Bishops Cannings Manor House (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Cannyngg; Canynge

In the civil parish of Bishops Cannings.
In the historic county of Wiltshire.
Modern Authority of Wiltshire.
1974 county of Wiltshire.
Medieval County of Wiltshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SU037641
Latitude 51.37607° Longitude -1.94628°

Bishops Cannings Manor House has been described as a certain Palace, and also as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Traces of a ditch and rampart which Archdeacon Macdonald thought were associated with this house were still discernible in 1860, possibly suggesting the presence of a moat. Plot number 377 on the tithe map (1841), just south east of St Mary's church is called Court Close and was part of Court Farm. In the absence of other evidence, this seems to be the only obvious possible location of the manor house, although this edifice does not seem to have ever been used for residential purposes by the bishop. (Payne)

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1337 Aug 30 (Click on the date for details of this licence.).
A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1377 July 20.

Comments

Site of manor house. licensed in 1337 and licence ratified in 1377. A large manor of the bishops but doubt has been cast on their actually being a residence here, so close to Devizes, but possibly subsidiary accommodation. There would certainly have been a steward house which would also have been the manorial court house where rents were paid etc. One of many manors mentioned in the licence to crenellate which suggests little work was done either in 1337 or 1377 although even if just a stewards house the status as the bishops court may have resulted in some dressing up of that hall with architectural symbols of power and status.

Sources of information, references and further reading

County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) SU06SW454.

Books
- Smith, P.L., 2013, The Bishop's Palace at Salisbury (Reading: Spire Books) p. 188
  Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 3 Southern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 627-9, 695
  Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 167, 168, 184
  Pugh, R.B. and Crittall, Elizabeth (eds), 1953, VCH Wiltshire Vol. 7 p. 189 online transcription
  Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3 Part 2 p. 334, 411 online copy
Periodical Articles
- The Venerable Archdeacon Macdonald, 1859, 'Historical Memoirs of the Parish of Bishop's Cannings, County Wiltshire' Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine Vol. 6 no. 17 p. 120-159 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.)
- Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1895, Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward III (1334-38) Vol. 3 p. 498 online copy
  Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1895, Calendar of Patent Rolls Richard II (1377-81) Vol. 1 p. 9, 10 online copy
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) p. 156-7 (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.

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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