Chantry Park
🏟 Playground & park · Chantry, Ipswich
Chantry Park
The largest park in Ipswich at 124 acres, with a major new inclusive play area opened in 2025 featuring 120 play features across zones for ages 0 to 14.
🕑 Opening & entry
🌱 Open 24 hours a day; the park is not locked, though toilets lock year-round. · Free · No booking needed
About Chantry Park
Chantry Park is the largest park in Ipswich, extending over 124 acres on the western edge of the town. It opened to the public on 17 May 1928 and was designated a Conservation Area in 2005. At its heart stands The Chantry, an eighteenth-century Grade II listed mansion, and the park contains three listed structures in all. The park is run by Ipswich Borough Council, is free to enter and is open 24 hours a day. It has long been an events venue, hosting the Royal Agricultural Show in 1934 and Ed Sheeran's Divide Tour in 2019. Families are well served by its play areas, including a major new play space opened in summer 2025 as the eighth site in the council's 3.5 million pound play area strategy. The new area has 120 play features across dedicated zones for children aged 0 to 14, including a music zone with bongos and guitar panels, a large tube slide on the Enchanted Grove giants unit, sensory equipment and a teen relaxation area. It is designed to be inclusive, with a wheelchair-accessible swing and carousel, new pathways, and accessible composting toilets with baby-changing nearby.
⭐ What makes this place special
- The Chantry mansion (Grade II listed)
- parkland and wildlife areas
- events arena
🏞 Facilities
- Free entry
- Toilets on site
- Accessibility: A major 2025 play area includes inclusive equipment such as a wheelchair-accessible swing and carousel, with new pathways and spacing to suit all abilities, plus accessible toilets with baby-changing.
🧒 Ages & play
- Ages: 0-14
- slide
- music zone with bongos and guitar panels
- climbing structures
- wheelchair-accessible swing
- wheelchair-accessible carousel
- sensory equipment
- teen relaxation area
📍 Nearby places to play
- Gippeswyk Park · approx 0.8 miles · Stoke
- Christchurch Park · approx 1.8 miles · Town Centre
- Bourne Park · approx 1.8 miles · Stoke
Explore more:
❓ Frequently asked questions
Is Chantry Park free to visit?
Yes. Chantry Park is a public park run by Ipswich Borough Council and entry is completely free.
What is in the new play area at Chantry Park?
The 2025 play area has 120 play features for ages 0 to 14, including a music zone, a large tube slide, sensory equipment and a teen relaxation area, with inclusive equipment such as a wheelchair-accessible swing and carousel.
What are the opening times for Chantry Park?
Chantry Park is open 24 hours a day and is not locked, though the toilets lock year-round.
How big is Chantry Park?
Chantry Park extends over 124 acres, making it the largest park in Ipswich.
Where is Chantry Park?
The Hadleigh Road play area is at Ipswich IP2 0BJ, on the western edge of the town. There is a second play area at the London Road entrance.