Ipswich Waterfront
Former name(s) | Ipswich Wet Dock |
---|---|
Location | Ipswich, Suffolk, England |
Construction | |
Completion | 1842 |
Other | |
Website | www |
The Ipswich Waterfront is a cultural and historically significant area surrounding the marina in the town of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The modern dock was constructed in 1842 and the area was a functioning dock up until the 1970s. At the time of completion, the dock was known as 'the biggest and most important enclosed dock in the kingdom'.[1] Although the dock as it stands was constructed in 1842, the area was used for trade as far back as the 7th century.[2] The decline of industry in the town resulted in the area being transformed into a trendy area of Ipswich, the waterfront is now characterised by its marina, known as Neptune Marina, as well as its mix of classical and postmodern architecture which includes multiple high-rise apartment buildings, restaurants, bars and cafés. The waterfront is also home to the main campus of the region's university, the University of Suffolk.
Early period
The early waterfront of Ipswich Dock ran from approximately St Peter's Church, near the present Stoke Bridge, eastward behind the present quay or marina embankment and past the present Custom House. It lay originally nearer to the line of College Street and Salthouse Street, with new revetments being built successively further out into the river in order to achieve a sufficient depth of water for ships to moor, as the earlier embankments became silted. The area between the road and the quay, formerly occupied by warehouses and now by new building developments, represents this area of successive embankments built upon river-mud. An extensive area of early Medieval waterfront construction was found by excavation[6] during recent works to demolish the old industrial waterfront, and showed the footings of many projecting boardwalks,[7] in a similar way to the contemporary waterfront at Dorestad, one of its principal trading partners in those times.[8]
The original crossing was a ford, east of Stoke Bridge, linking Great Whip Street (on the south bank) with Foundation Street to the north, which then immediately branched into Lower Brook Street. The area north of the road, between St Peter's church and St Mary-at-Quay (and east of that), is thought to represent the site of the Anglo-Saxon industrial waterfront development. Its first urban catchment area extended north up to Falcon Street, Old Cattle Market, Dog's Head Street and Tacket Street, with burial grounds on rising land to the north.
In 991 a fleet of 93 Viking ships swept up the river Orwell and sacked the town.[13]
During
1700-1950
John Kirby reported in 1732 that the trade in the town had recently reduced and that there had been 20 ships a year built in the town and having seen over 200 ships belonging to the town in the port during the winter.[14]
The dock was 'improved' in 1805 and then in 1837 an
The
The
1950-present day
The
In 1997 the port was sold by Ipswich Ports Ltd to Associated British Ports.[24] In 1998 new facilities were constructed for handling grain and timber followed by a Timber Treatment Centre in 1999. A new 7,500 square metre bulk storage shed with equipment for bagging and blending of fertilizers and other bulk products was then developed in the site of Cliff Quay Power Station. In 2000 there were a number of further developments; a £1.9million agribulk storage facility opened;[24] new automated lock gates were completed; a 180 berth Ipswich Haven Marina opened and the Old Custom House was refurbished and restored with the former bonded warehouse on the ground floor converted into the 'Waterfront Conference Centre'.[24] In 2009 Tarmac Ltd invested around £8 million into a new development on the Powerstation Quay, the new site incorporated a state of the art asphalt plant and concrete plant. The new site imports a significant amount of aggregate from Northern Ireland and Europe and operates 24/7.
The Waterfront
The Waterfront in Ipswich is now provides leisure facilities with many new buildings having been constructed along the northern and eastern quays since 1995. The Salthouse Harbour Hotel, opened in 2003 and was extended in 2009.[25] The University of Suffolk opened on the waterfront in 2008 with further construction in progress in 2010.[26] The Mill, a 23-story mixed-use high rise that currently holds the record as East Anglia's tallest building, was topped out in late 2008 by the town's member of parliament, Chris Mole.[27] In 2009, Dance East opened their new £8.9m Jerwood DanceHouse within the building.[28]
The Port of Ipswich
The dock is owned by
There is also the Ipswich Haven Marina with mooring for 250 private boats, a chandler and two boatbuilders (Fairline Yachts and Spirit Yachts).
Welfare and practical services for seafarers arriving at the port are available via the services of a port chaplain.
Duke Street Junction Improvements
Work has been completed following Suffolk County Council's proposed plans to reduce congestion in the Duke Street-Fore Hamlet area, this was achieved through work on the junctions and rights of way along the route. The scheme was funded through the Community Infrastructure Fund, as it improves connections to and from the redeveloped waterfront area.
