Lamphey Bishop's Palace

Lamphey Bishop's Palace
Lamphey Bishop's Palace
	Part of the ruins in 2006
General information
Status	ruined
Type	medieval palace
Location	Lamphey
Address	SA71 5NT
Town or city	Lamphey, Pembrokeshire
Country	Wales
Coordinates	51°40′18″N 4°52′01″W / 51.67176°N 4.86704°W
Elevation	approx. 12m
Owner	Cadw
Website
	http://cadw.gov.wales/daysout/lampheybishopspalace/?lang=en

Lamphey Bishop's Palace or Lamphey Palace is a ruined medieval building complex in Lamphey, Pembrokeshire and is a scheduled ancient monument which has had Grade I Listed building designation since May 1970. In the past, it has also been known as Lamphey Court.^[1]

History[]

Whilst early thirteenth-century fragments from the old hall still exist,^[1] the palace, including the 25 metres (82 ft) great hall, was largely constructed under Bishop Henry de Gower, Bishop of St David's (1328–1347) and was used by high-ranking clergy.^[2] The palace was built in three stages and originally had over 20 rooms and featured fishponds, orchards, fruit and herb gardens and areas of parkland with grazing deer.^[3]^[4]

The palace was surrendered to the crown in 1546 during the reign Henry VIII and granted to Richard Devereux and subsequently the Earls of Essex.^[1] Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex lived in the palace as a child.^[5] The palace was sold to the Owens of Orielton in 1683, possibly due to damage in the English Civil War. The buildings were possibly used for farm purposes in this era.^[1]