The Meet Cardinal Wolsey sessions at Christchurch Mansion proved a popular draw during the first two days of the new “Ipswich’s Greatest Son” exhibition.
Hundreds of people flocked to see the four magnificent tomb angels and to talk to the Cardinal in the appropriately named Wolsey Art Gallery.
Wolsey, who was born in Ipswich, was Henry VIII’s Chancellor and, at the height of his power, planned a great tomb, decorated with gleaming angels. Instead, he died in disgrace and his tomb was used to bury another English legend, Admiral Nelson. The angels disappeared for centuries before being discovered on the gates of a golf club. They were bought for the nation by the V&A museum in London.
Councillor Carole Jones, IBC museums service portfolio-holder, said: "With both Cardinal Wolsey and Anne Boleyn in attendance the Mansion more than doubled its average weekend attendance. People of all ages have been saying hello to our most famous son and then exploring the magnificent angels that are being shown in Wolsey's home town for the first time, thanks to the generosity of the V&A."
The Mansion welcomed nearly 500 visitors on Saturday and Sunday – 350 of them headed for the Wolsey exhibition. The free exhibition is on until March 2018. The Mansion is closed on Mondays.
