Shoppers flooded into Tower Ramparts shopping centre when it first flung open its doors more than 30 years ago.

Ipswich Star: Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986 (Image: Archant)

These photos were taken in 1986 on the first day the centre was open to the public and they show that shoppers were keen to see what was in store for the.

Ipswich Star: Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986 (Image: Archant)

The Tower Ramparts name is one that is long associated with the history of the town.

Ipswich Star: Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986 (Image: Archant)

Tower Ramparts is the name of the road stretching from Northgate Street to High Street and also the bus station for Ipswich Buses.

Ipswich Star: Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986 (Image: Archant)

The name dates from around 1203 when the town bank was located in this area. The roadway on the inside of the rampart was once called Tower Ditches.

Ipswich Star: Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986 (Image: Archant)

Up until 1979 the Tower Ramparts School stood on the site of the shopping centre,

Ipswich Star: Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre opening in 1986 (Image: Archant)

The shopping centre bore the historical name of Tower Ramparts until very recently.

In July 2014, LaSalle Investment Management and Ipswich Borough Council announced to the public plans for a £4 million transformation of the shopping centre and the works were completed in late November 2015 when it took on the new identity of Sailmakers Shopping Centre.

Were you one of the eager shoppers there on opening day in 1986?

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