Ipswich grew around its port, established during Anglo-Saxon times for trade with northwestern continental Europe. It became an important religious centre in the Middle Ages, in one of the most populated and wealthy areas of the country. Alongside the docks and the two rivers, the Orwell and Gipping, industries grew up to support the local agricultural economy and the population migrated from surrounding areas as well as from further afield and abroad. The mix has given Ipswich a lively cultural history that remains to the present day and alongside the working dock area much of the waterfront has been redeveloped for leisure and housing, but as with all large towns, particularly ports, Ipswich’s history also encompasses how it had to deal with justice, crime and punishment.

Illustrated throughout, this accessible historical portrait of the transformation that Ipswich has undergone through the ages will be of great interest to residents, visitors and all those with links to the town.