BISHOPS PALACE

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Bishop's palace constructed during the late 11th/early 12th century for the Bishops of Bath who occupied the site until transfering to Wells after about 1290. The buildings declined thereafter and were demolished during the late 16th century. Leland in 1542 refers to the palace in the south west corner of the Cathedral Close, and excavations in 1964, 1971 and 1984-5 uncovered substantial stone buildings. Documentary and topographic evidence suggests these were remains of the Bishop's Palace, although an alternative function has been suggested.

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(ST 75116473) Bishop's Palace - Norman origin. Numerous additions.
Demolished c1580. (1-2)

Bishop's Palace: in 1542 Leland noted its ruins 'at the SW side of the monastery'. The Bishop's Palace clearly lay in the W part of the
priory close.(See Illustration Card for the suggested site of Bishop's Palace - based on documentary evidence and excavations 1984-5) (3)

ST 75096464: Part of the supposed site of the late C13/C14 palace of
the Bishops of Bath was excavated by the Bath Archaeological Trust in
advance of development in Swallow Street. The area was only partly
cellared and substantial remains of an early C12/late C11 rectangular
building were recovered. The area immediately to the E was excavated
in 1964 and 1971, and combining the results of those excavations
with the 1985 ones it was possible to restore the building as a
rectangular, shallow-buttressed hall 9 by 15m externally with a flag-
stone floor. The building, and its later C12 extension to the W at
least doubling it in size were associated with a series of culverts
and drains. Extensive re-modelling in the C13 led to the destruction
of the original hall and the creation of a suite of small rooms around the later C12 extension. later work on the site was represented by early perpendicular window tracery fragments. No conclusive evidence of light fortification was found. Documentary
and topographic evidence suggests that this is the site of part of the Bishop's Palace, prior to the transfer to Wells by the early C14; these buildings are believed to be the Norman bishop's hall and later
additions.(4)

Additional references. (5-6)

The Swallow Street dig was evidently on ecclesiastical premises and
the site may well at one time have been part of the Bishop's close.
We do not know of any evidence that the bishop ever resided at that
exact spot. An alternative suggestion for the buildings' function
will be put in a forthcoming paper. (7)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 2) Externally held archive reference

Irvine MSS (Bath Ref Library)

( 3) Popular archaeology

(P Davenport) Aug-1985 Page(s)25,26,28

( 4) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

30, 1986 Page(s)119

( 5) General reference

City of Bath, 1986 76-7 (B Cunliffe)

( 6) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 7) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 8) Bath history

(P Davenport) 2, 1988 Page(s)16-17

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