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Historic Towns & Picturesque Villages

Beamish, County Durham: Tram

Beamish

in the county of County Durham

Bodmin Moor overlooking Plymouth

Bodmin

in the county of Cornwall

Pictures of Ipswich

in the county of Suffolk

About Ipswich

This is a town that can trace its history back to the Stone-Age, it has been a successive settlement throughout the ages and has been populated by settlers from the Iron-Age, Roman period and by Anglo-Saxons.

Its Royal Charter was granted by King John in the year 1200, and the town is proud of its long maritime traditions covering centuries of trading, particularly in Suffolk cloth which was despatched to all parts of Europe from its port on the estuary of the River Orwell.

Ipswich is fortunate in its rich collection of historic buildings, one of the most important is the ancient house in the Butter Market - a 15th-century building extravagantly decorated with ornate plasterwork and a centrepiece formed by the coat of arms of King Charles II.

Christchurch Mansion is an amazing red brick Tudor country house built on the site of where an Augustinian priory once stood. This was disbanded during the reign of Henry VIII and was later purchased by the Withypoll family who built the house we see today. Later, during the 18th-century the house became the property of a London merchant of Huguenot descent. At this time the house was added to, features of the extension included a state bedroom with ornate plasterwork. In 1892 Felix Cobold bought the property and gave it to Ipswich to be opened as a museum. Today visitors can see rich and varied collections including paintings by noted Suffolk artists Constable, Gainsborough and Munnings. Also on show is an excellent collection of fine furniture, porcelain made locally in Lowestoft from 1757 - 1799, and Tudor and Stuart portraits of early Suffolk aristocracy.

The town is famous as the birthplace of Cardinal Wolsey who is thought to have been born in Silent Street in around 1475. In 1528 he founded a college here, but this was abandoned when he fell from grace. All that is preserved of the college buildings is the red brick gateway in College Street.

At the heart of Ipswich is Christchurch Park, this green and pleasant place has been open to generations of towns folk and visitors since the 18th-century. It now provides a delightful venue for open air concerts and fairs, it also has a beautiful arboreta, a bird garden and children's play area. St. Margaret's Church lies to the edge of the park bordering Sloane Street and Bolton Lane, this shows parts of its 13th-century origins and restoration work from the 17th-century. With its ancient windows and many historic treasures this is a church well worth seeing.

Today, with smart shopping centres, excellent leisure and entertainment facilities, Ipswich has become a centre for business and commerce offering all that is best for modern day living while destroying nothing of its strong links with the past. It therefore makes an excellent place in which to tarry and enjoy all this fine town has to offer or an ideal centre for exploring the rivers Orwell, Deben and Stour.

Recommended towns & villages near Ipswich

St Mary's Chuch, East Bergholt, Suffolk

East Bergholt (19 Pictures) in the county of Suffolk

(7.9 miles, 12.7 km, direction SW of Ipswich)

This enchanting village gained lasting fame as Constable's birth place. It also has a very unusual medieval bell cage...

A Wide angle view of the River Stour at Mistley, Essex, where there are usually hundreds of Swans.

Mistley (19 Pictures) in the county of Essex

(8.3 miles, 13.4 km, direction S of Ipswich)

Mistley lies on the south bank of the River Stour not far from Manningtree, to which it is joined via a tree-lined walk along the river which is oddly called The Walls...

Railway Station at Manningtree, Essex, at start of 'Constable Country Walk'

Manningtree (19 Pictures) a Historic Market Town in the county of Essex

(8.6 miles, 13.8 km, direction SW of Ipswich)

The town shows fine examples of weavers cottages and walks through the town reveal fine Georgian facades behind which are Tudor and Elizabethan houses...

Flatford

Flatford (54 Pictures) in the county of Suffolk

(9.1 miles, 14.6 km, direction SW of Ipswich)

On arrival in Flatford there is little to prepare you for its overwhelming beauty, but you should not be surprised, for this after all is Constable Country, an area made famous by the great landscape painter and which features in so many of his pictures...

High Street, Dedham

Dedham (34 Pictures) a Picturesque Village in the county of Essex

(9.5 miles, 15.3 km, direction SW of Ipswich)

There are two things that immediately strike you about this enchanting village, the first is the opulence of the beautiful 15th-century church, and the second is the fascinating view of the River Stour, which, like the church, has featured in Constable paintings...

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Nearby attractions..

Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, Suffolk

Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich (2 Pictures)

(0.8 miles, 1.2 km)

This stunning red brick Elizabethan house was built in 1548 for a wealthy merchant with cultural leanings, therefore it is.....

Sutton Hoo Exhibition

Sutton Hoo (25 Pictures)

(8.1 miles, 13.0 km, direction E)

Sutton Hoo can be found amongst the marshy creeks and reedy rivers of Suffolk. It is perhaps most famous as the setting of one.....

Willie Lott's Cottage, Flatford Mill, Suffolk

Flatford Mill (52 Pictures)

(8.7 miles, 14.0 km, direction SW)

Standing on the River Stour beneath the wonderful open Suffolk sky, Flatford Mill, one of the 18th century water-mills owned by.....

Dedham Art and Craft Centre

Dedham Art and Craft Centre (1 Pictures)

(9.3 miles, 15.0 km, direction SW)

The Dedham Art & Craft Centre is situated in the heart of Constable Country, on the North Essex/Suffolk border. In this.....

A picture of Landguard Fort, Felixstowe

Landguard Fort, Felixstowe (15 Pictures)

(10.9 miles, 17.5 km, direction SE)

Landguard Fort lies off the southern end of Felixstowe. The first fort was built here by Henry VIII in the 1540's to guard the.....

Beth Chatto Gardens, May 2001

Beth Chatto Gardens (22 Pictures)

(14.3 miles, 23.0 km, direction SW)

..

Framlingham Castle

Framlingham Castle (10 Pictures)

(14.6 miles, 23.4 km, direction NE)

On reaching the curve of Market Hill a quaint, colourful sign proclaims to the visitor that you have arrived in the pretty market.....


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