On August 12, 2019 a group of members of The Ipswich Society attended the opening of ‘The Maltings’, for a first look inside since its transformation into industrial-style offices began.

The Grade II Listed building on Princes Street, once the home to an R&W Paul Ltd maltings and much later a night club/music venue, dates back to the 1820s with a reshaping in 1866. The site stood empty and derelict for a decade, but now, with assistance from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) Growing Places Fund and from Ipswich Borough Council, it has been transformed.

Work started on the £3m project in March 2019, with the complete stripping-out of the building to reveal its original structure. The building, including the tall malt kiln, has been re-roofed in slate with extra insulation. Six new roof lights have been inserted and the original window openings reopened with more added. The building’s original brickwork has been repaired and steam-cleaned and a new Atrium area formed.

 

Some of the original machinery from the R&W Paul maltings has been preserved in situ. One of the business advantages of The Maltings is the on-site parking, accessed via Chancery Road.    

R.G.

Above photographs by Caroline Markham.

R & W Paul maltings in Princes Street in the 1980s; now refurbished and converted into offices in 2019. Photograph from the Ipswich Society Image Archive.