Restoration work has been completed on one of the most historic buildings in Ipswich - which could soon become the centrepiece of an attractive entrance to the Waterfront area.
No 4 College Street - a Tudor merchant's house dating from the 16th century - has been restored and is now looking for tenants for what have been converted into separate office suites on the ground and first floors.
Visitors will have the chance to see inside it at this weekend's Heritage Open Days in Ipswich before the search for tenants really gets underway.
And that is expected to be just the first part of the rebirth of that part of the Waterfront.
Talks are expected to soon get underway between the borough, Suffolk County Council and the team preparing for the 550th anniversary of Thomas Wolsey's birth to turn the area beside the building into a new public open space.
The unattractive wall around the site is to be pulled down and the old road that was closed at the start of the pandemic is expected to be dug up so the whole area, including the temporary car park behind the College Street house can be transformed.
The team behind the Thomas Wolsey celebrations hope this could become a Tudor-style garden growing the kind of plants that Wolsey would recognise in a part of the town that he would have been very familiar with.
But before plans to redevelop the area start, the newly-restored building will be open to the public for the first time as part of the Ipswich Society’s annual Heritage Open weekend on September 10and 11, 2022 , between 10am and 4pm.
The refurbishment includes an external limewash render with a painted top coat in traditional Suffolk colours of dark orange/ochre and dark green applied to the door and window timbers.
Where internal repairs to the walls and ceilings have taken place, heritage-appropriate methods have been used such as: lath and plaster, splicing of new oak timbers with old and bespoke-made joinery such as doors, windows, cornices, architraves and balustrades.
The property has also been made water-tight and secure with improved access. The house had been empty since 1981 and was in a very poor state when it was acquired by the council a few years ago.
As a result of this work, the property has now been removed from the Ipswich Buildings at Risk Register which highlights heritage buildings requiring substantial restoration work.
Council leader David Ellesmere said: “It is great that we have been able to bring this fantastic Ipswich building back to the standard it deserves - the refurbishment of 4 College Street really is of excellent quality.
"This is a wonderful location and a very characterful property and will make a great base for a business. I’m looking forward to seeing this historic Ipswich building brought back into use.”
4 College Street is available to rent as business space from Autumn 2022 through Fenn Wright Commercial Property agents. Downstairs has two reception rooms for office space, toilet facilities and a kitchen. Upstairs has three further office or meeting rooms and a toilet plus storeroom. There is also a small attic for additional storage and dedicated parking behind for up to three vehicles.
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