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Summary

The remains of a medieval bishop's palace at Nettleham.

Full description

The site of a manor of the Bishops of Lincoln, dating from probably the late 11th century. All that is visible on the surface is a series of mounds, indications of foundations and ditches. A Methodist chapel in the north-east corner is now the only building on the site, which however fronts on to the village street on the west. {1}

Massive and complex earthworks which are difficult if not impossible to interpret at ground level. {2}

There was a manor house on the site of the Bishops Manor, Nettleham in Saxon times, owned by Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor, and it may have been the homestead of Eadric, Earl of Mercia. A Saxon hearth and other remains including 8th to 11th century loom weights (at TF 0048 7520) and 12th century pottery (at TF 0053 7525) were found in 1935.{4}

The site of one of the palaces of the medieval Bishops of Lincoln. In the later 11th century Nettleham was a royal manor, held by Queen Edith in 1066. In 1101 Henry I granted it to Robert Bloet, Bishop of Lincoln. Nettleham served not only as a manorial holding but also as an administrative and residential base. Here, visiting dignitaries could be accommodated at a minimum distance from Lincoln as Edward I was in 1284, for nearly a fortnight, and again in 1301 when he held parliament in Lincoln. The palace appears to have played a complementary role to the Bishop’s palace at Stow Park and was favoured by many of the bishops throughout the later Middle Ages: Oliver Sutton died here in 1299 and Bishop John Russell in 1494. In 1336 Bishop Henry Burghersh was licensed to crenellate his manor of Nettleham and surround it with a stone wall and in the 15th century the site is referred to as the scene of administrative hearings. In 1536, during the Lincolnshire Rising, the manor house was attacked and damaged, but it remained in use for another 50 years. It may have been the personal tragedy of the death of Bishop Wickham's daughter at Nettleham in May 1585 that effectively ended its use as an episcopal residence, and in 1630 Bishop Williams obtained royal licence for its demolition as, it was claimed, that the site had been deserted and not habitable for 60 years and more. Parliamentary commissioners in 1647 found that the residence 'hath been of very large buildings . . . having had a fair chapel which is demolished, and great parts of other buildings also demolished' and they described in detail what remained. The manor was sold to Nathaniel Lacy and Thomas Laws in 1648, but was restored to the Bishop in 1660, and thereafter leased out. There were no buildings on the site in 1777. The earthworks include the remains of the palace buildings an area that was perhaps a private garden, a possible gate-house, agricultural buildings associated with the manorial farmstead and the remains of a possible lime-kiln. The palace building in its presumed garden is likely to be a medieval one. The fact that the approach road, gate-house and agricultural buildings lie on a different alignment may be the result of a later, late-medieval re-planning of the site to give a formal entrance with semi-defensive proportions. {18}

In 1336 Bishop Burghersh was given licence to crenellate his manor house of Nettleham. {5}

Part of the Bishop's Manor site was excavated for the Ministry of Works in 1959. Remains of wall foundations, a well 14 feet deep, a little charcoal and pottery were seen. {3}{6}

Also found was a poesy ring inscribed with 'gift and giver your servants ever'. {8}

Green glazed pottery was found on the site in 1968, now in Lincoln Museum. {8}{9}

The scheduled area has been slightly reduced. {13}

During an evaluation at TF 0053 7510, part of the western boundary ditch of the palace was uncovered. An entrance about 3m wide was visible. A cluster of post pits was noticed around this entrance. {14}{15}

A geophysical survey was undertaken within the Palace grounds in 2008. Two separate areas were surveyed, the first a rectangular block in putative gardens at the north-west corner of the grounds, the second, a larger area extending to the southern edge of the earthworks. In the former area, anomalies interpreted as ditches and a pit were recorded. These could have related to the garden or to a different phase of activity. Anomalies in the southern area indicated that the complex may have been more extensive than is evidenced by the earthworks, perhaps continuing into arable land (not surveyed) further to the south. West of the southern entrance, a possible ditch and its return hint at a rectangular feature lying on a slightly different alignment to the earthworks, while to the east, the anomalies appear to reflect the layout of the earthworks. {16}{17}

<1> HBMC, AM 7, - (Scheduling Record). SLI4158.

<2> HBMC, 1986, AM 107, - (Scheduling Record). SLI4016.

<3> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Card Index, TF 07 NW: 1 (Index). SLI2344.

<4> 1897->, Country Life, vol.22, 1960, pp.630, 633 (Serial). SLI3918.

<5> THOMPSON, A.H., 1912, MILITARY ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND DURING THE MIDDLE AGES, p.301 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI1015.

<6> HURST, J.G., 1960, MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY, vol.IV, p.153 (Article in Serial). SLI527.

<7> J.K.S. St Joseph, 1945-79, Cambridge University Collection, 0002-4 EX, 1950 (Aerial Photograph). SLI175.

<8> Lincolnshire County Council, Sites and Monuments Record Card Index, TF 07 NW: S1, AB (Index). SLI2881.

<9> City and County Museum Collection, LM 18.68 (Artefact). SLI8.

<10> 1945-84, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION, LI12, 13, 1953 (Aerial Photograph). SLI173.

<11> 1945-84, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION, PG64-66, 1955 (Aerial Photograph). SLI173.

<12> Paul Everson, 1975-90, RCHM, 2947/32, 33 (Aerial Photograph). SLI196.

<13> English Heritage, 1999, Revised scheduling document 22749, MPP 23 (Scheduling Record). SLI5386.

<14> Lindsey Archaeological Services, 2007, 15 Greetwell Lane, Nettleham: Archaeological Evaluation, NGWL07 (Report). SLI11365.

<15> Lindsey Archaeological Services, 2007, 15 Greetwell Lane, Nettleham: Archaeological Evaluation, LCNCC 2007.63 (Archive). SLI11366.

<16> Environment Agency, Feb 2008, Bishop's Palace, Nettleham, Lincolnshire, - (Report). SLI12669.

<17> Environment Agency, Feb 2008, Bishop's Palace, Nettleham, Lincolnshire. Fluxgate Gradiometer Survey, - (Archive). SLI12670.

<18> P.L. Everson, C.C. Taylor and C.J. Dunn, 1991, Change and Continuity: Rural Settlement in North-West Lincolnshire, pp.129-31 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI1063.

Monument Types

• DITCH (Undated)
• PIT? (Undated)
• ARTEFACT SCATTER (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• BISHOPS PALACE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• MANOR HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• LIME KILN (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

• SHERD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Events

• Excavation of part of Bishop's Manor site
• Earthwork survey of Bishop's Palace, Nettleham
• Field observation of the Bishop's Manor, Nettleham
• Archaeological evaluation at 15 Greetwell Lane, Nettleham
• Geophysical Survey at Bishop's Palace, Nettleham

Protected Status

• Conservation Area
• Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

Related records

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