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

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 Matthew covered the northwestern part of the town extending out to rural parishes. Ipswich was made up of a number of parishes each with its own small area of the city, St Matthew was one of the larger acreages and was the third largest by population, its population rose steadily during the time of this transcript to around 2,200 parishioners. Ipswich rises to the north from the banks of the River Orwell and by the time St Margaret is reached the land is some 12 metres above sea level. Although St Matthew's parish was once the edge of Ipswich it has been overtaken by the growth of the town and housing has spread away into the suburbs. St Matthew's parish is now dominated by terrace housing and small shop-bordered main 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 Matthew's church sits on the western side of Portman Road, not too far north of the town's football stadium, which rises from the river up towards the northwestern side of the town centre. St Matthew is essentially a Perpendicular church, albeit one which was extensively modified during Victorian times. Probably built in a single building period during the 15th century a catalog of "improvements" was made during the 19th century. The southern aisle was widened in 1845, as was the southern chapel in 1860, the eastern wall rebuilt in 1866, both northern aisle and chapel widened in 1877 and the upper part of the tower rebuilt in 1884. All the above work has left little remaining from the original build except the tower base, nave & chancel. As Portman Road rises up its hill from the river the church at southern end is elevated above the road, the road rising to church level at the northern end where the main entrance sits. The site is hemmed in by Portman Road to the east and the inner ringroad to the west making for a cramped site with limited angles for photography.