Christchurch Mansion

Lovely house and surrounding grounds. Ashley gave us a very interesting and informative run down of the houses history and the families that have owned them. The paintings were fantastic and there are some really interesting rooms. We had a pram and could go around the ground floor using it and there was also the use of a child changing facility

Not many historical places that are still free to visit. Set in probably 90 acres of beautiful parkland & wildlife. Nice snacks all freshly made. Very interesting place to visit.
Thanks
Glen, Jorjia Matt & Lux.

We turned up expecting to pay and got a very pleasant surprise; it’s free to enter! There is art by Constable and various portraits not uncommon in stately homes. There are a few wax figures giving you a better impression of who once lived there and the rooms are set up to give you a snap shot of life. Really enjoyed it here and there is the added bonus of some contemporary art as well, a real breath of fresh air! The gardens are extensive and the tea room is excellent, the food was delicious and the staff were very friendly and generous with the portion sizes. If nothing else, visit the tea room.

Great place to visit, really interesting exhibits, displays, and rooms. Staff are really helpful and friendly. There is a lovely tearoom/cafe which serves tasty food and loved the variety of things on sale in the gift shop. As a wheelchair user the ground floor was very accessible complete with a disabled toilet and there was disabled access to the Constable painting exhibition. Highly recommend a trip.

Christchurch Mansion is a fantastic Grade 1 listed Tudor Mansion House free to enter and run by the Council . I found it very charming and an interesting step back in time .
I was very fortunate that I visited when the Recreating Constable exhibition was on which was cool . I was surprised to see a painting of his called The Ascension having always related him to country scenes . It was a very entrancing painting I thought and worth the visit to see this alone . Unfortunately the exhibition is only temporary .
Nonetheless the rest of the house is certainly worth seeing . It was built by one Edmund Withypoll around 1548 . In one room there was some 16th century painted wall panels which caught my eye at least . Thank God for our DIY stores I don't believe I could do as good a job as this . One room also had a collection of musical instruments including a Harp get them . Again my musical talents are zero and my voice even worse . By this time I had realised I would certainly have been divorced had I lived in the 1500s .
There was a cool painting of the famous and talented Joshua Reynolds and one of Sarah Churchill I believe . A very interesting toy collection shows how to live before play station was around .
Charming staff , interesting sights and a few hours well spent . Well worth visiting in my humble opinion .

Very interesting place full of fantastic artifacts depicting the different times of the mansion. Also great to see the Constable paintings

What a great time we had looking round the museum with the great Black panther costume display to the rooms set out in various time periods. The kids liked that each room offered something different and the adults loved the art and the history. Unlike some places we have visited recently this has obviously been taken care of and maintained pretty well so well done Ipswich borough council teams. For a free entry it's such a great thing to fill an hour or so and of course surrounded by the amazing park too.

Really enjoyed visiting Christchurch Mansion. A wonderful insight into life at the mansion over the centuries; a treasure trove of antiquities. A must see. In addition, we were treated to an exhibition of 'stories' around equality and diversity which included histories of Marvel comics!