Few record shops in the country can claim a medieval church as their home, but Hex Record Shop does exactly that. Its crates sit inside The Church, the restored St Stephen’s on St Stephen’s Lane in the centre of Ipswich, where stained glass, timber roof beams and a serious sound system share the same space as racks of new and second-hand vinyl.
Background / History
Hex is the work of Marcus Neal, a familiar figure in the town’s music scene through The Smokehouse, Sound City Ipswich and the not-for-profit live music organisation Brighten The Corners, where he oversees programming. The shop began life as a pop-up in Woodbridge, trading from rooms above a bakery, before a refurbishment there prompted a move to Ipswich and a first-floor space above Loveone on St Peter’s Street. It later found its present home at St Stephen’s Church, which Brighten The Corners transformed into a 200-capacity venue, café and bar after renovations in the winter of 2022, reopening in spring 2023. Marcus has long said that programming music and running a record shop were the two things he always wanted to do, and at The Church he gets to do both under one roof.
What You’ll Find
The stock is a mix of fresh releases and carefully chosen used records. New titles arrive every week, picked because Marcus genuinely likes them rather than to fill a quota, so the new racks carry the same curious, music-first taste that shapes the gig programme across Brighten The Corners venues. The second-hand side is built from private collections, and only records in excellent condition make it into the browsers, with anything from classic rock to scarce punk pressings turning up among the finds. For anyone who cannot make it in person, Hex also sells new and used vinyl online.
Experience / Atmosphere
Browsing here is unlike a typical high-street dig. The records share the church with The Church café bar, so you can flick through the crates with a coffee from Bungay roaster Etude or a drink from the bar, while a well-chosen playlist fills the vaulted space. The setting brings together gig-goers, crate diggers and people simply stopping by in town, and the talk is as likely to be about last night’s band as about a pressing. Vinyl-only DJ nights, gigs and markets in the building keep the music culture around the shop very much alive.
Why Visit
- A record shop set inside a restored medieval church in central Ipswich
- Weekly new releases chosen with a strong personal ear
- Second-hand vinyl sourced from private collections and kept to a high standard of condition
- Coffee, drinks and a café bar alongside the crates
- Close ties to live music, with gigs and vinyl DJ nights in the same venue
Summary
Hex Record Shop pairs a thoughtful selection of new and used vinyl with one of the most striking settings in the UK. Run by someone who has spent years booking bands for Ipswich, it is a shop that sits right at the heart of the town’s live music life. Check the Friday and Saturday opening times before you head over, then leave yourself time to settle in with a drink and dig properly.
