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Ipswich

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

                                 Borough of Ipswich
                                       Ipswich
                                                    Shown within Suffolk
                                                               Geography
                         Status:                                  Borough
                         Region:                          East of England
                  Admin. County:                                  Suffolk
                           Area:
                         - Total                             Ranked 320th
                                                                39.42 km²
                      Admin. HQ:                                  Ipswich
                       ONS code:                                     42UD
                                                            Demographics
                     Population:
             - Total (2005 est.)
                       - Density                   Ranked 169th
                                                                  118,200
                                                              2,998 / km²
                      Ethnicity:                   93.4% White
                                                             1.8% S.Asian
                                               3.6% Afro-Carib. Other 1.2
                                                                Politics

                                                 Ipswich Borough Council
                                              http://www.ipswich.gov.uk/
                     Leadership:                         Leader & Cabinet
                      Executive: Conservative / Labour / Liberal Democrats
                            MPs:                 Michael Lord, Chris Mole

   Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk and a non-metropolitan district
   in East Anglia, England on the estuary of the River Orwell. It has a
   population of approximately 140,000 inhabitants (est. 2006) and is the
   third-largest town in the UK's East Anglia region, and the 38th largest
   urban area in England.

History

   Ancient Ipswich was successively a Stone Age, Iron Age, Roman, and
   Anglo-Saxon settlement known as "Gippeswick".

   The area around Ipswich, or Gippeswick, was sparsely settled until the
   withdrawal of the Romans. Afterward, its position as a convenient
   harbour on the North Sea made it convenient to Saxon settlers, and it
   is claimed to be the first Anglo-Saxon town. The kingdom of East Anglia
   was for a time centered around Ipswich.

   The Ipswich Museum houses replicas of the Mildenhall Treasure and the
   Sutton Hoo treasure, as well as Saxon weapons and jewellery.

   King John granted it its first charter in 1200, and in the next four
   centuries it made most of its wealth trading Suffolk cloth with the
   Continent.

   During the Middle Ages the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Grace was a
   popular pilgrimage destination, and attracted a number of royal
   pilgrims. The statue was taken away to be burned, although it is now
   believed to have survived and still to exist in Nettuno, Italy.

   Around 1380, Geoffrey Chaucer satirised the merchants of Ipswich in the
   Canterbury Tales.

   Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, the son of a wealthy landowner, was born in
   Ipswich about 1475. One of Henry VIII's closest political allies, he
   founded a college in the town in 1528, which is now known as Ipswich
   School. He remains one of the town's most famed figures.
   Timber framed buildings in St Nicholas Street.
   Enlarge
   Timber framed buildings in St Nicholas Street.

   In 1555, the Ipswich Martyrs were burnt at the stake for their
   Protestant beliefs. A monument commemorating this event now stands near
   the scene of their Martyrdom in Christchurch Park.

   From 1611 to 1634 Ipswich was a major centre for emigration to New
   England. This was organised by the Town Lecturer, Samuel Ward. His
   brother Nathaniel Ward was first minister of Ipswich, Massachusetts.

   Ipswich had a racecourse which ran a mix of flat and National Hunt
   races from 1710 to 1911.

   The painters John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough lived and worked in
   Ipswich. In 1835, Charles Dickens stayed in Ipswich and used it as a
   setting for scenes in his novel The Pickwick Papers. The hotel where he
   resided first opened in 1518; it was then known as The Tavern and is
   now known as the Great White Horse Hotel. Dickens made the hotel famous
   in chapter XXI of The Pickwick Papers, vividly describing the hotel's
   meandering corridors and stairs.
   The Ancient House is decorated with a particularly fine example of
   pargeting
   Enlarge
   The Ancient House is decorated with a particularly fine example of
   pargeting

   In 1797 Lord and Lady Nelson moved to Ipswich, and in 1800 Lord Nelson
   was appointed High Steward of Ipswich.

Politics

   Ipswich is governed locally by a two-tier Council System. Ipswich
   Borough Council which fulfils District Council functions such as refuse
   collection, housing and planning and Suffolk County Council which
   provides services such as education and social services.

   Between 1979 and September 2004 Ipswich Borough Council was under
   Labour Control but the town is now governed by a coalition of
   Conservative and Liberal Democrat Councillors with Labour in
   opposition.

