Christchurch Mansion
Encyclopedia
Christchurch Mansion is a substantial Tudor
brick mansion house within Christchurch Park
on the edge of the town centre of Ipswich
, Suffolk
, England
. It is now owned by the town and since 1895 has formed one of the two principal venues of the Ipswich Corporation Museums
, now part of the Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service.
The Grade I listed building mansion houses a collection of pottery and glass, a contemporary art gallery and a collection of paintings by artists including John Constable
and Thomas Gainsborough
. There are rooms preserved as past inhabitants would have known them, complete with original items of fine clothing. The house sits within a 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) public park which features many beautiful trees, rolling lawns and ponds.
s dissolution of the monasteries
, the monastery was dissolved and the land was purchased by Sir Edmund Withipoll, who built the mansion in 1548-50, the ground floor of which remains largely as he left it. His granddaughter, Elizabeth Withipoll, married Leicester Devereux, 6th Viscount Hereford
and the mansion passed to the Devereux family, who rebuilt the upper floors after a fire in about 1670, when the main porch was also added. In 1734, Claude Fonnereau purchased the mansion from Price Devereux, 10th Viscount Hereford
. A road next to the park is named after the family.
The mansion was bought by Felix Cobbold
from a syndicate of property developments 1894 to save the building from demolition. Cobbold, a wealthy local businessman and philanthropist
, then offered to give it to the Ipswich Corporation
to establish a Museum and Art Gallery, together with a further £20,000 in Ipswich Stock for the purchase of artworks. His offer was on condition that the corporation buy the surrounding parkland for the people of Ipswich. It took Cobbold three attempts to get the corporation to agree to this, but in February 1895 the mansion was transferred to the town and in April 1895 the corporation purchased the central part of the park. The corporation acquired the upper arboretum in 1928. Felix Cobbold, among other members of the wealthy Cobbold family, have donated a great deal of land to the people of Ipswich, including Ipswich Racecourse
.
Tudor architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
brick mansion house within Christchurch Park
Christchurch Park
Christchurch Park is a area of rolling lawns, wooded areas, and delicately created arboreta in central Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It contains Christchurch Mansion which holds a public museum and art gallery. The park opened as the town's first public park in 1895.-History:From the 12th century the...
on the edge of the town centre of Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is now owned by the town and since 1895 has formed one of the two principal venues of the Ipswich Corporation Museums
Ipswich Museum
Ipswich Museum is a registered museum of culture, history and natural heritage located on High Street in Ipswich, the County Town of the English county of Suffolk...
, now part of the Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service.
The Grade I listed building mansion houses a collection of pottery and glass, a contemporary art gallery and a collection of paintings by artists including John Constable
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
and Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
. There are rooms preserved as past inhabitants would have known them, complete with original items of fine clothing. The house sits within a 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) public park which features many beautiful trees, rolling lawns and ponds.
History of Christchurch Mansion
Christchurch Park was originally the grounds of the Priory of the Holy Trinity, with an area of many square miles, coming up to the medieval town walls. During Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
s dissolution of the monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, the monastery was dissolved and the land was purchased by Sir Edmund Withipoll, who built the mansion in 1548-50, the ground floor of which remains largely as he left it. His granddaughter, Elizabeth Withipoll, married Leicester Devereux, 6th Viscount Hereford
Leicester Devereux, 6th Viscount Hereford
Leicester Devereux, 6th Viscount Hereford was a British Peer. He was the second son of Walter Devereux, 5th Viscount Hereford ....
and the mansion passed to the Devereux family, who rebuilt the upper floors after a fire in about 1670, when the main porch was also added. In 1734, Claude Fonnereau purchased the mansion from Price Devereux, 10th Viscount Hereford
Price Devereux, 10th Viscount Hereford
Price Devereux, 10th Viscount Hereford was a British Peer. He was the son of Price Devereux, 9th Viscount Hereford....
. A road next to the park is named after the family.
The mansion was bought by Felix Cobbold
Felix Cobbold
Felix Thornley Cobbold was a British barrister and Liberal Party politician.Cobbold was the son of John Cobbold, Member of Parliament for Ipswich, and his wife Lucy, daughter of Reverend Henry Patterson. John Cobbold, Thomas Cobbold and Nathaniel Cobbold, grandfather of Cameron Cobbold, 1st Baron...
from a syndicate of property developments 1894 to save the building from demolition. Cobbold, a wealthy local businessman and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, then offered to give it to the Ipswich Corporation
Ipswich Corporation
The Ipswich Corporation was a municipal corporation that owned property and government to town. The corporation kept highly details accounts of their operation, a great deal of which survives to this day...
to establish a Museum and Art Gallery, together with a further £20,000 in Ipswich Stock for the purchase of artworks. His offer was on condition that the corporation buy the surrounding parkland for the people of Ipswich. It took Cobbold three attempts to get the corporation to agree to this, but in February 1895 the mansion was transferred to the town and in April 1895 the corporation purchased the central part of the park. The corporation acquired the upper arboretum in 1928. Felix Cobbold, among other members of the wealthy Cobbold family, have donated a great deal of land to the people of Ipswich, including Ipswich Racecourse
Ipswich Racecourse
The Ipswich Racecourse is an area of Ipswich that was formerly a racecourse.-The early years:The course was on Nacton Heath just East of Ipswich, although now a suburb, and was 1 mile and 7 furlongs in circumference...
.
External links
- Christchurch Mansion - official site
- Christchurch Park history at Ipswich Council website
- Friends of the Ipswich Museums
- History
- Local tourism information