Wick Episcopi Bishops Manor (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Lower Wick

In the civil parish of Worcester.
In the historic county of Worcestershire.
Modern Authority of Worcestershire.
1974 county of Hereford and Worcester.
Medieval County of Worcestershire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO838527
Latitude 52.17199° Longitude -2.23580°

Wick Episcopi Bishops Manor has been described as a probable Palace.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

Residential Manor of the Bishops of Worcester. Site of failed medieval borough.

At Wick the Bishops of Worcester had a manor at which Godfrey Giffard often stayed, and where he entertained Archbishop Winchelsey in 1300. He seems to have spent a good deal on building; the money, according to the Worcester monks, had been stolen from the sacrist of the priory, but apparently their judgement was warped by the joy of condemning a fault-finder. The house now standing on the site known as Wick Episcopi is a U-shaped building, but nothing except the foundations is older than the 16th century. The present house at Lower Wick is modern, but has an extensive moat on the south. Standing in the farmyard is an ancient building long used as stables, which, it is claimed, is the remains of the church of St. Cuthbert. It is a rectangular building, probably of the early 13th century, built of red sandstone ashlar. The walls have been taken down to within about 5 ft. of the window sills and a half-timber and brick story erected upon them in the 17th century. The western portion of the south wall seems to have been rebuilt. The east and west windows are blocked, but the north external jamb of the latter, probably a lancet, has a filleted edge roll, and the internal jambs of the east window seem to have been similarly enriched; internal chamfered jambs of north and south windows remain, and on the old portion of the south wall there are two original buttresses. It is possible, however, that the building may be that of a small house having a hall and two-storied block at its east end. (VCH)

Sources of information, references and further reading

County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) WSM00954.

Books
- Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p
  Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 187
  Dyer, C., 1980, Lords and Peasants in a Changing Society: The Estates of the Bishopric of Worcester, 680-1540 (Cambridge University Press)
  Page, Wm and Willis-Bund, J.W. (eds), 1913, VCH Worcestershire Vol. 3 p. 502 online transcription
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)
  Buteux, V., 1996, Archaeological Desk Based Assessment of Land at Manor Farm, Lower Wick. HWCAS Internal report. 514

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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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