The Palace

Discover Over 800 Years of History at The Bishop’s Palace

The Bishop’s Palace and Gardens in Wells, Somerset has been home to the Bishops of Bath and Wells for over 800 years and this stunning medieval palace, along with its 14 acres of RHS partner gardens, is now open for all to enjoy.  The site dates from the early-thirteenth century when Bishop Jocelin received a crown licence to build a residence and deer park on land to the south of the Cathedral of St Andrew.  The moat has also been home to mute swans since the 1800s.

Click here for a downloadable map of the site.

Moat, Ramparts and Gatehouse

Venture through the archway known as the Bishop’s Eye from the market square and you will be confronted with a moat, gatehouse with drawbridge and ramparts topped with crenellations. As a visitor, you will be welcomed with open arms, but Bishop Ralph was more wary about his callers. The mid 1300s were a time of plague, famine and political war and he built these ramparts for protection and also as a symbol of authority and power. Today the ramparts provide unmissable, spectacular views, including those of Glastonbury Tor, the Mendips and the Cathedral.

The moat also served a practical purpose: it played, as it does now, a key role in taming the damp, marshy and often flooded land which surrounded the Palace. Nowadays, the moat is home to a collection of waterfowl, a family of Kingfishers and an otter that passes through throughout the year. 

The Palace Building

Many visitors are intrigued by what lies within the moat and ramparts. Here they can discover and explore what is acknowledged to be the most impressive historic bishop’s house still in use in England and a striking example of how bishops in medieval times used buildings to demonstrate their political power.

Begun around 800 years ago, successive bishops have left their mark on the Palace. Visitors today can step into the original Palace built for Bishop Jocelin and walk around the beautifully vaulted Undercroft and then up the staircase to what would have been the rooms where he entertained, worked, dined and slept. A walk along the Long Gallery gives an intriguing insight into past bishops via their portraits. And other rooms contain exhibitions ranging from art to history and to artefacts all linking into the spiritual role of this site.

Strolling around the exterior of the Palace it is possible to see the notable additions to Bishop Jocelin’s Palace instigated by succeeding bishops: Bishop Burnell’s late 1200s Chapel and Great Hall, Bishop Bekynton’s mid-1400s north range and tower – now home and working offices of the Bishop – and the addition by Bishop Bagot of an additional storey to the original medieval building, about 170 years ago.

Coronation Cope (and the Coronation Room)

From the time of the Coronation of Richard I in 1189, the Bishops of Bath and Wells have supported each Monarch at their Coronation wearing a specially designed cope.  The cope on display at the Palace was commissioned for Bishop Kennion to wear at the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 and designed by Mr Micklewaite, architect and surveyor of Westminster Abbey.

The cope has been altered through the years to suit the stature of successive Bishops: approximately eight inches from the lower edge a seam is visible and the gold thread embroidery has been re-worked over the seam to keep the “sun-ray” motif uniform.  It is believed that the cope was shortened for Bishop Bradfield.

The cope has been worn for these Coronations:

The Cope Chest, also on display in the Coronation Room, was made for Bishop Kennion in 1902 to contain the Coronation Cope.  You’ll also find additional beautifully designed and embroidered copes in the East Gallery.

Bishop Wynne Willson’s Study

Bishop Wynne Willson’s study has been recreated on the first floor of the Palace building to reflect his hobbies and lifestyle.

Bishop John Basil Wynne Willson was a classical scholar and after ordination was Master of Haileybury and Master of Marlborough. In 1916 he became Dean of Bristol Cathedral and in 1921 came to Bath and Wells. He was caring, popular, a home lover and very hospitable. 

Nearly all his correspondence was through hand written letters as he despised the sound of the telephone ringing and did not use it!

He had many hobbies including fishing, golf and croquet. He also had a collection of pipes that he used to offer to guests after dinner, and a healthy collection of hats in many styles that he liked to wear at jaunty angles.  

The Bishop’s Chapel

This unusually grand, episcopal chapel, built between 1275 and 1292 for Bishop Burnell, Lord Chancellor under Edward I, has been used for centuries by the Bishops of Bath and Wells, and their households, for private prayer. The architecture is a great example of the Early English Decorated Style.

Here you can sit in peace and quiet and take in the chapel’s beautiful proportions, the patterns of stone tracery, and exceptional medieval carved detail of the vaulted ceiling and sedilia. Tall windows fill the chapel with light which spills through stained glass rescued from French churches damaged or abandoned after the Revolution of 1789: spot intriguing fragments of lost scenes and symbols. Modern additions include the Somerset made, early 20^th century pews and a 21^st century heraldic frieze displaying the bishops’ arms.

Great Hall

Bishop Burnell’s splendid dining and entertaining hall, was built in the 1280s alongside his chapel. Although only two walls and the four corner turrets survive, it is still one of the most impressive examples of a medieval open hall; its huge size reflects the power held by Bishop Burnell as a leading statesman of his time. It was the third largest secular hall in England after Canterbury and Westminster Palace. Built in the Early English Decorative style, elements of this can be seen in the remaining wonderfully large windows, which offer beautiful framed views of the cathedral, and the crenellations.

It is possible to imagine entering the building through an impressive two storey porch into a large open space; this was church-like with aisles on each side of a nave. At one end was a pantry and buttery and above these the bishop’s private rooms (the ‘solar’) and at the other end, the ‘high table’. Adjacent to the solar was the still-existing ‘garderobe’ which has been described as the ‘finest medieval loo in England’. 

As with many other fine buildings in England, the English Reformation marked the end of the illustrious role of the Great Hall. During the second half of the 1500s it was stripped of its lead roof and the weather began its corrosive effect on the rest of the building. In the 19^th century Bishop Law demolished two of the walls and used the remaining shell of the Great Hall in landscaping to create the Picturesque Garden which can be enjoyed today.