Christchurch Mansion facts for kids
Christchurch Mansion from the front
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| Former name | Withipoll House |
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| Established | 1885 |
| Location | Christchurch Park Ipswich, England |
| Visitors | 53,201 (2019) |
Christchurch Mansion is a big, old house built with bricks in the Tudor style. It was built in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, by Edmund Withypoll around 1548–1550. This very important historical building is located inside Christchurch Park. It sits near the southern gates, close to the center of Ipswich town.
The mansion was owned by different important families throughout its history. However, the Ipswich Borough Council bought it in 1884. Since 1885, the building has been used as a museum. Today, it is managed by the Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service. The museum's rooms look just like they did when people lived there. They are filled with original items such as old furniture, fancy clothes, and even children's toys. The museum also has a collection of paintings by famous local artists. These include John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough. You can visit the Mansion for free, and you don't need to book ahead.
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History of Christchurch Mansion
Christchurch Park was once the land belonging to the Holy Trinity Priory in Ipswich. This land was very large and reached up to the old town walls. During the time when King Henry VIII closed down many monasteries, the priory was shut. Its land was then bought by Paul Withypoll, a rich merchant, who died in 1547.
Building the Mansion
Paul Withypoll's son, Edmund Withypoll, built a house on this land. It was known as Christ Church Withipoll. He built the house, called Withipoll House, between 1548 and 1550. The stone walls of the ground floor from that time are still there today.
An old stone from 1549 has the house's Latin motto:
"Frugalitatem sic servas, ut dissipationem non incurras."
This means: "You observe frugality in such a way that you do not incur waste."
Edmund's granddaughter, Elizabeth Withypoll, married Leicester Devereux, 6th Viscount Hereford. This meant the mansion then belonged to the Devereux family. They rebuilt the upper floors after a fire around 1670. The main entrance porch was also added at that time. In 1734, Claude Fonnereau bought the mansion from Price Devereux, 10th Viscount Hereford. A street next to the park is named after the Fonnereau family.
Becoming a Public Museum
In 1848, W.C. Fonnereau developed Fonnereau Road as a nice area for homes. Later, in 1894, Felix Cobbold bought the mansion. He was a wealthy local businessman who liked to help others. He bought it to stop it from being torn down.
Cobbold then offered to give the mansion to the Ipswich Corporation (the local council). He wanted them to turn it into a Museum and Art Gallery. He also offered an extra £20,000 to buy artworks. His offer had one condition: the council had to buy the parkland around the mansion for the people of Ipswich.
It took Felix Cobbold three tries to get the council to agree. But in February 1895, the mansion was given to the town. In April 1895, the council bought the main part of the park. The council also bought the Upper Arboretum, which was opened to the public in 1848, in 1928. Felix Cobbold and other members of his rich family have given a lot of land to the people of Ipswich. This includes the old Ipswich Racecourse.
Developing the Museum
The Ipswich architect John Shewell Corder worked on restoring the Mansion for its public opening. Frank Woolnough, who was the Curator of the Ipswich Corporation Museum from 1893 to 1920, developed it as a museum. Woolnough also made it a place for different groups to hold meetings and for educational events.
During this time, the mansion also housed the archaeological collections of Miss Nina Frances Layard. She was in charge of these collections. Under curator Guy Maynard (1920–1952), the museum continued to add to its collections of art, decorations, and furniture.
In 1927, there was a special exhibition for Thomas Gainsborough's 200th birthday. It also showed works by George Frost and John Constable. This exhibition showed that the mansion had a collection important to the whole country. The building was made even bigger with the new Wolsey Art Gallery at the back. Also, a whole two-story part of a Tudor merchant's house was saved from demolition in 1924 and added to the mansion.
In 2019, the museum held a special exhibition called "Made in Suffolk." It was all about the famous Suffolk musician Ed Sheeran. The exhibition showed many of Ed Sheeran's personal items from his journey to becoming a star. These included his sketches, song lyrics he wrote, school reports, and famous awards from the Brit Awards and Grammys.
Notable Artworks
- Lady Drury's Closet
- Golding Constable's Flower Garden and Golding Constable's Kitchen Garden
- A collection of seventy-seven pastel drawings by Blanche Georgiana Vulliamy of First World War searchlights.
Media Appearances
- Christchurch Mansion was used as a filming location for two episodes of BBC One's Antiques Roadshow. These episodes were filmed in 2020 and shown on TV in January and March 2021.
