Christopher was born at Mendlesham, Suffolk, England.

The Ashwellthorpe Triptych, about 1519, oil on panel. The landscape in the central panel of this altarpiece contains episodes known as the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin. On the wings are the donors, Christopher Knyvett and his wife Catherine van Assche, with their name-saints. Commissioned for the Knyvett residence at Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk, or for the family chapel attached to the parish church.