IPSWICH

North Sea port town and borough (district), administrative and historic county of Suffolk, England, at the head of the Orwell estuary. Ipswich prospered as a port for the export of East Anglian textiles from medieval times to the 17th century. In 1200 King John granted the town its first charter, and the town was incorporated in 1446. A period of decline was followed by renewed expansion in the 19th century when light engineering firms were established there. Today engineering and various agricultural industries are important. Ipswich is the county town (seat) and administrative centre of Suffolk. Outstanding buildings in Ipswich include Christchurch mansion (16th century) and Sparrowe's House, in part a 15th-century structure with a 17th-century pargeted facade. The older churches are nearly all towered flint structures, wholly or mainly Perpendicular in style. There are several old coaching inns, including the Great White Horse of Pickwick Papers fame. Ipswich was the birthplace of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Ipswich harbour extends 11 miles (18 km) downstream to Shotley Point and is still of modest importance, but the town prospers mainly as a major agricultural market and service centre for the extensive and rich farming area of Suffolk. Area 16 square miles (40 square km). Pop. (1998 est.) 113,900. town (township), Essex county, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies along the Ipswich River (there bridged since 1764), 28 miles (45 km) north-northeast of Boston. Settled in 1633 as Agawam, it was incorporated in 1634 and renamed for Ipswich, England. Lace making, the town's first industry, was carried out on machines smuggled to the American colonies in defiance of British export laws. The town's Rebellion Tablet commemorates the Reverend John Wise's public denunciation in 1687 of British taxation without representation. Ipswich was the home of several leading writers of the colonial period, including Nathaniel Ward and the poet Anne Bradstreet. Modern Ipswich has developed as a summer resort noted for seafood (the celebrated Ipswich clam). In addition, its economy is based on light manufacturing (mainly electronic components), education and other services, publishing, and trade. More than 50 colonial houses have been preserved, notably the John Whipple House (1640). Area 33 square miles (85 square km). Pop. (1990) 11,873; (1996 est.) 12,352.