Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House

The Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House is a historic gem in the heart of Suffolk’s county town. It is one of the most important buildings of its type in the country and indeed believed to be the only remaining example of its kind. Built in 1699-1700 for a congregation of Protestant Dissenters, it remains in use for regular Sunday services (the purpose for which it was built) and also acts as a resource for the community. The building is of a lathe and plaster construction on a timber frame with a double hipped tiled roof, three pedimented doors and leaded windows which contain much of the original glass.

The internal layout is little changed since its construction and boasts many original features: a richly carved pulpit reputed to be from the workshop of Grinling Gibbons (maybe even the work of the master woodcarver himself); a three tiered brass chandelier of Dutch origin; box pews; wooden pegs on which gentlemen could hang their wigs (these still being fashionable when the Meeting House was built); a wooden gallery and a spy hole in one of the entrance doors to watch for those intent, in a time of religious persecution, on destroying Dissenters’ places of worship. The lofty roof is supported by four wooden columns, traditionally said to be ships’ masts, not unlikely in view of Ipswich’s maritime connections!

When visitors enter the building for the first time, their most usual response is WOW.

The grassed forecourt in front of the building (originally a burial ground) now offers a welcome open space in this conservation area, while the courtyard to the east of the Meeting House, flanked by half timbered medieval buildings, is typical of those once characteristic of the Ipswich townscape and now sadly a rarity. The Meeting House is Grade I listed and reflects beautifully in the dark glass of its neighbour, the Grade I Willis Building.