Christchurch Mansion

Christchurch Mansion
Christchurch Mansion from the front
Map
Former name
Withipoll House[1]
Established1885; 139 years ago (1885)
LocationChristchurch Park
Ipswich, England
Coordinates52°03′38″N 1°09′30″E / 52.06062°N 1.15823°E / 52.06062; 1.15823
Visitors53,201 (2019)
Websiteipswich.cimuseums.org.uk/visit/christchurch-mansion

Christchurch Mansion is a substantial Tudor brick mansion house built in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, by Edmund Withypoll (also written "Withipoll") around 1548–50. The Grade I listed building is located within Christchurch Park and sits by the southern gates close to the town centre of Ipswich. The mansion belonged to various noble families throughout its history but was purchased by the Ipswich Borough Council in 1884. Since 1885, the building has been used as a museum and is today run by the municipally run Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service (CIMS) organisation. The museum's rooms are preserved as past inhabitants would have known them, complete with original items such as furniture, fine clothing and children's toys.[2] The museum also holds a collection of paintings by renowned local artists including John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough. The Mansion is free to enter and booking is not required.

  1. ^ Last will of Edmund Withipoll, written 1.v.1582 (P.C.C. 1582).
  2. ^ Historic England. "Christchurch Mansion (1037784)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 April 2008.