Sowton Bishops Court

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Bishop's Clyst; Bedford House; Clyst Honiton

In the civil parish of Sowton.
In the historic county of Devon (Modern Authority of Devon, 1974 county of Devon).

Palace and chapel erected by Bishop Bronescombe before 1276. The chapel, dated to circa 1270, and C15 barn and stables remain although much altered, but a small house of C15 character depicted in an antiquarian print was demolished in 1803 and a large house built on the site. It remained a bishops palace until 1546 when the bishop was induced to sell it. The house and chapel were rebuilt in 1860. An early C19 source records that Bishops Clyst, then called Bedford House, was one of the garrisons for the blockade of Exeter in 1645 and fortifications were erected around it; field investigation in 1962 noted a ha ha around the house but nothing that could be identified with the 1645 fortifications.

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

This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 86174)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX981918

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; 448276

Books

Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p549-51
Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p177
Pevsner, Nikolaus and Cherry, Bridget, 1989, Buildings of England: Devon (Harmondsworth) p82

Journal Articles

Brooks, C., 1990, 'Bishops Court, Devon' Country Life Vol184 (7) p54-8
Alcock, N.W., 1966, 'The Medieval Buildings of Bishop's Clyst'; Transactions of the Devon Association Vol98 p132-53, espec. p140-6
Tapley-Soper, H., 1942-6, Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries Vol22 p78-80
Chanter, J.F., 1929, 'Bishop's Court', Transactions of the Exeter Diocesan Architectural and Archaeological Society Vol4 (3ser) p87-96

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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This record last updated on Friday, April 6, 2007

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