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Once described as "The most memorable of all Bishop's Palaces in
England" by the architectural historian Pevsner, the Palace developed
around the medieval residence of Bishop Jocelin Trotman (1206), the first
Bishop to hold the title of Bath and Wells.
Granted land by King John, to the south of Wells Cathedral and Saint
Andrew's stream (The Moat), Bishop Jocelin built a residence in order to have
an important supply of fresh meat - a deer park.
He was the first of five bishops whose building work still stands to this
day.
Central to the present complex of buildings is Bishop Jocelin's
first-floor hall.
In 1443, Bishop Thomas Beckington demolished the north
side defensive walls, to add another wing, with a medieval hall, domestic
accommodation and the Virgin's Tower.
Smaller in size than Bishop
Jocelin's, the two rooms have had numerous uses over the centuries.
After world war II (1945), there were no living-in servants, so Bishop
William Bradfield (1946) modernised the wing for home and offices for the
bishop, his family and staff.
South of Jocelin's hall stands the Bishop's chapel. Dedicated to St Mark
and the Holy Trinity, this private chapel is still in use as a house of
prayer and celebration of Holy Communion.
The chapel was originally thought to have been two storeys and joined by a
cloister to the other buildings surrounding a quadrangle.
Robert Burnell - the
Chancellor to King Edward I, rebuilt Bishop Jocelin’s chapel in 1275.
The Bishop's chapel presently links Jocelin's
first floor hall with the ruins of Bishop Burnell's great hall.
In preparation for a royal visit by King Edward I (who failed to arrive),
Bishop Burnell brought stone masons from his own castle at Acton Burnell
in Shropshire to build the great hall.
When approached from the north side, entry was through an elaborate porch.
The great hall measures an impressive 35 metres long and 18 metres wide.
The interior would have been very elaborate, with encaustic stone floor
tiles and breathtaking stained glass used on the main arched windows along
the great hall walls.
The roof was of wooden beam and lead tile construction - where the lesser
important windows are situated, stonemasons used local red and yellow
Triasic sandstone as decoratively as possible - to compliment the rest of
the aesthetics of the architecture.
The great hall was also used for judicial business when in1539 the trial
of the last Abbot of Glastonbury - Richard Whiting and the abbey's
treasurer John Thome took place.
The King’s commissioners tried them on November 15th 1539 for
“robbery”
Found guilty, they were taken back to Glastonbury Abbey and were executed
together with a young monk on Glastonbury Tor.
In 1547 King Henry VIII died, and as his son and heir Edward VI was just
nine years of age, regents were appointed to rule.
Many of them acquired much church and monastic property, both legally and
illegally.
Sir John Gates (a noted regent) purchased the timber and lead from the
great hall's roof.
Despite escaping looting during this period of time, the hall fell into
decay.
It was not until the nineteenth century when Bishop George Henry Law
(1824) restored much of the medieval palace, that we are attracted to this
present day.
In front of the Bishop's Palace lay its beautifully -maintained central
lawn.
During the summer, the palace croquet club plays, adding to the serenity of
this magnificent building and glorious gardens.
The garden spans 5.7 hectares and from the paths open to the public, one
can see the 'palace vegetable gardens and allotments that are rented by
the local residents.
One of the major attractions to the palace are the swans that swim upon
the moat, surrounding the palace's fortifications.
For over 150 years, the swans have rung the bell situated on the outside
of the gatehouse for food.
The very first swan to be trained to carry out this charming attraction is
now exhibited in the city of Wells museum.
The Bishop's palace at Wells is available for private hire and ranks as
one of the west country's leading venues for wedding receptions and other
private events.
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