Ely Bishops Palace

In the civil parish of Ely.
In the historic county of Cambridgeshire (Modern Authority of Cambridgeshire, 1974 county of Cambridgeshire).

Claustral buildings of Ely Cathedral dating from C12. Features include the Bishops Palace, the Deanery. the Almonry and the Prior's House. Bishop's Palace, which stands on the south side of Palace Green to the west of the Cathedral, was originally built in the C15 by Bishop Alcock (1486-1501). The only surviving part of Alcock's palace is the east tower and the lower part of the west tower. The upper part of the west tower and the west wing, facing Palace Green was built by Bishop Goodrich in 1550 and the recessed centre part and the block facing south to the garden was built by Bishop Laney (1667-75) who demolished the major part of Bishop Goodrich's palace. The Great Hall, or Guest Hall was built in the mid C13 and was remodelled in the early C14.

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 48713, 48695)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL540801

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; 375293

Books

Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p175
Pugh R.B. (ed), 1953, 'City of Ely: Monastic buildings and palace' VCH Cambridge and the Isle of Ely Vol4 p77-82 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=21892

Journal Articles

Hussey, C., 1928, 'Ely Palace, Cambridgeshire' Counntry Life Vol63 p850-7

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/norfeng.html#cantab15]

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

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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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