Peter Turnerelli and a bust, in similar style, of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey by an unknown artist.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1868 Grade II listed buildings in Ipswich City and town halls in Suffolk Buildings and structures in Suffolk Government buildings with domes