   The County Council was controlled by a Labour/Liberal Democrat
   administration between May 1993 and May 2005 but has since reverted to
   Conservative Control. This is despite the fact that 10 out of the 13
   County Councillors representing Ipswich are Labour and only 1 is a
   Conservative.

   In April 2006 the local borough council initiated public discussions
   about the idea of turning the borough into a unitary authority. Ipswich
   had constituted a county borough from 1889 to 1974, independent of the
   administrative county of East Suffolk, and this status was not restored
   by the Banham/Cooksey Commission in the 1990s. Ipswich, Norwich, Exeter
   and Oxford have united to campaign for unitary authority status for the
   four towns. Ipswich hopes to use the window of opportunity presented by
   the October 2006 Local Government White Paper to regain unitary status.

   The town is covered by two parliamentary constituencies - Ipswich which
   covers about 75% and is represented by Labour MP Chris Mole, and
   Central Suffolk & North Ipswich which covers the remaining 25% and is
   represented by Conservative MP Michael Lord.

Modern Ipswich

   The former airport has been re-developed into the new residential
   district of Ravenswood. However, the front of the control building was
   saved. It was designed by Heining and Chitty in 1938 and Grade 2
   listed. The rest of the building was taken down after it was deemed
   unsafe to reuse.

   Modern figures with Ipswich connections include the musician Nik
   Kershaw, the children's TV presenter Brian Cant, the punk rock band The
   Adicts, heavy metal band Cradle of Filth, cartoonist Carl Giles and
   Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone.

   Tolly Cobbold Brewery, built in the 19th century and rebuilt 1894–1896,
   is one of the finest Victorian breweries in the United Kingdom. There
   was a Cobbold Brewery in the town from 1746 until 2002 when Ridley's
   Breweries took Tolly Cobbold over. Felix Thornley Cobbold presented
   Christchurch Mansion to the town in 1896.

   Ipswich Centre contains the all-glass building owned by Willis Limited,
   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 buildings 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.

   Holywells Park is a 67 acre (27 ha) public park, situated near the
   docks, that was painted by Thomas Gainsborough.

   Ipswich is set to be the main hub for University Campus Suffolk, which
   will give Suffolk its first university.

   'Chantry' is the name of a housing estate and park, located in Ipswich,
   in East Anglia within England. Its schools include Chantry High School
   and the Chantry Infant and Junior Schools which have merged, and been
   renamed 'The Oaks'.

Culture

   The Wah performing on the CSV Media Stage at Ipswich Music Day on 2
   July 2006.
   Enlarge
   The Wah performing on the CSV Media Stage at Ipswich Music Day on 2
   July 2006.

   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 .

   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 . 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

   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.

   The British Telecom Research Laboratories were located to the east of
   the town in 1975 at Martlesham Heath. They are now a science park
   called Adastral Park.

Transport infrastructure

   Railway bridge over Spring Road, Ipswich
   Enlarge
   Railway bridge over Spring Road, Ipswich

   Ipswich railway station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line from
   London Liverpool Street to Norwich. It is also the junction of railway
   lines to Felixstowe and Lowestoft. The station is served by 'one'.

   The Ipswich trolleybus system opened on 2 September 1923 and closed on
   23 August 1963.

   Ipswich is still a flourishing port, handling several million tonnes of
   cargo each year.

   The town used to feature a small grass-runway airport ( ICAO code:
   EGSE). Officially opened on 26 June 1930 by His Royal Highness the
   Prince of Wales. There were regular flights in the early days by
   Channel Airways to Jersey and later Suckling Airways to the
   Netherlands. On 31 December 1996 Ipswich Airport was delicensed, and
   ceased to be registered by the Civil Aviation Authority. The land is
   now used for the Ravenswood estate.

   Ipswich is served by a mature road network. Key roads include the A12,
   A14, A1156 and the A1214.

Sport

   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.

Famous residents

     * Brian Cant - Children's TV Presenter (Notably Camberwick Green and
       Trumpton)

     * Kieron Dyer - Midfielder for Newcastle United (1999-Present) and
       ex- Ipswich Town player (1996-1999)

     * Sir Trevor Nunn CBE - Stage and Film Director. Director of the
       Royal Shakespeare Company for 18 years (1968-1986)

     * Jenny Platt - Actress best known for her role as barmaid Violet
       Wilson in the long running ITV soap, Coronation Street

     * Sanchez - Sir Topham Hat

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipswich"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
