Local Information

Ipswich is in the heart of East Anglia and the heart of Europe. It is the regional centre for business, shopping, sport and entertainment. Ipswich is home to IP-City and is one pole of the Cambridge/Ipswich Hi-Tech Corridor. It is proud of its 800-year Royal Charter and its long maritime tradition and also possesses a magnificent heritage and fine parks. Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk and a major commercial centre in the East of England region.


Ipswich is surrounded by many towns which can be considered as architectural gems, with numerous attractive medieval buildings. Narrow streets with half timbered houses, once homes to wealthy merchants are now lined with unusual shops. In the middle ages Suffolk became rich from the wool trade. This wealth is most evident in the so called 'Wool Towns' of which Lavenham is perhaps the most famous.

A healthy cross-section of British business is at home in Ipswich. Hi-tech companies include BTexact Technologies, ntl, IP-City is home to one of Europe's fastest growing technology parks – Adastral Park , home to several companies and universities including Btexact and Brightstar. Manufacturers - Textron Turfcare, CompAir UK Ltd, Celestion International, Crane, Manganese Bronze Components Ltd provide Ipswich with a strong manufacturing base. Financial Services and Insurance - companies like Willis, AXA and Royal and Sun Alliance all have a major presence here

The ports of Ipswich and Felixstowe are key hubs for many major shipping lines.

Ipswich is also home to the Inland Revenue, Customs & Excise, the Environment Agency, Crown, County and Magistrates Courts and Suffolk County Council.

The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust employs around 3,000 people while in addition the two private hospitals in the area also provide significant employment.

Ipswich is a great place to live provision for sport and the arts is first-rate while recent central and peripheral shopping developments have attracted a growing number of visitors.

Ipswich has more than 800 acres of parkland - urban amenities that are complemented by the countryside, the heritage coast, heath land, estuaries and rivers, all within easy reach.

Both Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable were born in the valley of the river Stour. This area, just a few miles south of Ipswich, can therefore claim with justification to be the birthplace of English landscape painting.

Ipswich has more than 660 listed buildings and 12 medieval churches. The large number of historic buildings illustrates all periods of English architecture.

In addition, the Town Centre has a well-preserved historic street pattern, parts of which date back to the seventh century. A large part of the central area, the nearby Victorian housing areas and the Wet Dock area have been designated as Conservation Areas.

There are also a number of recent buildings illustrating the best in modern architecture as well as sensitive infill schemes in the Conservation Areas.

Christchurch Mansion is a fine Tudor building set in an ancient and beautiful park close to the centre of Ipswich. With historic room settings, outstanding paintings and furniture, and also the modern Wolsey Art Gallery with changing contemporary exhibitions, it is one of the most important visitor attractions in East Anglia.

Around 5,800 spaces in the town centre car parks mean parking for shopping and sightseeing could not be more convenient. Much of the town is pedestrianised, so getting around on foot is a pleasure.

A convenient Park & Ride service operates from the junction of the AI2/AI4 with connections every 10 minutes to the town centre. Ipswich is a rapidly developing regional shopping centre with most national names represented
Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Littlewoods, BHS, Alders, Woolworth, Boots, Next, Co-operative Department Store, WH Smith, Virgin Megastore and HMV.

Ipswich market, open every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, is an open-air sit