As Chief Executive, she leads the work of The Palace Trust, managing the Palace as a heritage site and visitor attraction. Rosie is responsible for setting the long term direction of the charity so that increasing numbers of people can enjoy and continue to benefit from this unique and magical site.

If she’s not at her desk you might find her out by the well pools chatting to visitors or enjoying the delights of The Bishop’s Table!

James Cross
Head Gardener

James Cross has been Head Gardener at the Bishop’s Palace since 2004.

Before this, James worked for the National Trust at The Courts in Wiltshire, Sissinghurst and Sheffield Park. James was trained at Hadlow College in Horticulture and Landscape Management. James lives in an apartment at the Palace with his wife Michaela and their two young sons.

Siobhan Goodwin
Volunteer Co‑Ordinator

Siobhan works part-time as our Volunteer Co-ordinator, ensuring that we have a well-trained and supported, volunteer team.

Originally from Lincolnshire, Siobhan fell in love with the West Country as a teenager and moved to Bristol 30 years ago. She began volunteering at the age of fourteen, and her passion for voluntary work has continued over the years. She has had so many incredible experiences as a volunteer, and hopes that along the way she has made a valuable contribution too.

Most of her working life has been as a Youth & Community Worker for a number of charities and when she moved to Wells she spent 5 years working for Somerset County Council at Wells Youth Centre. You may have spotted Siobhan around Wells as, when she isn’t working here at The Bishop’s Palace, she runs Wells Walking Tours.

Laura Richards
Visitor Experience Manager

Laura joined the Bishop’s Palace in February 2020.

Having grown up in the city, Laura left Wells to pursue a career in the heritage sector. She has worked previously at the Museum of London and St Paul’s Cathedral. Returning in 2020, Laura organises and runs our public events and front of house team. She enjoys sharing her passion for the wonderful City of Wells with all our lovely visitors.

Chloe Kennedy
Weddings and Venue Manager

Chloe joined The Bishop’s Palace in January 2019.

Chloe relocated to Somerset over 15 years ago from Yorkshire. She is classically French trained in food service and cooking with over 25 years experience in hospitality & management. Before starting at The Bishop’s Palace she was working full time in her own business, which she continues to manage. She is now investing time in her passion; weddings and events.

Allen Stockel
Operations Assistant

Allen is our Operations Assistant and runs a fabulous team of Maintenance Volunteers.

The maintenance team comprises three volunteers. Tony Thompson’s engineering skills, Arthur Spain’s carpentry skills and Lawrence Anderson’s general handyman skills provide a broad cover for the general maintenance of the Palace. Affectionately known as Bodge-it Brothers, over the last couple of years Tony has welded us, Arthur has ‘plane-ly’ smoothed us and Lawrence has handily formed us into a great team.

Merryn Kidd
Marketing & Communications Manager

Merryn joined as Marketing & Communications Manager in July 2014, having moved…

to Wells from London. Merryn spent 13 years working in the wedding list industry with names such as Wrapit, notonthehighstreet.com and Prezola. At The Bishop’s Palace, Merryn is involved in every aspect of portraying the Palace to the outside world, including all PR, advertising, marketing, media liaison, branding, communications and much more! Despite spending an inordinate amount of time dealing with Swan PR, Merryn is still a fan of the wildlife at the Palace and likes to relax by popping out of the office door to feed the cygnets.

Moira Anderson
Administrator and Membership Co‑ordinator

Moira joined the office team in 2011 as the Administrator.

She looks after the day to day running of the office, group bookings and is also responsible for the Membership. Moira has over 20 years hospitality and administration experience and has worked within hotels, higher education and a local authority. Born in Somerset, Moira visited Wells as a child and loved feeding the ducks on the moat. Moving back to Somerset gave Moira the opportunity to be involved in this unique historic site.

As well as overseeing the office Moira has become the unofficial swan carer and also looks after Maisie the Palace Cat.

Visitor Operations Team

The Visitor Operations Team are always on hand to welcome you onto site. With a combined love of the history of the site and its wonderful gardens, we want to ensure all visitors enjoy this magical place as much as we do. We can usually be found at the ticket office or exploring our wonderful gardens.