More information : (SU 60663219) Bishop's Palace (GT) (Site of). (1)
It seems probable that part of the parish of Bishop's Sutton
was included in a grant made by King Ine to the church at
Winchester in 701. (a) It was held by Earl Harold T.R.E. and by
Count Eustace III of Boulogne at Domesday. (b) In 1136 the king
exchanged the manor with the Bishop of Winchester for the manor
of Morden (c) Except for a few brief intervals it has been held
by the Bishops of Winchester ever since.
Bishop's Palace Writing in 1839 Duthy, (d) states, "Within the
memory of persons still living considerable vestiges of a strong
and extensive building stood in the meadows to the north of the
church, which were the dilapidated remains of an ancient palace
of the bishops of Winchester. The walls were of great thickness
and composed of flints and mortar, but it was impossible to
trace the disposition of the apartments or the form of the
edifice." He conjectures, plausibly, that it was destroyed in
the Civil War.
In the time of Edward VI it was described as, "The manor-howse
being a verie olde howse, somtyme walled round abowte with
stone, now decaied, well waterid with an olde ponde or moote
adjoyning to it ..."(e).
In 1830 the remains were used as a malt-house, but only the site
now remains. (2)
(Centred at SU 60653220) The site of the Bishops Palace is
indicated by a roughly rectangular area of uneven ground, under
pasture, now measuring c. 95 x 85m. There is no obvious sign of
a former moat, although the site is bounded on the N.E. & N.W.
by watercress beds, on the S.W. by a stream and on the S.E. by a
dry watercourse. Around the site are many large flints and a
few tile fragments. Examination of mole casts within the area
revealed a few pieces of roofing slate.
At 'A' a fragment of flint rubble walling, 1.1m. thick, projects
a metre or so into a watercress bed. According to the foreman
(Mr. W. Brown, 2 Holbury Cottages, Bishop's Sutton) this was
uncovered last year whilst extending the bed. At the same time
a floor of concrete flint gravel was found and removed.
Whilst digging the foundations for a shed at 'B', Mr. Brown
states that a large brick drain was found. (3)
No further information: no extant remains. (4)
A silver penny of William I found at the site in 1984 is now in the
possessin of Winchester City Museums, acc no. 40' 1984. (5)
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