From the 12th century the park was the site of the Augustinian Priory of the Holy Trinity, Ipswich. 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 in its place. The Mansion remains the impressive Tudor centrepiece of the park and contains a museum, art gallery and tea room.