Pleasley Bishops Palace

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Plesele

In the civil parish of Pleasley.
In the historic county of Derbyshire (Modern Authority of Derbyshire, 1974 county of Derbyshire).

Thompson calls this a palace of the Bishops of St Davids "Perhaps a place of retreat during the Welsh Wars" The draft version of the VCH writes "Sometime before 1281 Robert de Willoughby sold the manor of Pleasley to Thomas Bek, a younger brother of John, Lord Bek of Eresby (Lincs.) (d. 1304),who was bishop of St David's from 1280 until his death in 1293. The justices in eyre were concerned at this alienation and it may have been as a consequence that Robert confirmed the feoffment to Thomas in 1288. The justices were also told that Bek had a warren at Pleasley. In December 1281 the king gave Thomas four bucks and eight does to stock his park at Pleasley and excused his removal of four other deer from Sherwood he previous autumn. In 1285 Thomas had a grant of a weekly market and three-day annual fair at Pleasley and free warren in his demesne lands, as well as licence to fortify and crenellate his house there, and permission to divert the road running past his tenement at Pleasley Hill. After Thomas Bek's death, Pleasley passed to his brother Anthony, bishop of Durham,who had half a knight's fee there in 1302. He died in 1311, when the manor of Pleasley was found to be held of Robert de Reresby by the service of 2d. yearly."

This site has been described as a;
Palace
Fortified Manor House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.
Nothing visible remains.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1285 Jan 1.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK5064

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