Some Local History

Ipswich is an unusual, it is both an ancient port and a busy commercial centre in parts an interesting attractive and visibly historic town. Though it must be said Ipswich has some truly awful buildings from the sixties and seventies. However the historic parts of the town are interesting and well worth a look.

Ipswich has networks of narrow streets built along medieval lines, numerous timber frame houses and flint churches. There are a few notable buildings from the eighteenth century but many from the Victorian era. The earlier ones with marked Georgian traditions later structures these and were often fanciful with plenty of colour.

Ipswich's prosperity as a port continued through the middle ages and into the seventeenth century it was an outlet for East Anglican cloth and agricultural produce. It was also a merchant centre for other kinds of specialised trade. The port declined in the eighteenth century but recovered in the nineteenth. (see the gallery on this site for pictures and more information the docks)

The Cornhill really is the centre of Ipswich and has been for centuries the place where markets have been. Now there are many refurbished pubs with tables and chairs outside when weather permits rather Italian really, rather in keeping with the English Italianate design of the old town hall which dominates Cornhill, built in 1868 and designed by the Lincoln architect Bellamy. The Post Office built 1880 is classical in white stone and looks fine standing alongside the town Hall. Opposite is LloydsTSB bank built by a local architect TW Cotman in 1888, in the first instance to be an independent bank. A very attractive building with an interesting skyline constructed in Red brick the ground floor was altered in 1930 when a traffic way was driven through it. (See the Gallery on this site for pictures and more information on this area)

 

This area of the site will expanded over the next few weeks