Ipswich
.
Felix Thornley Cobbold presented
Christchurch Mansion to the town in
1896.
Ipswich Centre contains the all-glass building owned by
Willis Corroon, properly called the
Willis Building but still often called the "Willis-Faber building" by locals, as the company Willis Corroon themselves used to be called Willis Faber. Designed by
Norman Foster, the building dates from
1974. It became the youngest Grade I
listed building in Britain in
1991, ironically standing right next to one of the oldest extant building in Ipswich, the Unitarian Meeting House, which is also Grade I listed.
Ipswich is the last place in the area to have an independent bus company which has the unusual practice of naming its buses.
Ipswich has undergone an extensive
gentrification programme in recent years, principally centred around the waterfront. Though this has turned a derelict dock area into an emerging residential and commercial centre, it is being completed at the expense of much of the town's industrial and maritime heritage and in spite of efforts made by a local group,
The Ipswich Society. Much of this development is residential and is marketed at high net-worth individuals in the
DINKY demographic. As such, some have considered it incompatible with Ipswich's existing
socioeconomic mix. It could therefore be considered to be aimed at encouraging
economic migration to the town, particularly as a commutable
satellite town of
London.
Ipswich is set to be the main hub for
University Campus Suffolk, which will give
Suffolk its first
university.
Like many other similar towns, Ipswich is home to many artists, with galleries at
Christchurch Mansion, the Town Hall, a gallery in the
Ancient House and the
Artists Gallery in Electric House being the more prominent. The visual arts are further supported with many sites of sculpture with easy accessibility a list of which is on
The Wolsey Gallery's website. The Borough Council promotes creation of new public works of art and has been known to make this a condition of planning permission[https://online.ipswich.gov.uk/ppc/getDoc.aspx?s_Type=dec&s_File=g%3a%5c1995%5cIP_95_00148_FUL.pdf].
Performing arts are well represented with Ipswich being home to
DanceEast which has the primary aim of advocating innovation and development of dance in the East of England[
1]. They are building new premises as part of the waterfront development, these will be the first custom built dance facilities in the East of England at a cost of around £8million.
Since
1991, there has been an annual
arts festival called
Ip-Art which brings together many events across art disciplines and different venues, notably a free music day in
Christchurch Park, which in
2006 had over 50 different acts performing over 7 stages.
Industry around Ipswich has had a strong agricultural bias with
Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Ltd, one of the most famous agricultural manufacturers, located in the town. There was a
sugar beet factory at Ipswich for many years; it was closed in 2001 as part of a rationalisation by
British Sugar.
Ipswich is very proud of its
football team,
Ipswich Town Football Club, who were established in 1878 and play at the 30,000 capacity Portman Road Stadium. They have a strong rivalry with
Norwich City F.C.. Ipswich Town was home to two successful England managers, Sir
Bobby Robson and Sir
Alf Ramsey. They won the
FA Cup in 1978 and the
UEFA Cup in 1981 under Robson and currently play in English football's second-tier league, the Football Championship.
Ipswich also has a very successful
Speedway team, the
Ipswich Witches, who have ridden at their
Foxhall Stadium home, on the outskirts of Ipswich, for over 50 years. Despite being one of the most successful teams in British Speedway history crowds have dwindled to around 1,500 people per race meeting.
Ipswich Information
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Ipswiki - For contributions outside the wikipedia
Content PolicyIpswich institutions
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Ipswich Borough Council*
Ipswich Town Football Club*
Evening Star (Local Newspaper)
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Ipswich Town Message BoardHistory
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Ipswich Museum*
Clifford Road Air Raid Shelter Museum, Ipswich*
Medieval town plan of Ipswich Town*
Ipswich Transport MuseumProjects and initiatives
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Waterfront Community Centre â€" Anchoring you to your Community
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ipswich.angle (Community project to promote leisure activities and community spirt in the town)
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:Ipswich Life (Growing site for Leisure and Activities)
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:Out & About (Get involved and support disabled children in Ipswich through volunteering or fundraising)
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Ipswich Arts Festival (Annual festival of Dance, Music and Art)
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Curiosity Collective Art Project: making Ipswich interesting
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IP1 Magazine: project to promote journalism and creative production skills in the town.
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List of Ipswich community centres by
easf*
Ipswich Community radio: UK's Oldest community radio station
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St. Augustines Music Festival {Annual music festival in the Ipswich Area)
Music
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The Wah homepage
