Town and borough (pop., 2001: 117,074), administrative and historic county seat of Suffolk , England.
Located northeast of London , it was chartered in 1200. It prospered as a port for the export of East Anglian textiles from medieval times to the 17th century. It is now an agricultural market and service centre. Its landmarks include the 16th-century Christchurch mansion and the Great White Horse coaching inn mentioned in Charles Dickens 's The Pickwick Papers . It was the birthplace of Thomas Cardinal Wolsey .