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Ipswich

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For other uses, see Ipswich (disambiguation).
Borough of Ipswich
Ipswich
Shown within Suffolk
Geography
Status: Borough
Region: East of England
Admin. County: Suffolk
Area:
- Total		 Ranked 320th
39.42 km²
Admin. HQ: Ipswich
ONS code: 42UD
Demographics
Population:
- Total (2022)
- Density		 Ranked

/ km²
Ethnicity: 93.4% White
3.6% Afro-Carib
1.8% S.Asian
1.2% Other
Politics
Leadership: Leader & Cabinet
Executive:  
MPs: Michael Lord, Chris Mole
Timber framed buildings in St Nicholas Street
The Ancient House is decorated with a particularly fine example of pargeting

Ipswich (pronounced /ˈɪpswɪtʃ/) is the county town of Suffolk and a non-metropolitan district in East Anglia, England on the estuary of the River Orwell. The town overspills the borough boundaries significantly, with only 85% of Ipswich's population living within the borough at the time of the 2001 Census when it was the third-largest settlement in the United Kingdom's East of England region, and the 38th largest urban area in England.[1]; As of 2006, the town is estimated to have a population of approximately 140,000 inhabitants.

History

The town of Ipswich took shape in Anglo-Saxon times as the main centre between York and London for North Sea trade to Scandinavia and the Rhine. It served the Kingdom of East Anglia, and began developing in the time of King Raedwald, supreme ruler of the English (616-624). The famous ship-burial and treasure at Sutton Hoo nearby is probably his grave.

Before that, under the Roman empire, the area was busy as the Orwell and Gipping formed an important route inland to rural towns and settlements. A large Roman fort, part of the coast defences of Britain, stood at Felixstowe, and the largest villa in Suffolk stood at Castle Hill (north-west Ipswich).

Occupation of the region around Ipswich and the rivers had been continuous since the Stone Age, but the settlement at Ipswich itself belongs to the Roman period and after.

The seventh-century town, called 'Gippeswick', 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 the 720s a large new part of the town was laid out in the Buttermarket area. It 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 of England in the 970s, which continued right through the Norman Conquest until the time of King John, c1215, under each successive ruler. The name 'Gipeswic' appears on the coins.

The Ipswich Museum houses replicas of the Roman Mildenhall Treasure and the Sutton Hoo treasure, and a gallery devoted to the town's origins includes Saxon weapons, jewellery and other artefacts.

King John granted the town its first charter in 1200, and in the next four centuries it made most of its wealth trading Suffolk cloth with the Continent. Five large religious houses, including two Augustinian Priories, and the Greyfriars, Whitefriars and Blackfriars, stood in mediaeval Ipswich.

During the Middle Ages the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Grace was a famous pilgrimage destination, and attracted a number of royal pilgrims. At the Reformation the statue was taken away to be burned, although it is now believed to have survived and still to exist in Nettuno, Italy.

Around 1380, Geoffrey Chaucer satirised the merchants of Ipswich in the Canterbury Tales.

Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, the son of a wealthy landowner, was born in Ipswich about 1475. One of Henry VIII's closest political allies, he founded a college in the town in 1528, which is now known as Ipswich School. He remains one of the town's most famed figures.

In the time of Queen Mary the Ipswich Martyrs were burnt at the stake on the Cornhill for their Protestant beliefs. A monument commemorating this event now stands in Christchurch Park.

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 had a racecourse which ran a mix of flat and National Hunt races from 1710 to 1911.

The painters John Constable and 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 is now known as the Great White Horse Hotel. Dickens made the hotel famous in chapter XXI 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.

Modern Ipswich

The former airport has been re-developed into the new residential district of Ravenswood. However, the front of the control building was saved. It was designed by Heining and Chitty in 1938 and Grade 2 listed. The rest of the building was taken down after it was deemed unsafe to reuse.

Modern figures with Ipswich connections include the musician Nik Kershaw, the children's TV presenter Brian Cant, the punk rock band The Adicts, heavy metal band Cradle of Filth, cartoonist Carl Giles, musician Charlie Simpson from Busted and Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone.

The Tolly Cobbold brewery, built in the 19th century and rebuilt 1894–1896, is one of the finest Victorian breweries in the United Kingdom. There was a Cobbold brewery in the town from 1746 until 2002 when Ridley's Breweries took Tolly Cobbold over.[2] Felix Thornley Cobbold presented Christchurch Mansion to the town in 1896.

