‘What a fantastic website you have – I've lived in Ipswich my whole life and am fascinated by some of the history that's exposed and detailed on your site'. James Ager
Ipswich Historic Lettering: Website banner 2d
Recent updates: Smith & Eastaugh,Beccles, West Gate history, Anglesea Road Hospital sign, Waterworks Cottages, Paul's maltings fire 2008, Civic Centre, Wolsey Pageant 1930, Humber Doucy Lane, Ancient House, Wolsey 550
updated 2.11.2024
Ipswich Historic Lettering: Scarborow gate icon  Ipswich Historic Lettering: Woottons ceramic icon 2  Ipswich Historic Lettering: Slade Street tablet icon
This website is dedicated to a special project devised and developed by the artist/illustrator, Borin Van Loon. A resident of Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk in England, Borin has been photographing examples of old lettering on the walls of buildings in and around the town since the late 1990s. The galleries of images shown here reflect the transition of a very ancient town (Ipswich is the earliest continuous settlement in England, dating back to around AD600, with Ipswich ware being produced from around AD670) as it progresses through the twenty-first century. They are updated and extended regularly including non-Ipswich examples in Gallery 7.
If you know Ipswich, try using the Street index linked below, or...
Search Ipswich Historic Lettering

Grand Ipswich timeline for two thousand years of the town's history
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Introduction
What we've included and omitted. Progress so far.
Gallery 1

Street signs
Gallery 1a
Boundary markers
Gallery 2
The Wet Dock
Gallery 3
Trade signs
Gallery 4

Architectural features
Gallery 5
Churches
Gallery 7
Examples from outside Ipswich


List of themed pages
Links/Reading list;     Street index;     Street name derivations

[Note: our background 'BUILT' image is taken from the Co-op in Cauldwell Hall Road. The masthead is based on a feature on Grimwade's store on the Cornhill.]
Contact us
We try to credit or provide attribution to images used on the site which are not photographed by us. If you are able to help us with information about a source or copyright relating to a particular image, click the above link.
Ipswich Historic Lettering launched in 6.03, moved to a domain  on 17.9.09 and relaunched 3.10.15 with a new domain: www.ipswich-lettering.co.uk

"Things are getting worse faster than I can lower my standards."
Carrie Fisher

©2004 Copyright throughout the Ipswich Historic Lettering site: Borin Van Loon
No reproduction of text or images without express written permission