Ipswich Castle was a medieval castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

, now vanished, in the town of Ipswich

Ipswich

Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...

, Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

History

Ipswich Castle was built after the Norman conquest of England

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

 in the town of Ipswich; the exact location is uncertain, with the modern-day Ipswich arboretum

Arboretum

An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...

 or the mount near St Stephen's church being two possibilities.

By the 12th century the Bigod family had come to dominate Suffolk, holding the title of the Earl of Norfolk

Earl of Norfolk

Earl of Norfolk is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. Created in 1070, the first major dynasty to hold the title was the 12th and 13th century Bigod family, and it then was later held by the Mowbrays, who were also made Dukes of Norfolk...

 and owning the four major castles of Framlingham

Framlingham Castle

Framlingham Castle is a castle in the market town of Framlingham in Suffolk in England. An early motte and bailey or ringwork Norman castle was built on the Framlingham site by 1148, but this was destroyed by Henry II of England in the aftermath of the revolt of 1173-4...

, Bungay

Bungay Castle

Bungay Castle is in the town of Bungay, Suffolk by the River Waveney.-Details:Originally this was a Norman castle built by Roger Bigod, around 1100, which took advantage of the protection given by the curve of the River Waveney...

, Walton

Walton Castle

Walton Castle is a 17th Century, Grade II listed castle set upon a hill in Clevedon, North Somerset, on the site of an earlier Iron Age hill fort.-History:...

 and Thetford

Thetford Castle

Thetford Castle, also known as Castle Hill and Castle Mound, usually refers to a medieval motte and bailey castle in the market town of Thetford in the Breckland area of Norfolk, England, although it can also refer to Red Castle, built in the same town...

. Tensions persisted throughout the period, however, between the Crown and the Bigods. Hugh Bigod

Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk

Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk was born in Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England.He was the second son of Roger Bigod , Sheriff of Norfolk, who founded the Bigod name in England...

 was one of a group of dissenting barons during the Anarchy

The Anarchy

The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...

 in the reign of King Stephen, and controlled Ipswich Castle. At the end of the conflict, Stephen struck into Hugh's territory and took the town and the castle in 1153.

After coming to power Henry II

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

 attempted to re-establish royal influence across the region, by when Hugh had regained control of Ipswich Castle. As part of this effort, Henry confiscated the main Bigod castles from Hugh in 1157; his efforts to control Hugh failed, and the baron joined the revolt by Henry's sons in 1173. The attempt to overthrow Henry was unsuccessful, and in 1176 Henry ordered Ipswich Castle destroyed as part of his punishment of the Bigods. The castle was not rebuilt and nothing remains of it today.