Battersea Manor of Bishop of Durham

Description

Licence granted to Bishop of Durham for to build house with towers and impark at Bridgecourt in Battersea in 1474. Subsequently bequeathed by archbishop Booth to the see of York and renamed York House. Excavated 1996-8.

The southern side of the Archbishop of York's Battersea Palace was recorded during an excavation by Pre-Construct Archaeology at the site of Prices Patent Candle Factory, Wandsworth, in 2002. The palace was constructed in 1474 and it survived with various alterations until the late 18th century. Structures found include: the moat; five rooms, of which two were basements or part basements; two courtyards; and the south west corner tower. Evidence of garderobes, drainage, windows, arched recesses and doorways were also recorded. Heavy modification began in late 16th and 17th century, when it became, for a while, a prison for papists. The infilling and building over of the moat and the construction of a number of new rooms during this period were observed, some of which were infilling the earlier courtyards. (Greater London HER)

During the 1450S the property was part of the estate of Lord Stanley, which he conveyed to trustees, perhaps in order to avoid confiscation. In 1460 these trustees transferred the property to Lawrence Booth, Bishop of Durham, and in 1461 the grant was confirmed by Lord Stanley. Despite this the Manor of Bridgecourt was seized by King Edward IV in 1471 because John Stanley had assigned these lands and tenements in trust to the Abbot of Westminster, in contravention of the statute of Mortmain, which forbade the unlicensed transfer of land to ecclesiastical bodies. Bishop Booth found it necessary to apply to the King, and having paid £700, the Manor of Bridgecourt and other lands forfeited by Stanley were granted to him on the 10th July 1471. Booth appears to have built the first house on the site shortly afrerwards. In 1474, Booth received the King's licence to enclose his newly built Mansion House at Battersea called Bridgecourt. Bishop Booth was translated to the See of York in 1476, and remained Archbishop until his death in 1480. He bequeathed his estate in Battersea to the See of York for the maintenance of chantries he had founded, on condition that a lodging in the Mansion House should be reserved for the Archbishop whenever needed, It appears to have been customary for the successive Archbishops to lease out the Mansion House. The Dean and Chapter of York received the rents and profits during vacancies of the See. (Hawkins, 2000)