Little Gransden Manor of the bishop of Ely (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Little Gransden.
In the historic county of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely.
Modern Authority of Cambridgeshire.
1974 county of Cambridgeshire.
Medieval County of Cambridgeshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: TL273553
Latitude 52.17984° Longitude -0.14193°

Little Gransden Manor of the bishop of Ely has been described as a probable Palace.

There are no visible remains.

Description

The bishops of Ely probably seldom visited this outlying estate, although their villeins were obliged to carry their baggage when they did. Bishop Lisle came to Gransden in 1356, when fleeing from the enemies who had attacked his train at St. Ives. The bishops maintained a manor-house at Little Gransden with a hall, chamber, and kitchen, the usual farm-buildings, and a dovecot. With the decline of high demesne farming the buildings began to fall into decay. In 1356 they were already said to be ruinous. The last to survive was the dovecot, demolished by the rector c. 1550, and possibly re-erected in Great Gransden. The site of the manor-house called Berry close, south-east of the churchyard and rectory, was held with the rest of the demesne by the tenants. They were leasing it to the rectors by 1550. On part they built a town house which was let by the churchwardens for 20s. a year. In the 16th century the steward held the manor courts there, and the new lords after 1602 claimed it therefore as the manor-house. The area was in 1968 occupied by the gardens of the former rectory and old school buildings. (VCH)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record.

Books
- Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 176
  Elrington, C.R. (ed), 1973, VCH Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely Vol. 5 p. 87- 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Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.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)

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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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