The Cross Keys was listed in the 1844 White's Suffolk Trades Directory with carriers operating from it to Colchester.

At one time, Carr street was called "Cross Keys Street", named after the pub, presumably.

The original building was extensively rebuilt when the street was widened (about 1887-88) to allow trams to pass.

It is listed as 28/26 Carr Street in the 1909 Rates book.

One of several pubs in the town that used to host cock-fighting in eighteenth and early nineteenth century. This bloody spectacle could last several hours and was eventually banned in 1835. A one time it was particularly popular as a form of gambling and bouts were often held during festival days and during the Ipswich horse racing week. …