If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

The Stow Park Medieval Bishop's Palace and associated water features, Stow.

Full description

The Manor of Stow belonged to the Bishops of Dorchester and Lincoln from the time of Edward the Confessor until 1547. The church served as pro-cathedral for Lincolnshire until the establishment of the See at Lincoln in about 1072. Stow Park is identifiable as the site of the Bishops' palace from the 13th century and the site may go back earlier - possibly to before the Conquest. In 1817 ruins of the palace were still visible but now there is only the moated site enclosure, with insubstantial buildings for a pig farm (no house) within. Ploughing has encroached on the banks on the east and west sides. {1}{2}{3}{4}[5}{6}{7}{8}

The scheduling includes the buried and earthwork remains of the medieval palace of the Bishops of Lincoln, associated water features and deer park (PRN 50418). The palace and deerpark lie in three separate areas of protection. First referred to in documentary sources in the late 12th century, the episcopal ownership of the manor is thought to date back to at least the eleventh century, when the church of Saint Mary at Stow was founded by the bishop. The manor was visited by King John in 1200, and a royal licence to crenellate the dwelling house was obtained in 1336. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the palace was one of the principal residences of the Bishops of Lincoln, but in the mid-16th century Bishop Holbeach transferred the manor into private hands. By the late 18th century the buildings were in ruins; after the removal of building materials from the site, a new farmhouse and outbuildings, called Moat Farm, were built. All fences, gates and all standing buildings and modern surfaces are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included. {9}

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken during overhead cable relacement on land at the former Bishop's Palace, Stow. The watching brief monitored the excavation of postholes and supporting trenches. The watching brief idenitified a sequence of natural, subsoil and topsoil layers; variations in the subsoil thickness across the site appear to be associated with the earthwork remains. {10}{11}

<1> HBMC, 1972, AM 7, SAM 266 (Scheduling Record). SLI4110.

<2> STARK. A., 1817, THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF GAINSBOROUGH, - (Bibliographic Reference). SLI929.

<3> Lincolnshire County Council, Sites and Monuments Record Card Index, SK 88 SE: E (Index). SLI2881.

<4> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Card Index, SK 88 SE: 1 (Index). SLI2344.

<5> Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1992-1996, National Mapping Programme, SK8680: LI.680.6.1-6 (Map). SLI3613.

<6> COLE, C., 1993-2002, InnerVisions Business Presentations, 136/0896/10A (1996) (Aerial Photograph). SLI181.

<7> 1981, MOATED SITES RESEARCH GROUP, p.15, no.8 (Article in Serial). SLI551.

<8> 1946-98, RCHME, 2970/21 (Aerial Photograph). SLI193.

<9> English Heritage, Feb 2001, The medieval bishop's palace and deer park, Stow Park, SAM 22768 (Scheduling Record). SLI6428.

<10> Archaeological Project Services, Oct 2003, Archaeological watching brief on land at the former Bishop's Palace, Stow, SBP03 (Report). SLI9104.

<11> Archaeological Project Services, Oct 2003, Archaeological watching brief on land at the former Bishop's Palace, Stow, LCNCC 2003.300 (Archive). SLI9105.

Monument Types

• BISHOPS PALACE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• FISHPOND (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• MANOR HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• MOAT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Events

• Land at the former Bishop's Palace, Stow

Protected Status

• SHINE
• Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.