Wookey Court Farm

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

Medieval palace of the Bishop of Bath and Wells at Wookey, on low lying land in a loop of the River Axe. The site was one of the first palaces of the Bishops and is first documented in 1224 when Bishop Jocelin was licensed to use oak trees from Cheddar forest for its repair. In a 1330s history of Wells it was written that the chapels and chambers of Wookey and Wells were built 'magnificently' by Jocelin. The main grounds were encircled by a moat, enclosing a large polygonal area of over five acres, with the palace in the northern part where Court Farm now stands. The farmhouse is the only upstanding building of the period. An area of earthworks to the east of the house indicates the site of former buildings, and although the moat has been largely infilled its course can still be traced in places as an earthwork. Major repairs to the palace were recorded in 1461-2, including the re-roofing of the hall with lead. A survey of 1557 recorded new buildings and rooms, and the present farmhouse has been identified as part of the new build. The moat is believed to date from after this date as it is not mentioned in the survey, although it is depicted on the 1839 Tithe Map. The grounds were entered from the south east where a gatehouse stood. On one side were an ox house, hay house, stable and pigsty while on the other were a cow house and walled barton of two acres. Lynchets and banks suggest sub-division of this aprt of the grounds. Within the grounds were a garden behind the house, a barn, two bartons, an orhard, fishponds and a dovecote.

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

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 268186)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is ST51794562

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

PastScape number; 197095

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 23005

• Web site links
  • http://webapp1.somerset.gov.uk/her/details.asp?prn=23005
• Books
  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p673
    Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p170
    Dunning, Robert, 1995, Somerset Castles (Somerset Books) p69-70
    Pevsner, N., 1958, The Buildings of England: North Somerset and Bristol (London, Penguin) p344
    Winstone, J. and R., The Rescue of Court Farm, Wookey p12-14
    Bothamley, 1911, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Somerset Vol2 p521
    Collinson, J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Somersetshire Vol3 p421
• Journal Articles
  • 2001, Medieval Archaeology Vol45 p318
    Winstone, J., 1998, Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Vol141 p91-101
    Hasler, J. and Luker, B., 1993, 'The Site of the Bishop's Palace, Wookey' Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Vol137 p111-118
    1971, CBA Group 12 and 13 Archaeological Review Vol6 p42
    Wood, Margaret, 1950, 'Thirteenth-century Domestic Architecture in England' Archaeological Journal Vol105 supplement
    1936, Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Vol82 p23
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Gater, J., 1995, Report on geophysical survey: Court Farm, Wookey, Somerset. Unpublished Geophysical Surveys of Bradford report 95/112 in Somerset HER files