Wells Bishops Palace

In the civil parish of Wells.
In the historic county of Somerset (Modern Authority of Somerset, 1974 county of Somerset).

Moat, C14 gatehouse and curtain wall remain, in good order, of bishop's palace licensed in 1340.

This site has been described as a;
Palace.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1286 March 15.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1340 March 29.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 483262)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is ST551457

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 25370

• Web site links
  • http://www.britannia.com/history/somerset/castles/wellsbp.html
    http://webapp1.somerset.gov.uk/her/details.asp?prn=25370
    http://www.bishopspalacewells.co.uk/index.php
• Books
  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p669-74
    Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p105, 108, 257
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p86-7
    Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p47, 49-54, 134, 156, 158, 167, 168, 169
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p224-5
    Dunning, Robert, 1995, Somerset Castles (Somerset Books) p67-68
    James, T.B., 1990, The Palaces of Medieval England (London; Seaby)
    Colchester, L.S., 1987, Wells Cathedral p159-80
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p445
    Dunning, R.W., 1982, 'The Bishop's Palace' in Colchester, L.S. (ed), Wells Cathedral: A History (Shepton Mallet) p227-244
    Pevsner, N, 1958, Building of England; North Somerset and Bristol p313-16
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p59-60
    Parker, J.H., 1866, The Architectural Antiquities of the City of Wells (Oxford and London)
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p345-6, 412
    Pugin, A., 1850, Pugin's Examples of Gothic Architecture (London: Henry and Bohn) Vol2
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol2 p263
• Journal Articles
  • Coulson, C., 1994, 'Freedom to Crenellate by Licence - An Historiographical Revision' Nottingham Medieval Studies Vol38 p124
    Coulson, C., 1982, 'Hierarchism in Conventual Crenellation: An Essay in the Sociology and Metaphysics of Medieval Fortification' Medieval Archaeology Vol26 p69-100
    Binney, M., 1975, ‘The Bishop’s Palace, Wells, Somerset' Country Life, 158 p1666-9, 1738-41
    Wood, M.E., 1950, Archaeological Journal Vol107 p108-110
    Wood, Margaret, 1950, 'Thirteenth-century Domestic Architecture in England' Archaeological Journal Vol105 supplement p74-6
    Brakspear, 1930, Archaeological Journal Vol87 p464-7
    Leland, 1897, Country Life Vol2 p528-30 [slight]
    Buckle, E., 1888, Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society Vol34 p54-97
    Parker, J.H., 1863, 'The bishop's palace at Wells' Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society Vol11 p143-58
    Davis, C.E., Journal British Archaeological Association Vol13 p177-86
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1281-92) p229
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1338-40) p466
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/dorseteng.html#somerset20]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p411-13
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p146