It was named after the artist Thomas Gainsborough of Sudbury, who lived in Ipswich for several years.

In 2008–9, Suffolk County Council built a library on Clapgate Lane, Ipswich.

The estate was a public housing development whose construction was started in 1926 and continued into the 1930s.

[3] The road layout is a hybrid of both grids and spoke and wheel plan.

[5] The building won the RIBA East 'Spirit of Ingenuity' award.