Kingsbury Episcopi Bishops Palace (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Kingsbury Episcopi.
In the historic county of Somerset.
Modern Authority of Somerset.
1974 county of Somerset.
Medieval County of Somerset.

OS Map Grid Reference: ST436210
Latitude 50.98659° Longitude -2.80447°

Kingsbury Episcopi Bishops Palace has been described as a probable Palace.

There are uncertain remains.

Description

Documentary evidence indicates that the bishops of Bath and Wells had a residence here from at least C13 to C14. Collinson notes a mid C15 reference to a "court house" which may indicate that the residence was still standing and used to house the manor court. The most likely site is close to the church where, on the N side, are two plots named in the 1844 tithe map as Higher and Lower "Court Leaze" but the building now known as Rodway Manor is possible (Payne, 1999).
Material from an evaluation trench excavated in 2005 was radiocarbon dated to the Saxon period (Graham). (Somerset HER)

The evidence for the existence of an episcopal residence at Kingsbury Episcopi comes mainly from the bishops' registers. Bishop Jocelin signed documents here in 1241 and 1245 and later in the thirteenth century, William of Bitton 1(1248-64) was in Kingsbury. In the early fourteenth century Walter Haselshaw (1302-08) signed two documents here. John Drokensford signed forty-one of the entries within his register at Kingsbury, of which 21 were precisely dated, showing a fairly even spread of dates between 1311-1328. Ralph of Shrewsbury was in Kingsbury in 1333, 1334, 1340, 1344, 1352 and 1353. The closeness of some of the dates suggests that the bishop was staying nearby. Ralph Erghum was at Kingsbury on 24th June 1396, but no further documents were signed there by any later bishop of Bath and Wells. Collinson quotes a mid- fifteenth century reference to a "court house" at Kingsbury° and it is possible that a building previously used for episcopal accommodation had subsequently remained the venue for the local manorial court. The 1844 tithe map suggests that the site of this building was immediately to the north of the church. Plots 118 and 119 are called "Higher Court Leaze" and "Lower Court Leaze" in the tithe apportionment, which could be indicative of a former manorial site. (Payne 2003)

Sources of information, references and further reading

County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 35969; 18458.

Books
- Collinson, J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset (Bath) Vol. 2 p. 468 online copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Holmes, T.S. (ed), 1896, The Register of Ralph of Shrewsbury, Bishop of Bath and Wells 1329-63 (Somerset Record Society 9 and 100 passim online copy and online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Graham, A., 2005, Archaeological Assessment of Land to the North East of the Parish Church, Kingsbury Episcopi, Somerset. Unpublished Field Note
  Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) p. 153 (available via EThOS)
  Payne, N., 1999, The residences of the medieval Bishops of Bath and Wells (unpubl MA dissertation, Bristol)

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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.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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