The town of Ipswich took shape in
Anglo-Saxon times as the main centre between York and London for North
Sea trade to Scandinavia and the Rhine. It served the Kingdom of East
Anglia, and began developing in the time of King Raedwald, supreme ruler
of the English (616-624). The famous ship-burial and treasure at Sutton
Hoo nearby is probably his grave.
Before that, under the Roman empire, the area was busy as the Orwell and
Gipping formed an important route inland to rural towns and settlements.
A large Roman fort, part of the coast defences of Britain, stood at
Felixstowe, and the largest villa in Suffolk stood at Castle Hill
(north-west Ipswich).
Occupation of the region around Ipswich and the rivers had been
continuous since the Stone Age, but the settlement at Ipswich itself
belongs to the Roman period and after.
The seventh-century town, called 'Gippeswick', was centred near the
quay. Towards 700 AD, Frisian potters from the Netherlands area settled
in Ipswich and set up the first large-scale potteries in England since
Roman times. Their wares were traded far across England, and the
industry was unique to Ipswich for 200 years.
With growing prosperity, in about the 720s a large new part of the town
was laid out in the Buttermarket area. It was becoming a place of
national and international importance. Parts of the ancient road plan
still survive in its modern streets.
After the invasion of 869 Ipswich fell under Viking rule. The earth
ramparts circling the town centre were probably raised by Vikings in
Ipswich around 900 to prevent its recapture by the English. They were
unsuccessful.
The town operated a Mint under royal licence from King Edgar of England
in the 970s, which continued right through the Norman Conquest until the
time of King John, c1215, under each successive ruler. The name 'Gipeswic'
appears on the coins.
The Ipswich Museum houses replicas of the Roman Mildenhall Treasure and
the Sutton Hoo treasure, and a gallery devoted to the town's origins
includes Saxon weapons, jewellery and other artefacts.
King John granted the town its first charter in 1200, and in the next
four centuries it made most of its wealth trading Suffolk cloth with the
Continent. Five large religious houses, including two Augustinian
Priories, and the Greyfriars, Whitefriars and Blackfriars, stood in
mediaeval Ipswich.