A NEW exhibition has opened in Ipswich highlighting the town's medieval history.Hidden Treasures of the Buttermarket, which runs until Friday June 19, will give unprecedented access a number of unseen items in the Buttermarket area.

A NEW exhibition has opened in Ipswich highlighting the town's medieval history.

Hidden Treasures of the Buttermarket, which runs until Friday June 19, will give unprecedented access a number of unseen items in the Buttermarket area.

The exhibition is located in the Old Sun Inn (formerly the bookshop Atfield and Daughter), the Buttermarket Shopping Centre, Ipswich Building Society and the Tourist Information Centre.

Among the items on display are historic deeds dating back to 1669 which show pledges from masons to fund the building of the Old Sun Inn, which was originally built as a Masonic Hall.

There are also items from the cellar of the building which were discovered during recent excavation work.

The exhibition is free to the public with any donations given to the St Elizabeth Hospice.

The Buttermarket was the site of a major archaeological dig between 1988 and 1990 before the new shopping centre was built.

It is one of the most historic areas of the town – it was part of the original Gipswic settlement founded by the Anglo-Saxons in the seventh century.

The town expanded inland after originally being founded near the river – and the Buttermarket site was some of the driest land near the river.

Over the centuries this area became one of busiest in Ipswich – and it was at the heart of the medieval town.