List of tallest buildings and structures in Ipswich facts for kids

The Ipswich Waterfront skyline

This page lists the tallest buildings and structures in Ipswich, a town in Suffolk, England. It includes buildings that are still standing, ones that have been taken down, and even those still being built. The very tallest building in Ipswich is called The Mill. It stands about 71 meters (233 feet) tall and was finished on the outside in 2009.

History of Ipswich's Tall Buildings

Building Booms in the 20th Century

Ipswich saw a lot of new building work in the 1960s and 1970s. This period was known as the Greyfriars development. It involved building large open areas, office blocks, and tall apartment buildings.

However, many people didn't like the look of this project. So, in the 1990s, most of it was pulled down. Some buildings from that time, like St Francis Court and St Clare House, were updated in the 1980s and 1990s. The rest of the Greyfriars area was cleared to make space for the Willis Building.

New Buildings in the 21st Century

In recent years, Ipswich has had another big building boom. This has happened especially in areas like Ravenswood and Kesgrave. The Ipswich dock, also known as the waterfront, has seen a lot of money invested in two big projects. These are part of a plan to make the waterfront area better.

One of these projects was The Mill, which became the tallest building in Ipswich. But the inside of the building was never fully finished because of money problems.

Another project was the Regatta Quay redevelopment. This included two large apartment blocks. The Cambria building was completed. But The Winerack building was left as an empty shell. This happened because the bank funding the project went out of business. Luckily, construction on The Winerack started again in 2019 and was completed by the end of 2020.

Around 2015, another smaller building boom began. This included updating the Stoke Quay area. A large apartment building called Stoke Quay Genesis was built there. It has 386 homes and cost about £36 million.

In the town centre, Princes Street is getting two new large office buildings. An old building called Fisons is being updated into a modern office space. This work was expected to be finished in 2016. Also, a law firm called Birketts LLP plans to build a big main office. It will be built where Riley's Pool Hall used to be, after that building is taken down.

Tallest Buildings and Structures in Ipswich

     This building or structure has been taken down.      This building or structure is still being built or is on hold. If you see an equal sign (=) next to a rank, it means two or more buildings are the same height. We only list structures taller than 30 meters (about 98 feet).

Rank	Name	Use	Image	Height m/ft	Floors	Year	Notes
1	The Mill	Homes and Shops		71/233	23	Unfinished	The outside of this building was finished in 2009. But most of the homes inside are not yet complete because of money problems from 2007–2008.
2	St. Mary-le-Tower	Church		54/176	3	1862	A church has stood on this spot since at least the year 1086.
3=	St Francis Court	Homes and Shops		52/172	16	1962
3=	The Winerack	Homes and Shops		52/171	16	2020	Work on The Winerack finished in 2020. It had been an empty building for a long time after construction stopped due to money problems in 2007–2008.
5	St Clare House	Office		48/156	12	1982
6	The Civic Centre	Office and Government		44/141	14	1969–2009	This building was used by the Ipswich Borough Council. They moved to a new building called Grafton House.
7=	Orwell Bridge	Bridge		43/140	N/A	1982
7=	Suffolk House	Office		43/140	9	1969
9=	Ipswich Hospital Maternity Block	Hospital		41/135	9	1955	The hospital itself was started in 1909.
9=	Guardian Royal Exchange building	Office		41/135	8	1970	This building was added to Suffolk House. It is now owned by AXA.
11=	St Vincent House	Office		40/130	10	1967
11=	Suffolk New College	School		40/130	8	1959–2010	The main tall part of the college was taken down in 2009. A new college building has been built since then.
13=	10 Reavell Place	Homes		37/121	12	2010
13=	The Cambria	Homes		37/121	12	2009
15	Cumberland Towers	Homes		35/115	12	1990
16	Neptune Marina	Homes and Shops		34/112	11	2005	The Neptune Marina building is on the right side of the photo.
17	St Lawrence Church	Church		30/90	N/A	1449	This church from the 1400s has the oldest set of church bells in the world.

Timeline of Ipswich's Tallest Buildings

This table shows which building was the tallest in Ipswich over different years.

Rank	Name	Image	Height m/ft	Floors	Years tallest	Notes
1	The Mill		71/233	23	2009–present
2	St Mary le Tower		54/176	3	1862-2009
3	St Lawrence Church		30/90	N/A	1449-1862