Former stables,[3] reflected in the glass panels of the Willis Building

The town centre contains the glass-clad building owned by Willis Limited, properly called the Willis Building but still often called the "Willis-Faber building" by locals, as the company Willis Corroon themselves used to be called Willis Faber. Designed by Norman Foster, the building dates from 1974. It became the youngest Grade I listed building in Britain in 1991.

Ipswich is the last place in the area to have an independent bus company which has the unusual practice of naming its buses.

Ipswich has undergone an extensive gentrification programme in recent years, principally centred around the waterfront. Though this has turned a derelict dock area into an emerging residential and commercial centre, it is being completed at the expense of much of the town's industrial and maritime heritage and in spite of efforts made by a local group, The Ipswich Society. Much of this development is residential and is marketed at high net-worth individuals in the DINKY demographic. As such, some have considered it incompatible with Ipswich's existing socio-economic mix. It could therefore be considered to be aimed at encouraging economic migration to the town, particularly as a commutable satellite town of London, although this would be an extreme commute for motorists, with central London being a 258 km (160 mile) round trip.

Holywells Park is a 67 acre (27 ha) public park, situated near the docks, that was painted by Thomas Gainsborough.

Ipswich is set to be the main hub for University Campus Suffolk, which will give Suffolk its first university, though it is is essentially a collaborative project between Suffolk College and two other regional universities. It is hoped that within a decade, a University of Suffolk in its own right will become established out of UCS.

'Chantry' is the name of a housing estate and park, located in Ipswich, in East Anglia within England. Its schools include Chantry High School and the Chantry Infant and Junior Schools which have merged, and been renamed 'The Oaks'.

On 13 March 2007 Ipswich was awarded the cleanest town award.[4]

Culture

Like many other similar towns, Ipswich is home to many artists, with galleries at Christchurch Mansion, the Town Hall, a gallery in the Ancient House and the Artists Gallery in Electric House being the more prominent. The visual arts are further supported with many sites of sculpture with easy accessibility. The Borough Council promotes creation of new public works of art and has been known to make this a condition of planning permission[5].

Performing arts are well represented with Ipswich being home to DanceEast which has the primary aim of advocating innovation and development of dance in the East of England[6]. They are building new premises as part of the waterfront development, these will be the first custom built dance facilities in the East of England at a cost of around £8million.

Since 1991, there has been an annual arts festival called Ip-Art which brings together many events across art disciplines and different venues, notably a free music day in Christchurch Park, which in 2006 had over 50 different acts performing over 7 stages.

Politics

Ipswich Borough Council offices, on Russell Road

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 provides services such as education and social services.

Between 1979 and September 2004 Ipswich Borough Council was under Labour control but the town is now governed by a coalition of Conservative and Liberal Democrat Councillors with Labour in opposition.

The County Council was controlled by a Labour/Liberal Democrat administration between May 1993 and May 2005 but has since reverted to Conservative control. This is despite the fact that 10 out of the 13 County Councillors representing Ipswich are Labour and only 1 is a Conservative.

In April 2006 the local borough council initiated public discussions about the idea of turning the borough into a unitary authority.[7] Ipswich had constituted a county borough from 1889 to 1974, independent of the administrative county of East Suffolk, and this status was not restored by the Banham/Cooksey Commission in the 1990s. Ipswich, Norwich, Exeter and Oxford have united to campaign for unitary authority status for the four towns.[8] Ipswich hopes to use the window of opportunity presented by the October 2006 Local Government White Paper to regain unitary status. In March 2007, it was announced that Ipswich was one of sixteen councils successful for its bid, although consultation needs to take place before a final decision can be made in July 2007[9]

The town is covered by two parliamentary constituencies – Ipswich, which covers about 75% and is represented by Labour MP Chris Mole, and Central Suffolk & North Ipswich, which covers the remaining 25% and is represented by Conservative MP Michael Lord.

Industry

Industry around Ipswich has had a strong agricultural bias with Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Ltd, one of the most famous agricultural manufacturers, located in the town. It is notable that the worlds first commercial motorised lawnmower was built by Ransomes in 1902. There was a sugar beet factory at Ipswich for many years; it was closed in 2001 as part of a rationalisation by British Sugar.

The British Telecom Research Laboratories were located to the east of the town in 1975 at Martlesham Heath. They are now a science park called Adastral Park.

