Christchurch Park is a historical area of rolling lawns, wooded areas, and delicately created
arboreta
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
close to the town centre in
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
,
Suffolk. The park hosts various facilities such as a children's play area, tennis courts, table tennis, bowling greens and outdoor gym equipment. The distinguished
Tudor house,
Christchurch Mansion
Christchurch Mansion is a substantial Tudor brick mansion house built in Ipswich, Suffolk by Edmund Withypoll (also written "Withipoll") around 1548–50. The Grade I listed building is located within Christchurch Park and sits by the southe ...
, is located at the parks southern entrance and holds a public museum and art gallery. The park belonged to various noble families as private land throughout its history but was purchased by the
Ipswich Borough Council
Ipswich Borough Council, founded in 1974 after the abolition of the County Borough of Ipswich, governs the non-metropolitan district of Ipswich in Suffolk. It is the second tier of a two-tier system, fulfilling functions such as refuse collecti ...
in 1894 and opened as the town's first public park in 1895.
History
From the 12th century the park was the site of the Augustinian
Priory of the Holy Trinity, Ipswich
Priory of the Holy Trinity was a priory in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. A church of that dedication was named in the Domesday Book, although the building date of the priory was 1177. After a fire, the monastery was rebuilt by John of Oxford, Bishop ...
. In 1536 the Priory's estates were seized by the crown during
Henry VIII's
Dissolution of the Monasteries. The land was purchased by a London merchant, Paul Withypoll in 1545, and between 1548 and 1550 his son
Edmund Withypoll had the priory demolished and built
Christchurch Mansion
Christchurch Mansion is a substantial Tudor brick mansion house built in Ipswich, Suffolk by Edmund Withypoll (also written "Withipoll") around 1548–50. The Grade I listed building is located within Christchurch Park and sits by the southe ...
in its place.
The Mansion remains the impressive Tudor centrepiece of the park and contains a museum, art gallery and tea room.
During the 1560s there was an ongoing dispute with the
Ipswich Corporation
The Ipswich Corporation was a historic local government that owned property and governed in Ipswich, Suffolk. Since its foundation in 1200, the corporation has kept often highly detailed accounts of their operation. A great deal of these survive t ...
in relation to various alterations carried out and public access to the annual fair.
[ In 1567 Edmund Withypoll constructed a new pond, now known as the ' Wilderness Pond'. Queen ]Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
stayed at the mansion for six days during August 1561.[ Twinch (2008), page 57] She returned to the town for four days in 1575.
Edmunds's granddaughter Elizabeth Withipoll married Leicester Devereux, 6th Viscount Hereford
Leicester Devereux, 6th Viscount Hereford (1617 – 1 December 1676) was a British Peer. He was the second son of Walter Devereux, 5th Viscount Hereford (1578–1658).
He married Elizabeth Withipoll, daughter and sole heiress of Sir William Wit ...
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. Claude Fonnereau bought the Christchurch estate in 1734 which at the time totaled more than of land (today's park covers about ).[ By 1772 the public were granted some access to the park and tried to introduce keys for those who would sign an agreement with conditions of entry.][
Following efforts by the Ipswich Corporation to find land for a public park in 1848 W.C. Fonnereau leased to the corporation from 1851 who developed the arboretum in the same year that the park was visited by Prince Albert.][ By 1895 the mansion was owned by ]Felix Cobbold
Felix Thornley Cobbold (8 September 1841 Ipswich – 6 December 1909) was a British banker, barrister and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. He was a member of the Ipswich Cobbold family, Cobbold brewing family but not a brewer himsel ...
who offered to give it to the corporation on condition that the corporation purchased the rest of the grounds. A deal was concluded and the park opened to the public on 11 April 1895.[
The park contains memorials to the Ipswich Martyrs which was installed in 1903. The war memorial to servicemen lost during the ]Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
, World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
was moved to the park from cornhill in 1924. The corporation acquire the upper arboretum in 1928.[
In 2004, the park received a £4.2 million grant from the ]Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
for a programme of extensive renovation and restoration of its facilities and historical features. This renovation included the 2006 draining of both the 'round' and 'wilderness' ponds in order to remove the five feet of silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...
that had collected over the previous 80 years.
The park today
Arboreta
The Upper and Lower Arboreta
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
within Christchurch Park are the horticultural gem of Ipswich providing inspiration to gardeners and a tranquil setting for relaxation and reflection. Just a few minutes from the town centre the formal gardens are planted with seasonal bedding displays, rose and shrub beds, an island herbaceous bed, formal carpet bedding and a large rockery. Paths gently weave through the gardens past tennis courts, croquet lawns and a band stand. Visitors will find ample seating and a large grass area for picnics.
The Upper Arboretum
The Upper Arboretum was opened as the first public park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...
in Ipswich in 1853. It was envisaged as providing "healthful and harmonious recreation" by James Allen Ransome, a Councillor with Ipswich Municipal Council
The City of Ipswich is a local government area in Queensland, Australia, located within the southwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area, including the urban area surrounding the city of Ipswich and surrounding rural areas.
Geography
The C ...
.
Wildlife and ornithology
Christchurch Park is home to in excess of 100 different bird varieties, including a large selection of ducks, geese and swans which inhabit the two large ponds situated within the park. A small bird reserve was set up in the early 1990s, and dog-walkers are restricted to keeping their pets on a lead within this area to reduce disturbances to the birds. Alongside the birds of the park, grey squirrels and a fox inhabit the arboreta. There is also a deer residing on the island in the wilderness pond.
Sport and leisure within the park
Sporting facilities within the park include tennis courts, a croquet lawn and a bowling green. Christchurch Park has also long been the centre of many of Ipswich's leisure and entertainment events. The Ipswich Carnival, a giant fireworks display, The Ipswich Flower Show and The Ipswich Music Festival are all held here, along with concerts from bands such as McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the '' Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Danny Jones (lead vocals, har ...
, Busted, Diversity (Britain's Got Talent), Jedward, Jools Holland and Status Quo. Every summer, a "Proms in the Park" event is also held together with a screening of a popular film in the park's 'bowl', Snow Hill, prompting al fresco patriotism. An annual parade of historic vehicles also assembles along the spinal path of the park, and marks the start of the Ipswich to Felixstowe Run.
Memorials in the park
Mayor's Walk
"Mayors' Walk" is a pathway in Christchurch Park, which has provided a permanent record of Ipswich mayor's over the years.
Gallery
File:Ipswich Christchurch musee.jpg, Christchurch Mansion
File:Christchurch Park Ipswich (17).jpg, Christchurch Park War Memorial
File:Cabmans Shelter - Christchurch Park.jpg, 1892 built shelter for drivers of horse-drawn cabs was moved from Ipswich Cornhill and placed in the park in 1895.
File:The Armillary Sphere Sundial.jpg, The Armillary Sphere Sundial
File:IpswichMartyrsMonument1.jpg, The Ipswich Martyrs monument at dusk
References
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Parks and open spaces in Ipswich
St Margaret's Ward, Ipswich