Chudleigh Bishops Palace

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Chudele

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

The Bishop's Palace at Chudleigh was one of nine rural houses in Devon used by the Bishops of Exeter at the end of the Middle Ages. Its origins are unclear but it was in use from the second half of C13 until 1550. A licence to crenellate the episcopal manor was granted to Bishop Thomas Brantingham in 1379. The visible remains are a ruined vaulted structure - probably the core of the palace, three freestanding walls and parts of an enclosure wall. Low earthworks indicate building platforms, plots or enclosures and agricultural activity.

This site has been described as a;
Palace
Fortified Manor House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.
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 85335)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX86607887

PastScape number; 446619

Books

Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p549-51
Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p136-43
Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p87 [slight]
Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p168, 177
Pevsner, Nikolaus and Cherry, Bridget, 1989, Buildings of England: Devon (Harmondsworth) p263
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p121 [possible]
Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p352, 418
Lysons, D. and S., 1822, Magna Britannia Vol6 Devon p. cccxlv-cccxlviii [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=406]

Journal Articles

Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol46 p146
Tapley-Soper, H., 1942-6, Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries Vol22 p78-80

Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)

Calendar of Patent Rolls (1377-81) p377

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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.

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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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Chudleigh Bishops Palace

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX86607887

Sources of information, references and further reading