Port of Ipswich

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Port of Ipswich from the Orwell Bridge. The tidal quays at the port of Ipswich include Cliff Quay to the right and the West Bank Terminal to the left.

The Port of Ipswich can be dated to c.625. The name Ipswich was originally Gippeswyc,[1] referring to the River Gyppes with a suffix derived from the Scandinavian term vik, which had evolved from meaning bay or inlet to mean landing-place, following the proliferation of merchants requiring places to unload their goods and conduct trade.[2] Since 1997 the port has been run by Associated British Ports.[3]

History

Early Middle Ages, 7th century to 1066

The Port of Ipswich emerged in the Early Middle Ages. A wharf was in operation in Ipswich on a bend in the River Orwell in the 8th century, and was probably established during the 7th century under the protection of the Wuffingas, the ruling house of the Kingdom of East Anglia. Steven Plunkett has suggested that the founding of Gipeswic was associated with the reign of Rædwald (died c.624) and that it reflected his personal importance during the period of his supremacy.[4]

The importance of this wharf, and the town which grew up around it, has been recognised through excavation over the past fifty years. The early town of Ipswich (then called Gipeswic), centred upon the quay, extended over more than 52 hectares, the area later enclosed by the

Hamwic (Southampton) in the south. Like Hamwih, Gipeswic dock was therefore a point of departure and arrival for continental travel.[8]

The early waterfront of Ipswich 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, represents this area of successive embankments built upon river-mud. An extensive area of early Medieval waterfront construction was found by excavation[9] during early twenty-first century works to demolish the old industrial waterfront, and showed the footings of many projecting boardwalks,[10] in a similar way to the contemporary waterfront at Dorestad, one of its principal trading partners in those times.[11]

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.

St Mildred, suggest that this new layout was planned during the reigns of Kings Ealdwulf (664-713) and his son Ælfwald (713-749).[14] The street plan represented by this early Medieval development still largely survives in use in the modern town of Ipswich, and is one of the oldest post-Roman street-plans to survive anywhere in Europe. Both wharf and town have remained in continuous use and occupation since that time.[15]

In 991 a fleet of 93 Viking ships swept up the river Orwell and sacked the port.[16]

High Middle Ages, 1066 to 1306

The

cloth, hides and skins.[17]

During this period the records refer to the Port of Orwell, which was located on a tongue of land near modern day Landguard Fort stretching towards Harwich.[17]

Common Quay in 1820 by George Frost

Late Middle Ages, 1306 to 1485

During the Late Middle Ages Ipswich developed as a port and developed a flourishing trade with cities of the Hanseatic League.

1797 Report

During the seventeenth century the management and control of the port and River Orwell was the responsibility of Ipswich Corporation. However many local merchants and other inhabitants felt that the corporation had been neglecting their duties. Funds generated by the port facilities were being misappropriated and trade was being affected. In consequence a committee was formed to take active measures to correct the abuses and manage the resources. They decided to commission William Chapman to write a report, which was duly submitted in May 1797. This report included two costed possible plans for development.

In 1803 the Committee organised a public meeting at which they pushed for the implementation of Plan 2, as far as funds would permit. Despite opposition from Ipswich Corporation the Committee was given responsibility for the port and river.[18]

The coming of the Wet Dock, 1837

Main article:
Ipswich Dock
View of Ipswich Lock and entrance to Wet Dock. Orwell Navigation Service building pictured (R) on east side of lock.

With the creation of the Wet Dock in 1837, the management of the port was significantly altered.[19] No longer was Common Quay the only place goods could legally be unloaded.

Since 1997: Associated British Ports

A view of the Port of Ipswich, showing a medium sized cargo vessel entering port under the Orwell Bridge.
Cargo ship 'Arklow Vale' entering the Port of Ipswich under Orwell Bridge.
Tug 'Gray Salvor' berthed on West Bank, Port of Ipswich

In 1997 the port was sold by Ipswich Ports Ltd to

Ro-Ro
1, Ro-Ro 2, and West Bank South. There is also a small tug berth located on the West Bank.

Port of Ipswich, aerial view, 2012.

Cliff Quay handles and stores liquid and dry bulks and has 67,583 sq m of covered storage and additional open storage.[20] Cliff Quay has 9 berths; Bulk Liquid Terminal, Ipswich Grain Terminal, East Bank Terminal North, East Bank Terminal, 500' North, 500' South, 1 Shed, 2 Shed and Power Station. There is a daily freight service linking Ipswich with the Port of Rotterdam. While the port no longer handles containers, it can accept out-of-gauge and heavy lift cargoes and is equipped to accommodate short to mid-sea operations.[3] The cargo products and services provided at the port are agribulks, bulk energy, liquid bulks, project cargo, construction, forest products, and rail freight.[21]

The port can handle vessels up to approximately 155m in length and a maximum draught of 8.5m. The main River Orwell navigation channel is dredged to a charted depth of 5.6m below Admiralty Chart datum.[22] There is an available air draught of 43.07m above Admiralty Chart datum (under the Orwell Bridge). Orwell Navigation Service (callsign 'Ipswich Port Radio') provide local port services, operate Ipswich Lock and maintain a continuous 24 hour watch on marine VHF channel 68.[23]

Welfare and practical services for seafarers arriving at the port are available via the services of a port chaplain.

Associated British Ports also operates the Ipswich Haven Marina[24] (located in Ipswich Dock) with mooring for 250 private boats. Also located on the island site (west side of dock) are two boatbuilders (Fairline Yachts and Spirit Yachts).

References

  1. ^ Alsford, Stephen. "Ipswich - Origins". users.trytel.com. Stephen Alsford. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  2. ^ Alsford, Stephen. "Origins : wiks, burhs and ports". users.trytel.com. Stephen Alsford. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "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.
  4. ISBN 0-7524-3139-0
    .: 76–78 
  5. ^ 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.
  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).
  7. ^ N. Scarfe, The Suffolk Landscape (New Edition, Phillimore, Chichester 2002), p. 71-72. Wade (cited above).
  8. ISBN 0-7524-3139-0
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-9539680-3-9
    .
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ A. E. Verhulst, The Rise of Cities in North-Western Europe (Cambridge University Press 1999), pp. 27-30.
  12. ISBN 978-1-906540-18-0
    .
  13. ^ Wade (cited above).
  14. ^ Scarfe 2002 (cited above), 72-74.
  15. ^ Malster 2000, Wade 2001, Plunkett 2005 (cited above).
  16. ^ "Ipswich". Orwell River Cruises. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  17. ^ a b The History of Engineering in Ipswich. Ipswich: Ipswich Engineering Society. 1949.
  18. doi:10.1680/imotp.1861.23436
    .
  19. ^ "Quays and Wharves of Ipswich" (PDF). Ipswich Maritime Trust. Ipswich Maritime Trust. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Port of Ipswich - facilities". Associated British Ports. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  21. ^ "Associated British Ports | Ipswich". www.abports.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  22. OCLC 538253021, retrieved 19 January 2022{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  23. OCLC 35552584
    .
  24. ^ "Home - Ipswich Haven Marina". www.ipswichhavenmarina.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Port of Ipswich.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Port_of_Ipswich&oldid=1164721387"