Monument record MLI54199 - Stow Park Medieval Bishop's Palace, Stow

Summary

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

Type and Period (4)

Protected Status/Designation

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}

Sources/Archives (11)

  •  Scheduling Record: HBMC. 1972. AM 7. SAM 266.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: STARK. A.. 1817. THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF GAINSBOROUGH. -.
  •  Index: Lincolnshire County Council. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. SK 88 SE: E.
  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 88 SE: 1.
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. SK8680: LI.680.6.1-6.
  •  Aerial Photograph: COLE, C.. 1993-2002. InnerVisions Business Presentations. 136/0896/10A (1996).
  •  Article in Serial: 1981. MOATED SITES RESEARCH GROUP. p.15, no.8.
  •  Aerial Photograph: 1946-98. RCHME. 2970/21.
  •  Scheduling Record: English Heritage. Feb 2001. The medieval bishop's palace and deer park, Stow Park. SAM 22768.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. Oct 2003. Archaeological watching brief on land at the former Bishop's Palace, Stow. SBP03.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. Oct 2003. Archaeological watching brief on land at the former Bishop's Palace, Stow. LCNCC 2003.300.

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Location

Grid reference Centred SK 8656 8103 (502m by 445m)
Civil Parish STOW, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Related Events/Activities (1)

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Record last edited

Feb 21 2022 10:50AM

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