What to See in Ipswich - Top Sights and Attractions

Palatial seaside estate and gardens. Castle Hill is a 56,881 sq ft Tudor Revival mansion in Ipswich, Massachusetts built 1926-1928 as a summer home for Mr. and Mrs. Richard Teller Crane, Jr. It is also the name of the 165-acre drumlin surrounded by sea and salt marsh the home was built atop. Both are part of the 2,100-acre Crane Estate located on Argilla Road. The estate includes a historic mansion, 21 outbuildings, and landscapes overlooking Ipswich Bay, on the seacoast off Route 1, north of Boston. Its name derives from a promontory in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, from which many early Massachusetts Bay Colony settlers immigrated.

The estate is a relatively intact work from the Country Place Era of the turn of the 20th century, when wealthy families built extensive country estates. The Crane Estate includes architectural and landscape designs from at least seven firms or individuals of national reputation, including the Olmsted Brothers and Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, and is extensively documented. In recognition of its state of preservation and design, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998. The property is now owned by The Trustees of Reservations and is open to the public.^[1]

Ipswich Museum is a registered museum of culture, history and natural heritage located on High Street in Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk. It was historically the leading regional museum in Suffolk, housing collections drawn from both the former counties of East Suffolk and West Suffolk, which were amalgamated in 1974.

The original foundation of 1846, devoted primarily to Natural History, was moved to new premises in High Street in 1881. In about 1895 Christchurch Mansion, a large 16th-century house near the town centre in Christchurch Park, was given to the town. It was developed as a second venue under the same management and curatorship, devoted particularly to fine and decorative arts. Both are parts of one institution and draw on the same central core of collections. The entire service was merged with that of Colchester (Essex) on 1 April 2007 to form Colchester + Ipswich Museums. It is one of Ipswich's main features.^[6]

Historical landmark in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The Caldwell Block is a historic block on S. Main Street in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It is the oldest surviving building in Ipswich that was designed as a commercial and retail space, and is still used for that purpose. It is located prominently in the center of Ipswich, at the junction of North and South Main Streets, and Central and Market Streets. It was built in 1870 by Luther Caldwell, on the site of an old woolen mill that was destroyed by fire a few years earlier, and features Italianate styling. The building has always housed retail stores on the ground floor and office space above. It is notable as the location of the offices of writer John Updike between 1961 and 1974, when he wrote many of his works there.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.^[7]

Turner Hill is a historic estate located at 315 Topsfield Road in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It was built for Charles Goodnough Rice and Ann Proctor Rice to a design by Boston architect William Rantoul. Begun in 1898 and completed in 1903, the estate echoed European country estates the couple had seen in their travels. The estate house features extensive plaster molding and detailed woodwork, notably in the reception hall, whose wildlife motifs echo those of Haddonfield Hall in Scotland. Rice died in 1943, and the estate was sold to the Missionaries of La Salette, who established a spiritual retreat on the site. It has since been converted into a golf club, with the main mansion house providing club facilities. In addition to a golf course, the grounds also have a large condominium complex.

The estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.^[11]

The Burnham-Patch House is a historic house at 1 Turkey Shore Road in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The 2+1⁄2-story Colonial stands on a plot of land purchased by Thomas Burnham in 1667, occupying a prominent position on Turkey Shore Road, a historically important path to the coast. The house itself appears to have been built around 1730, with evidence that some of its beams were reused from an older, 17th century, structure. Its irregular interior floorplan suggests that it may have been built following the old house's floorplan. The property remained in the Burnham family until 1795, when it was sold to Colonel John Patch, a leading local figure in the American Revolutionary War. In 1814 the house was purchased by Abner Day, who operated a tavern on the premises for many years.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is under a local preservation restriction.^[12]

Building in Ipswich. The Dr. John Calef House is a historic house at 7 Poplar Street in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It is a well-preserved example of a First Period house with high-quality Georgian modifications. The core of the house was built c. 1671 by Deacon Thomas Knowlton, who purchased the land on which it originally stood on South Main Street in that year. It was subsequently altered in the middle of the 18th century, acquiring its present Georgian styling. In the 1770s the house was owned by noted Loyalist John Calef. It was acquired in 1777 by John Heard, who moved the house to its present location in order to build a more elaborate Federalist house on the site.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.^[13]

The Bailey House is a historic house in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It was built sometime between 1893 and 1910 to serve as the home and office Doctor Bailey, a prominent local physician. It is sited on a hill overlooking the central downtown area of Ipswich. The 2+1⁄2-story house is one of the most elaborate examples of Queen Anne/Colonial Revival architecture in central Ipswich. Roughly rectangular in plan, a veranda embellished with Colonial Revival details wraps around the north and west sides of the house. The central portion of the front is a protruding bay that also rises up through the bottom of the roof and is topped by a turret shaped gable extension. It is flanked on either side by small gable dormers.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.^[14]