Description
Christchurch Park is Ipswich’s best known and most popular park. Opened to the
public on 24 April 1895, it has a history stretching back nearly one thousand years
to a time before these grounds were home to Augustinian Canons. After the
dissolution of the monasteries, a magnificent Tudor mansion was built here on the
ruins of the Priory, and for the next 350 years was home to just three families.
When the estate was sold to a property syndicate in 1894, the story of Christchurch
Mansion and Park looked to be ending but the former was saved by Felix Cobbold
who bought and offered it to the town as a free gift on the condition that the
Corporation preserve the house and purchase the remainder of the Park.
Today, the Grade I-listed Mansion is Ipswich’s jewel in the crown and the Park
has a Grade II English Heritage listing. Endowed with ponds, veteran trees,
memorials, drinking fountains, shelters, art, a Victorian arboretum and a visitor
centre, the Park is also the venue for many of the town’s most popular events.
David Miller is the Chairman of the Friends of Christchurch Park. His connection
with this Park is both unusual and special: he was born inside the grounds, in the
Arboretum Lodge, and grew up in the Arboretum where his late father was Head
Gardener for a quarter of a century. Who better then to guide you on a fascinating
journey around this outstanding Park and celebrate everything it has to offer.
