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Alvechurch Moat
Also known as, or recorded in historical
documents as; Bishops Palace; The Moat House
In the civil parish of Alvechurch.
In the historic county of Worcestershire (Modern Authority of Worcestershire, 1974 county of Hereford and Worcester).
Buried and earthwork remains of the palace of the Bishops of Worcester and the moat associated with it. The double-island moated site of the palace lies in the north western part of the monument and is rectangular in shape. To the south east of the palace lies a second, single-island, sub-rectangular moat. To the north, east and south of this moated site is a large area of fishponds and other water management features. The palace is documented from around 1230, although the deer park is recorded from about 1160 and manorial records survive to the time of King Offa. In C16 Leyland recorded that the decayed timber palace had been recently restored by Bishop Latimer. The palace site measure 190m by 80m. The northern island is the larger, measuring 80m by 60m. The main domestic building was sited on this island. Part excavation on the moat island has confirmed that domestic buildings survive on the platforms.
This site has been described as a;
Palace
Fortified Manor House.
The confidence
that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.
Earthworks remains.
This site is a scheduled
monument protected by law.
The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP03297251
PastScape number;
329071
Books
- Salter, Mike, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern) p76
Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing)
Aston, Michael (ed), 1988, Medieval fish, fisheries and fishponds in England 182 (i-ii) p442-4
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p508 [possible]
Slater, T.R. and Jarvis, P.J. (eds), 1982, Field and forest: an historical geography of Warwickshire and Worcestershire p275-7
Montgomerie, 1924, in Page, Wm and Willis-Bund, J.W. (eds), VCH, Worcester Vol4 p432
Page, Wm and Willis-Bund, J.W. (eds), 1913, VCH, Worcester Vol3 p253
Journal Articles
- Aston, M.A., 1970-2, 'Earthworks of the Bishop's Palace, Alvechurch, Worcestershire' Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society ser3 Vol13 p55-9
Oswald, 1954, Birmingham Archaeological Society transactions, excursions and reports Vol72 p5-9
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p469, 516, 518
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