Building    From 1150  To 1650

Winchester Palace

Categories: Property, Religion

A nearby information board gives:

These ruins are all that remain of the palace of the powerful Bishops of Winchester, one of the largest and most important buildings in medieval London. Founded in the 12th century by Bishop Henry de Blois, brother of King Stephen, it was built to house the bishops in comfort when staying in London on royal or administrative business.
The visible remains were part of the Great Hall, which formerly stood alongside the south bank of the Thames. To the right {west}, the gable wall of the hall has doors which led to the buttery, pantry and kitchen, and it has a magnificent rose window.

Below the hall was a vaulted cellar, where goods such as wine could be stored, with a passage to the river wharf. The hall would have been lavishly decorated, and was often used to entertain royal guests, such as James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort, who held their wedding feast here in 1424.

The rest of the palace was arranged around two courtyards, and housed many buildings, including a prison, brewhouse and butchery. As the Bishop’s private retreat from the stresses of medieval governance, the palace also had a tennis court, bowling alley and pleasure gardens. The palace remained in use until the 17th century, when it was divided into tenements and warehouses. The ruins were rediscovered in the 19th century following a fire, and were finally revealed in the 1980s during redevelopment of the area.

Our dates for this building are very approximate.

A London Inheritance has a great post about this.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Winchester Palace

Commemorated ati

Winchester Palace

The Rose Window in the west gable of the Great Hall of the London Palace of t...

Read More

Other Subjects

Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

Landowner.  Maternal grandfather Queen Elizabeth II. Born Lowndes Square. Married Nina Cecilie Cavendish-Bentinck.  Their ninth child became the Queen Mother. Died Glamis, Scotland.

Person, Property, Royalty, Scotland

1 memorial
Nicholas Lidstone

Nicholas Lidstone

Nicholas Lidstone was born on 2 December 1849 in Dodbrooke, Devon, the third of the eleven children of Henry Grant Lidstone (1821-1892) and Mary Honor Lidstone née Sinkins (1824-1902). His birth wa...

Person, Property

1 memorial
The Limes

The Limes

In the mid-eighteenth century, The Limes was one of the largest houses in Lewisham High Street. and was frequently visited by John Wesley, when it was occupied by the Sparrow family, and later Wesl...

Building, Property

1 memorial
Harry Mallaby-Deeley

Harry Mallaby-Deeley

Politician. He sat as MP for Harrow and then Willesden East, and was renowned for rarely if ever speaking in the house. He was more successful as a property dealer, and in 1913 purchased the whole ...

Person, Politics & Administration, Property

1 memorial
Adam brothers

Adam brothers

The four Adam brothers: John (1721-1792, born Edinburgh), Robert - the important one, James and William, (1738-1822, suicide) together designed classical buildings. Father was an architect. Initial...

Group, Architecture, Property, Scotland

1 memorial