Ipswich Whitefriars

Ipswich Whitefriars is the name usually given to the Carmelite Priory, a Catholic religious house, which formerly stood near the centre of the medieval town of Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk, UK. The Priory was founded in the 13th century (probably 1278-79) as an establishment of the Carmelite Order of White Friars, and stood until the 1530s, when its ancient revenues and endowments were depleted by Thomas Cromwell during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In its heyday it was the home of many eminent scholars, supplied several Provincial superiors of the Order in England, and was repeatedly host to the provincial chapters of the Order. The site of the Priory is identified and has been exposed by excavation, but nothing now remains visible above ground.