The scheme included replacing the Duke Street roundabout with a signalled junction with changes to the access onto/off of Back Hamlet and Duke Street, the changes to access resulted in no entry from Back Hamlet to Fore Street and Fore Hamlet meaning that traffic flows more smoothly as there are no interruptions in flow caused by vehicles entering from Back Hamlet; the other change to access is from Duke Street which now has no right turns from Duke Street onto Fore Hamlet. The pedestrian crossing facilities in the area have also been modernised including implementing
Ipswich Waterfront Action
The Waterfront Action (previously known as the Ipswich Waterfront Community Group) was established in 2007 as a community initiative with the purpose of working towards a friendly, thriving and vibrant community on the Ipswich Waterfront. The organisation was set up by the Ipswich Waterfront Churches.[33] A constitution has been drawn up so that funding can be sought to push the work forward.[citation needed]
Waterfront Action has organised several successful events which were held to help develop a relational and vibrant Ipswich Waterfront Community for both residents and visitors.[34]
Restricted Byways
Suffolk County Council have created legal orders to create a number of
Ipswich Tidal Barrier
The area around the quays was flooded in 2013 during a tidal surge. In February 2019 a flood gate, which protects the 'New Cut' were unveiled. The flood barrier, similar in design to the Thames Barrier, cost £67m.[36]
Historical plans
- Dock Plans[37]
- Proposed Improvement of the River Orwell 1804 (ref. 150/8/6.9-IRO)
- Plan of the Proposed Wet Dock 1836 (ref:150/8/6.9-IRO and HC/CL/PB/6/plan1837/78-HOL)
- Plan of Wet Dock 1843 (ref. 150/8/6.9-IRO)
- Ipswich Dock Plan 1875 (ref. 150/8/6.10-IRO)
- Dock Plans 1877 (ref 150/8/6.12-IRO and HL/PO/CB/3/plan1877/I3-HOL)
- Dock Plans 1898 (ref. 150/8/6.14-IRO)
- Dock Plans 1904 (ref. 150/8/6.15-IRO)
- Dock Plans 1913 (ref 150/8/6.16 – IRO)
- Dock Plans 1918 (ref. 150/8/6.17-IRO)
- Railway plans[38]
- Eastern Union Railway from Colchester to Ipswich 1843 (ref. 150/2/5.59-IRO)
- Proposed Railway from Colchester to Ipswich 1843 (ref. 150/2/5.240-IRO) (rival plans which were not constructed)
- Great Eastern Railway 1876 (ref. 150/2/5.228-IRO)
- Great Eastern Railway 1898 (ref. 150/2/5.214-IRO)
- Great Eastern Railway 1901 (ref. 150/2/5.218-IRO)
- Great Eastern Railway 1913 (ref. 150/2/51229-IRO)
Legislation
- Ipswich Dock Act 1837[18]
- Ipswich Dock Act 1852[39]
- Ipswich Dock Act 1877[20]
- Ipswich Dock Act 1898[21]
- Ipswich Dock Act 1913[40]
- Ipswich Dock Act 1918[22]
- The Ipswich Dock Revision Order 1969 (Statutory Instrument 1969/1521)[41]
- Ipswich Dock Act 1971[42]
- Ipswich Port Authority Act 1979[43]
- Ipswich Port Authority Act 1986[44]
- The Port of Ipswich (Transfer of Undertaking) Harbour Revision Order 2002[45]
See also
References
- ^ "Suffolk's Historical Surprises". www.visitsuffolk.com. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ a b K. Wade, 'Gipeswic - East Anglia's first economic capital, 600-1066', in N. Salmon and R. Malster (eds), Ipswich From The First To The Third Millennium (Ipswich, 2001), 1-6.
- ^ R. Hodges, Dark Age Economics: The Origins of Town and Trade AD 600-1000 (London 1982): R. Hodges, The Anglo-Saxon Achievement (London 1988).
- ^ N. Scarfe, The Suffolk Landscape (New Edition, Phillimore, Chichester 2002), p. 71-72. Wade (cited above).
- ISBN 0-7524-3139-0.
- ISBN 978-0-9539680-3-9.
- ^ Plunkett (cited above), 130. See Rhodri Gardner, 'Ipswich, Cranfield's Mill', in 'Archaeology in Suffolk 2005', Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History 41 Part 2, 2006, p.251.
- ^ A. E. Verhulst, The Rise of Cities in North-Western Europe (Cambridge University Press 1999), pp. 27-30.
- ISBN 978-1-906540-18-0.
- ^ Wade (cited above).
- ^ Scarfe 2002 (cited above), 72-74.
- ^ Malster 2000, Wade 2001, Plunkett 2005 (cited above).
- ^ a b "Ipswich". Orwell River Cruises. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ Twinch (2009), page 80
- ^ Vincent, David (8 May 2015). "New quayside Window Museum display features the Waterfront of yesterday and today". East Anglian Daily Times.
- ^ "Ipswich Quay". Suffolk Archives.
- ^ Twinch (2009), page 94
- ^ a b Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 17
- ^ "Old Custom House". Visit Ipswich. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ a b Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 19
- ^ a b Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 20
- ^ a b Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 22
- ^ Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 73
- ^ a b c d e "Modern ports: A UK policy - Annex 2: Case studies (Ipswich)". Department for Transport. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Salt House Hotel". Salthouse Harbour Hotel. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Developments at UCS". University Campus Suffolk. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Chris praises new Ipswich landmark". Chris Mole. Archived from the original on 23 June 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "The Jerwood DanceHouse". DanceEast. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "cycle Route 1". Sustrans. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
- ^ "cycle Route 51". Sustrans. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
- ^ "Home". Waterfront Action group. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
- ^ "Port of Ipswich - facilities". Associated British Ports. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Ipswich Waterfront Churches". Archived from the original on 13 January 2010.
- ^ "Ipswich Waterfront Action Partnership Group". www.waterfrontaction.co.uk.
- ^ "18/03/2009, Rights of Way Committee Documents". Archived from the original on 11 August 2011.
- ^ "Flood barrier 'will protect 1,600 homes'". BBC News. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
- ^ Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 33-42
- ^ Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 43-48
- ^ Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 18
- ^ Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 21
- ^ Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 24
- ^ Suffolk County Council (2009a), para 25
- ^ "ROYAL ASSENT - Ipswich Port Authority Act 1979". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 26 July 1979. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "ROYAL ASSENT - Ipswich Port Authority Act 1986". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 3269". OPSI. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- Sources
- Suffolk County Council (2009). Rights of Way Committee - 18 March 2009. Suffolk County Council. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- Twinch C (2009). The history of Ipswich. Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85983-625-5.