Bishop's Waltham Palace

Moated remains of a large Bishops Palace.

It was built by Henry de Blois in 1135. Later used by Winchester Bishop's as they travelled, along with Farnham Castle and Wolvesey Castle, Winchester. The palace was visited by Henry V of England, and used by Mary Tudor just prior to her marriage to Philip II at Winchester Cathedral. The palace was destroyed in 1644 after the English Civil War.

What we find here is the ruins of a medieval palace, together with later additions, used by the Bishops and senior clergy of Winchester as they travelled through their diocese. Major parts of the moat still contain water, but much of the other defences have disappeared. In this time Bishops Palaces were often well defended as Bishops were Norman tax collectors, and not always popular.

Click on smaller images to see larger versions
Winchester was the richest diocese in England, and its properties were large and of a fine quality. Much of what can be seen today is the work of William Wykeham, who was bishop from 1367. There is an exhibition about the Winchester Bishops on the first floor of the farmhouse (not always open).  Other palaces of the Bishops of Winchester include Farnham Castle Keep and Wolvesey Castle (Old Bishop's Palace). This site is large and you have no difficulty getting photographs, other than when events are on there are unlikely to be a large number of people at this site, so its possible if you wish to get photos with no people in. None of the buildings except the farmhouse are complete.

The above is a rotator containing thirteen images of the palace
so please give it time to get a full picture of what you can see.

Further information Grid   Location: Bishop's Waltham Palace, Bishops Waltham, Hampshire Ceremonial County: Hampshire Grid Reference: SU552174 Map Link: streetmap      Aerial photo: Google Aerial  Route(s):   Best Times to Visit:   E-mail:   Website: EH Other useful websites: Wiki Nearby Locations:   Other Relevant pages: Abbey section, including all major Christian buildings, regions orders, normal layouts and history.

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