Brewood Manor of Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;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

In the civil parish of Brewood.
In the historic county of Staffordshire.
Modern Authority of Staffordshire.
1974 county of Staffordshire.
Medieval County of Staffordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ88370870
Latitude 52.67624° Longitude -2.17279°

Brewood Manor of Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield has been described as a probable Palace.

There are no visible remains.

Description

'The capital Messuage and close' which was the Episcopal residence at Brewood, is traditionally believed to have occupied the east end of the Market Place; here are some low timber- built houses, which are conjectured to be the remains of the larger building. It would adjoin the north side of the churchyard, and in digging graves beyond the line of yew trees, being the part annexed in1825, several very substantial foundations were found. The Sandy Lanewould be the boundary of the residence on the north side.... In Doomsday Book 'the Bishop of Chester holds Breude'. The temporalities were retained for some time in the hands of the Crown onthe deaths of Bishops Geoffrey de Muscuamp in 1208; of Walter de Lanton in 1322; and of Roger de Northburgh in 1360; King John occupied the Manor House on several of his progresses... Bishop Roger de Weseham died here in 1258.... There is no record of any Bishop having afterwards occupied the residence'.... In 1322 it was probably dilapidated, being rented at eighteen pence a year though estimated atforty pence. Probably ruinous by 1361, as it is not mentioned in the inquiry of that year. (PastScape ref. Hicks Smitth)

In the northern part of the graveyard, no headstones dated earlier than 1826. This would be the extension acquired in 1825 where building foundations were encountered. Area indicated in use as graveyard with standing headstones. Interments are continuing northwards. No evidence of Palace location ascertained. (PastScape)

The documented site of the Bishop's Palace at Brewood. It is traditionally believed to have occupied the east end of the Market Place, and some low timber-framed dwellings here are conjectured to be the remains of a larger building. (Staffs. HER)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 75063.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 01069.

Books
- Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 173
  Greenslade, M.W. and Midgley, L.M., 1959 in Midgley, L.M. (ed), VCH Staffordshire Vol. 5 p. 25-7 - online transcription
  Hicks Smith, J., 1867, Brewood: A Resume Historical and Topographical p. 2-3
  Shaw, Stebbing, 1801, The History and Antiquities of Staffordshire (J.Nichols abd Son) (Republished 1976 by EP Publishing) Vol. 2 p. 292-3
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) Appendix B: List of Medieval Bishop's Palaces in England and Wales (available via EThOS)

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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