The traders of The Saints have set up a marketing group called ‘Street Meet’ and have worked arduously to offer a lively and delightful shopping/leisure experience which has become quite the success story, contributing to the overall desirability of Ipswich as a creative and dynamic place to visit both for its residents and visitors.

The Saints is brimming with various architectural structures, many of them listed, and dating from the 1500s. Within these streets are a delightfully, inviting choice of restaurants, cafes, patisseries and sandwich shops sitting within a busy business area with a large number of the patrons coming at lunchtimes from the many surrounding local office businesses.

One of the largest local businesses is Willis, built in the mid 1970s. In 1991 this famous glass building designed by Norman Forster became one of the first modern (post war) Grade I listed buildings. This building contrasts beautifully with the Unitarian Meeting House, built in 1699 - 1700, and reflects, quite literally, in the Willis glass, the old and new architecture of Ipswich.

The Unitarian Meeting House is the only remaining example of a purpose-built timber-framed Dissenting Meeting House of it’s period. The courtyard to the east of the Meeting House is older and is typical of the type of street layout of the 15 and 16th century. The entrance to this courtyard can be found on St Nicholas Street, so why not bring your business visitors to take in the historic sites of The Saints after that productive meeting in one of the local restaurants.

The Saints, being an exciting, unique and flourishing part of town, is set to inspire the development of future business opportunities.
By Kathie Jones, Historic Ipswich (UK)