[Former] Unicorn Brewery - Foundation Street - Ipswich, Suffolk - Breweries on Waymarking.com

"The attractive frontage of The Unicorn at the corner of Orwell Place (formerly Stepples Street to commemorate the stepping stones, used by walkers to avoid flood waters from The Wash, or Upper Orwell Street) and Foundation Street obviously deserved a proclamation of its importance. These huge upper case slab serif letters (complete with square full stop) stand in relief and have been preserved long past the existence of the Unicorn itself. The carpet shop which used to occupy the ground floor has been succeeded by a number of businesses. The Unicorn was a hotel which was part of the sizeable brewery behind it dating to 1886. However, a brewer possibly on this site is listed as early as 1839 with Nathaniel Catchpole & Co. listed as owners in 1865. The whole group of impressive Unicorn buildings (which included a small theatre, we're told) embody an important part of Ipswich history: brewing. We have already discovered that brewing took place behind the Rose & Crown, not to mention the historic Tolly Cobbold brewery on Cliff Quay - no longer brewing beer and the with that building looking for a new purpose in 2013. There was also a Steam Brewery built and run by Charles Cullingham in 1856 and bought by the Tollemache brothers in 1888 which was opposite the Unicorn, on the site of the car park behind the former Woolworth store. There were many other small breweries throughout the town over the decades.

The Unicorn brewery and public house was owned by Nathaniel Catchpole and Co. Ltd until it was bought in 1923, along with several other hostelries in the Ipswich area (including the Coach & Horses), by Tollemache jointly with Cobbold's – long before they became Tolly Cobbold in 1957 – and the brewery was closed in the 1960s when production was moved to Cliff Quay brewery. There is a suggestion that the Unicorn Brewery ceased brewing in 1923 and became a mineral water works. The Unicorn Inn at 2-4 Orwell Place pulled its last pint in 1977.

The block with its rooftop lantern was used as offices/studios in the 1980s/1990s, then left largely empty for years. The building has been cleaned and extended during major refurbishment as flats; an 'olde worlde' sign was added high above and facing the Foundation Street car park:
'THE ... UNICORN ... BREWERY'

From a graphic design point of view, the centring of each word within its discrete black section is justifiable (no pun intended) but makes the definite article on the left feel disconnected with the rest of the name. The postmodern twist that the building – now so proudly named in condensed, serif, gold capitals on a black ground – ceased to be brewery many years ago may have escaped the developers. Eminent brewery architect William Bradford designed both Tolly Cobbold's Cliff Quay and Catchpole’s Unicorn breweries."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Location: The Unicorn Brewery Foundation Street Ipswich, Suffolk England Ratings: Website: Not listed Parking Coordinates: Not Listed

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