The Town of Ipswich offers some of England’s most beautiful countryside and a wide range of restaurants and accommodations for visiting travelers. Its new Waterfront area is lined with beautiful parks and leisurely walks and a variety of pubs and cafes.

Dating from the 15th Century, the Ancient House on Buttermarket displays a fine example of pargeting (a decorative plastering applied to building walls). Four upper-level bay windows show scenes from the world’s four continents (done before the discovery of Australia). The building façade also has beautiful wood carvings.

The Port of Ipswich’s Christchurch Mansion is a wonderful Tudor home surrounded by a 280 thousand square meter park with rolling lawns, wonderful old trees, and a duck pond. The house contains many works by Gainsborough and Constable, landscapes of East Anglia, and displays of children’s toys and dollhouses from the Victorian era. Many rooms are preserved as residents would have found them, including original clothing. Ipswich Museum, which is the original location of this two-building attraction, is registered as a museum of history, culture, and natural heritage and houses exhibits focused on natural history.

The Port of Ipswich’s Cornhill has been a cultural center for markets, meetings, fairs, and ceremonies since Anglo-Saxon times. This is the location where the Ipswich Martyrs met their fiery end in the mid-16th Century and where Widow Lackland was burned as a witch in 1644. Cornhill is surrounded by the Town Hall, Old Post Office, and two wonderful old Victorian buildings.

Opened in 1842, the Wet Dock combines the commercial port and maritime architecture with two marinas and a dining and drinking walkway. The “Wet Dock Maritime Trail” takes you past old warehouses, quays, merchant houses, and inns.

If you are in the Port of Ipswich on the first Thursday of each month, you may want to join the Ipswich Ghost Tour to learn about the town’s history and folklore and thrill to stores of the supernatural as you stroll the town’s historic streets and visit a few haunted pubs.

The 16th Century Great White Horse Hotel has welcomed many famous visitors, including King George II, France’s King Louis XVIII, Lord Nelson, and Charles Dickens. This timber-framed coach inn retains the original courtyard.

Visitors will not want to miss one of the two river cruises that explore the estuary and historic site along the river. You can find detailed information on the many sights and activities available at the Port of Ipswich’s tourism website.

Review and History    Port Commerce    Cruising and Travel    Satellite Map    Contact Information