New life could be brought into a former pub and Chinese restaurant in Ipswich as it has now been put up for sale at auction.

Dating from the 1860s, The Golden Ship pub in Cliff Road was known as The Ship Launch until 2010, when it closed after several sets of managers tried to revitalise it.

It became a Chinese takeaway bearing the current name, The Golden Ship, which closed in 2018.

The owners of the property Keltik Solutions Ltd have now decided to put the venue on sale. 

This will be done via an auction conducted on Wednesday, September 25, with the guide price of £200,000.

The 160-year-old venue was owned for years by the nearby Tolly Cobbold brewery, and the pub provided generations of dock workers and locals a place to let their hair down after a hard day's work.

The pub was located away from residential areas, close to the dock front, and thus had to survive on the passing yard workers for business.

The Ship Lane grew to prominence in the 1970s.The Golden Ship grew to prominence in the 1970s. (Image: Archant)

In the 1970s it rose to fame and became a go-to pub in town with pinball machines, darts and shove ha’penny. 

At the turn of the century, sales at the pub dwindled and it closed in 2010. 

It has been vacant since 2018, and plans were made in 2021 to convert the building into four two-storey, two-bedroom flats in the pub building, and convert an outbuilding into another flat and a shared amenity area. 

Ipswich Borough Council approved the plans in 2022, however, no work has been done on it since. 

Auctioneer Golding Auctions says that the building has the potential to be brought back into commercial use, turned into a house of multiple occupancy or even a complete redevelopment.

Additionally, the site also includes a car park that can take up to seven vehicles.