Ipswich: a new map of England’s earliest town

We are pleased to announce the imminent publication of an historical map of Ipswich, which will be available from our online shop and in all good bookshops from 23 April.

Ipswich lays claim to be the earliest English town, in continuous occupation since the 8th century. It thrived as a leading international port in the middle ages, and 14 medieval churches survive. Its fortunes later fell until the building of the New Dock and the arrival of the railway in Victorian times, bringing new prosperity and leaving a legacy of industry, parks and public buildings built within its early medieval street pattern. Published in association with the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History, the Historical Map of Ipswich charts these changes over time and tells the story of the people who shaped the town.

Chair of the Historic Towns Trust, Vanessa Harding, said ’We are delighted to publish this map that shows the rise, fall and rise again of Ipswich’s fortunes, culminating in the fine Victorian town that we see today. We are particularly pleased by the generous and enthusiastic support of local heritage groups and businesses for the project.  This will enable us to deliver a number of educational and community projects around the publication of the map.  Ipswich deserves much wider appreciation for its remarkable urban heritage, and we hope that our map will be one further step towards reaching the wider audience that this remarkable town merits.’

Taking as its base a 1901 Ordnance Survey map of the town, the Historical Map of Ipswich shows on a multi-period map how Ipswich developed, and includes lost medieval buildings, cemeteries, earthworks and sites of interest as well as those that remain. A comprehensive gazetteer on the map's reverse, complete with many illustrations, explains how Ipswich grew from a trading settlement on the River Gipping into the modern county town, and introduces its historic buildings and places of interest. The map is edited by Keith Wade, an experienced archaeologist with extensive knowledge of Ipswich’s past, and draws on the inputs from a team of Ipswich historians.

The Ipswich map is number 21 in the Historic Towns Trust’s Town and City Historical Maps series.

Support the Trust by buying direct from the Historic Towns Trust’s online shop.

ISBN: 978-1-0687091-0-4

RRP: £11.99

For further information, interviews and review copies please contact:

resources@historictownstrust.uk or development@historictownstrust.uk