England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ipswich St Lawrence

The Parish

The town of Ipswich, capital of Suffolk, lies in southeastern Suffolk close to its North Sea coast. The town lies on the River Orwell and was a thriving port. The parish of St Lawrence covered a small area to the north of the town centre. Ipswich's centre was made up of a number of parishes each with its own small area of the city St Lawrence occupied a roughly oblong shaped area of densely packed streets, today the area is part of the town's commercial area and largly devoid of night-time residents. Collectively Ipswich supported over 25,000 parishioners St Lawrence parish was one of the least populated in the town having barely 500 residents. Ipswich rises to the north from the banks of the River Orwell with much of its centre at less than 10 metres above the sea, the church of St Lawrence stands at 13 metres, rising to over 40 metres within the newer southern suburbs. Today's St Lawrence  is part the commercial ares of the town, and still contains its network of narrow streets and alleys, the church is surrounded by commercial premises sitting just south of Tavern Street, one of the town's main shopping streets. Ipswich has a long history and has extensive reference in Domesday Book where it is recorded as Gippeswyc from a tributary of the the Orwell.

The Church

St Lawrence's church sits between St Lawrence St and Dial Lane and a few yards south of Tavern Street. The church was declared redundant in 1974 but reopened on 2008 as a community centre, the church is maintained by the Ipswich Historic Churches Trust. There are will bequests which define quite precisely the build period of this Perpendicular church. The great western tower, the church's stand-out feature being 97 feet in height, is documented in build in 1431, the chancel is similarly documented as in build in 1488, both bequests accurately placing the build into the 15th century. The church has, however, received extensive restoration during the Victorian period which has moderately impacted its appearance. Pevsner records 3 phases of restoration beginning in 1858 with restoring the chancel, swiftly followed in 1863 with the aisleless nave being restored, the western tower was the subject of the third phase being re-clad in a mixture of flint and Portland limestone, a work described as "sumptuous" by Pevsner. Like all urban churches this is one to approach on foot having found a suitable car park. The site is however, a real challenge for the photographer, the church occupies a small oblong block of land with tightly packed commercial premises to both north and south, to complicate that fact both Dial Lane and St Lawrence Street are very narrow, the tower is particular difficult to view because of its size, the view from St Lawrence Street slightly better for the main body.