Maritime Ipswich

In the autumn of 2020, our Window Wizards will be installing our 20th Window Museum display which focuses on the development of Ipswich Wet Dock. Whilst in lockdown our volunteers have been adding the final touches and doing some more research. In … [Read more...] about The Story of John Wodderspoon and the Wet Dock

This month 175 years ago the oldest surviving building on the Ipswich Waterfront, one of the most iconic and inspiring pieces of Victorian architecture in the town was completed. The Old Customs House as it is known today has been at the centre of … [Read more...] about 175 years of the Old Customs House

We thought we would share with you a story that one of our Trustees, Bob Fox recalled of VE Day at Fox’s Halifax Yacht Works when he was a boy. The boatyard was located along Wherstead Road in Ipswich, today it is occupied by Orwell’s … [Read more...] about VE Day at Fox’s – A Maritime Memoir

With lockdown restrictions in England slowly being lifted, we can celebrate by being afloat again. Every year the Ipswich Maritime Trust charters barge trips down the River Orwell on the Sailing Barge Victor. We have set out some COVID secure … [Read more...] about Sail with us again on the Victor

This weekend over 20 years ago, Ipswich held one of the largest Maritime Festivals it or the East Coast has ever seen. Sail Ipswich ‘97 saw over 30,000 visitors and welcomed over 300 vessels to the Wet Dock. In 1998 the organiser Mark Grimwade who … [Read more...] about One from the Archive – Sail Ipswich ’97

Ipswich has historically had strong links with the Royal Navy. Whilst it may not have been as strong as the likes of Portsmouth or Chatham, it is and has been a key port town. In the eighteenth-century, warships and trading merchant vessels were … [Read more...] about Ipswich and the Royal Navy

One of the ambitions for the Ipswich Maritime Trust is to expand our Window Museum. We are still growing and building our collection of important maritime artefacts from Ipswich and Suffolk’s rich and interesting history. There are various milestones … [Read more...] about The Conservation Container

In the east of Ipswich today there is a housing estate named after one of Britain’s naval heroes. A pub only 3 miles from the estate in the village of Bucklesham is named after the 38-gun frigate he commanded on 1st June 1813 during his most famous … [Read more...] about The Story of ‘Broke of the Shannon’

In late May 1940 the British Expeditionary Force was trapped at Dunkirk. Alongside thousands of troops from the French and Belgian armies too. As the frontlines moved closer to the coast and the Allied troops fell back, the British government took … [Read more...] about One from the Archive – When the Dunkirk Little Ships visited Ipswich

Photographs are incredibly important in understanding and viewing the past. We are lucky to have such an extensive archive of images that relate to the maritime history of Ipswich. Which we are always looking to showcase and highlight it in different … [Read more...] about Ipswich Waterfront: Life through Two Lenses