Transport infrastructure

Railway viaduct over Spring Road, Ipswich

Ipswich railway station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street to Norwich. It is also the junction of railway lines to Felixstowe and Lowestoft. The station is served by 'one'. There is another railway station serving the Rose Hill area. It is called Ipswich Derby Road Railway Station and is on the line to Felixstowe.

The Ipswich trolleybus system opened on 2 September 1923 and closed on 23 August 1963.[10]

Ipswich is still a flourishing port, handling several million tonnes of cargo each year.

The town used to feature a small grass-runway airport (ICAO code: EGSE). Officially opened on 26 June 1930 by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. There were regular flights in the early days by Channel Airways to Jersey and later Suckling Airways to the Netherlands. On 31 December 1996 Ipswich Airport was delicensed, and ceased to be registered by the Civil Aviation Authority.[11] The land is now used for the Ravenswood estate.

Ipswich is served by a mature road network. Key roads include the A12, A14, A1156 and the A1214.

Sport

Ipswich has its own football team, Ipswich Town Football Club, who were established in 1878 and play at the 30,000 capacity Portman Road Stadium. They have a strong rivalry with Norwich City F.C.. Ipswich Town was home to two successful England managers, Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson. They won the League Championship in 1962 during Ramsey's reign and an FA Cup in 1978 and the UEFA Cup in 1981 under Robson. They currently play in English football's second-tier league, the Football Championship. The teams's Portman Road Stadium has a capacity of around 30,000.

Ipswich also has a very successful Speedway team, the Ipswich Witches, who have ridden at their Foxhall Stadium home, on the outskirts of Ipswich, for over 50 years. Despite being one of the most successful teams in British Speedway history, crowds have dwindled to around 1,500 people per race meeting.

Ipswich is also home to football minor-lower league, Ipswich Wanderers.

The town also has an amateur rugby league side, Ipswich Rhinos, who play in the Rugby League Conference.

Famous residents

Ipswich murders

Main article: 2006 Ipswich murder investigation

A suspected serial killer or spree killer responsible for the murders of at least five women in Ipswich gained notoriety in late 2006, as the Ipswich Murderer (or Suffolk Strangler). The five women have been identified as sex workers; their bodies were found in December 2006.[12] Suffolk Constabulary have formally linked the murders in their investigation, which is ongoing. Assistant Chief Constable Cheer of the Suffolk police advised women involved in the sex trade to keep off the streets at a press conference held on the December 11 2006.[13] Town authorities and local businesses have organised shuttle services to transport women home from work, as well as many providing rape alarms. At 7:20 am December 18, Tom Stephens (age 37) was arrested at his home in Trimley St Martin near Felixstowe, suspected of the murders. Stephens (who works at Tesco, Martlesham Heath) was interviewed by the Sunday Mirror on December 17, stating that he knew the victims and that he did not have an alibi for the time of the murders. He also stated that the bodies were found in the area in which he lives, and that he is innocent. A second suspect, Steven Gerald James Wright (age 48), who works at the Port of Felixstowe, was arrested at his house in Ipswich on December 19.[14] On December 21st, Wright was charged with the murders of Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Tania Nicol, 19, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29. He appeared in Ipswich's Magistrates' Court on 22 December 2006 and was remanded in custody until 2 January 2007 to appear in Ipswich Crown Court. Stephens was released on bail without charge, pending further inquiries.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ipswich.

Ipswich Information

Ipswich institutions


History

Projects and initiatives

References

  1. ^ List of English cities by population from Census 2001 figures
  2. ^ "Tolly Cobbold Heritage". Retrieved June 18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ http://www.geocities.com/ipswich_lettering/fredsmithandco.html
  4. ^ "Ipswich wins Clean Britain Award 2007". Evening Star. 2007-03-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Grant of Planning Permission" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-04-06.
  6. ^ "About DanceEast". Retrieved 2007-04-06.
  7. ^ Richard Atkins, David Ellesmere, Elizabeth Harsant. The case for a unitary Ipswich, (Ipswich: Ipswich Borough Council, April 2006)
  8. ^ Institute of Local Government Studies. "an independent review of the case for unitary status" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-04-06. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 22 (help)
  9. ^ "Town council unitary bid success". 2007-03-27. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  10. ^ UK Trolleybus Systems - Ipswich
  11. ^ Ipswich Airport, Ipswich Transport Museum
  12. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/suffolk/6171355.stm
  13. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1969564,00.html
  14. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/6192085.stm
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