National Gazetteer, 1868

IPSWICH

"IPSWICH, comprising the parishes of St. Clement's, St. Lawrence, St. Margaret, St. Mary-at-Elms, St. Mary-at-the-Quay, St. Mary Stoke, St. Mary-at-the-Tower, St. Matthew, St. Nicholas, St. Peter, St. Stephen, and Holy Trinity, it is a market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, and the principal port in county Suffolk, being the capital of the eastern division of the county, 17 miles from Colchester, 24 from Harwich by rail, or 12 by river, and 68 from London by the Great Eastern railway, which has its station at Stoke, about 1 mile from the centre of the town. Here the East Suffolk line branches off. During the summer months steamers sail from Ipswich for London daily, calling at Harwich and Walton-on-the-Naze; besides numerous small steamers to Harwich, which are constantly plying upon the river Orwell. The town of Ipswich, which stands on a gentle acclivity about 12 miles from the sea, on the N. bank of the Orwell, here crossed by two bridges, is a place of great antiquity, having been a mint town in the Saxon times. It became a free borough in the reign of Richard II., from whom the inhabitants purchased their freedom, and was incorporated by charter of John.

It is now governed by a mayor, 10 aldermen, and 30 councillors, 6 being returned for each of the 5 wards into which the borough is divided. The municipal and parliamentary boundaries are co-extensive, including in 1861 8,272 inhabited houses, with a population of 37,950, against 32,914 in 1851, showing an increase of no less than 5,006 in the decennial period. It has returned two members to parliament since the 23rd of Edward I., and is the place of election for the eastern division of the county. The summer assizes for the county are held here, also quarter sessions occasionally, and county and borough petty sessions every week. It is also the head of a Poor-law Union, superintendent registry district, and new County Court, which last is held monthly. The streets of Ipswich are many of them ancient and narrow, but have recently been much improved. Among the public buildings are the townhall; the custom-house, an Italian building on the quay; the corn-exchange, capable of accommodating 1,200 persons; the post-office, recently rebuilt; the county gaol, borough gaol, court-houses for the assizes and sessions, a temperance hall, which will accommodate 500 people; a theatre; assembly rooms for balls and concerts; museum of natural history, &c., erected in 1847, and supported by a corporation rate; a public library with 8,000 volumes, occupying the ancient house in the butter-market; literary institution, held in the townhall; Church of England young men's society; young men's Christian Association; two prosperous savings-banks, a mechanics' institution, with large lecture-hall and a library of 7,000 volumes; a working men's college and club; cavalry barracks, barrack and depot for the East Suffolk militia; besides a bathing-house, arboretum, public walks and gardens, and a horticultural society, which holds three grand fêtes during the season. The manufactures of the town are prosperous, including ship-building yards, a silk factory, flax-mills, breweries, tanneries, malting-houses, rope yards, lime and cement works, stay-making, patent artificial stone manufactory, and the extensive "Orwell Works," for the manufacture of agricultural implements and machinery. The coasting and foreign trade is also very considerable, consisting chiefly in the export of corn, malt, butter, cattle, and the various manufactures of the town, and the import of colonial produce, coal, iron, and timber. Vessels drawing 15 feet water can now ascend the Orwell and float in the wetdock, which was completed in 1842, and lies to the E. of the bridge. Four weekly newspapers are published in the town-the Suffolk Chronicle, Ipswich Journal, Ipswich Express, and East Suffolk Mercury. The borough includes 14 parishes, comprising the 12 town parishes enumerated below, and the parishes of Whitton and Westerfield, which, though separate villages, are comprised within the liberties-viz: St. Clement's, a rectory with the rectory of St. Helen annexed, in the dioc, of Norwich, value £326; St. Lawrence, a perpetual curacy value £175, in the patronage of the parishioners; St. Margaret, a perpetual curacy, value £300, in the patronage of Simeon's Trustees, with St. John's chapel-of-ease; St. Mary-at-Elms, a perpetual curacy, value £80, in the patronage of the parishioners; St. Mary-at-the-Quay, a perpetual curacy, value £103, in the patronage of the parishioners; St. Mary Stoke, a rectory, value £337, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Ely; St. Mary-at-the-Tower, a perpetual curacy, ml. £103, in the patronage of the parishioners; St. Matthew, a rectory, value £249, in the patronage of the lord chancellor; St. Nicholas, a perpetual curacy, value £160, in the patronage of the parishioners; St. Peter, a perpetual curacy, value £138, in the patronage of Simeon's Trustees; St. Stephen, a rectory, value 1150; Holy Trinity, a perpetual curacy, value £160, in the patronage of three trustees. The mother church of Ipswich is St. Mary-le-Tower, built in the 14th century. It has a peal of ten bells, and is attended by the judges and the mayor and corporation. Holy Trinity was erected and endowed by the late rector, at a cost of £15,000, in 1835, as a chapel-of-ease to St. Clement's. There are five Baptist chapels, two Independent, three Wesleyan, and one each for Unitarians, Society of Friends, Primitive Methodists, and Swedenborgians, also a Jews' synagogue. The Intermural Burial Act was applied to Ipswich in 1855, when the graveyards were all closed, and a well-laid-out cemetery formed at a short, distance from the town. Foremost of the charitable institutions is the East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital, founded in 1836, which receives about 40 in-door patients, and has an average of 200 outdoor patients: there are also several almshouses, a shipwrecked seamen's society, and other charitable' institutions and clubs. The free grammar school, which is held in the spacious premises erected in 1847, bears a high reputation for its course of studies. The industrial training school and probationary home for penitent orphan females was founded in 1857, and is supported by voluntary contribution. There are also National and denominational schools in the several parishes, and many private schools in the town. General markets are held on Tuesday and Saturday, and a corn and cattle market on Tuesday. Fairs are held on the first Tuesday in May and two following days for live stock and pedlery, and one at Handford Hall on the 22nd August and two following days for lambs."

From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)