Summary
The upstanding and/or buried remains of part of the Roman civitas capital of Venta Belgarum, part of the city wall, and the early medieval, medieval and late C17 bishops’ palaces of Wolvesey, also known as ‘Wolvesey Castle’.
Reasons for Designation
Wolvesey Palace, a multi-period site encompassing part of the Roman civitas capital of Venta Belgarum, Winchester's city wall, and early medieval, medieval and late C17 bishops’ palaces, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Rarity: the monument includes a very rare example of an early medieval bishop’s palace, of which there are fewer than twelve known nationally, and a rare example of a medieval bishop’s palace;
* Survival: archaeological remains relating to the Roman, early medieval, medieval and post-medieval period are known to survive well, including a substantive proportion of upstanding medieval fabric;
* Potential: partial excavation and geophysical survey have indicated that the monument retains a high degree of archaeological potential for buried remains dating from the Roman period onwards;
* Diversity: the multi-period remains demonstrate occupation of the site from the Roman period onwards and will add to our knowledge and understanding of Winchester, a major urban centre for over 2000 years;
* Documentation (historical): the bishops’ palaces, which regularly accommodated royalty, high churchmen and foreign dignitaries, held a pivotal place in the history of England and are well-documented in historical sources.
History
This area of Winchester includes the south-east part of the Roman civitas capital of Venta Belgarum, incorporating the town defences. Civitas capitals were towns which functioned as the principal centres of the civitatae or regions of Roman Britain. They were official creations, generally established in the later C1 and early C2 AD, often on the sites of earlier tribal centres. These towns functioned as economic, cultural and administrative centres. Defensive walls usually defined the areas of civitas capitals, within which the main features included: the forum-basilica; other major public buildings; private houses; shops and workshops; piped water, and sewage systems and a planned rectangular street grid. At least 15 civitas capitals are thought to have been created during the Roman period.
A Roman settlement was established in the area now covered by Winchester by about AD 50. It followed Iron Age settlements at St Catherine’s Hill, to the south of the present city, and at Oram’s Arbour, to the north-west; the name Venta Belgarum translates as the market (venta) of the Belgae (Belgarum), denoting that the area was a centre of this southern British tribe prior to the Roman occupation. In about AD 75 the first defences were constructed formed of a rampart and ditch, which ran along the north, west and south sides of the city. These were extended by a second series of earthwork defences in about AD 180-200, which also ran along the river on the east, before a stone wall was cut into them in the C3. The settlement became a civitas capital in about the late-C1 AD. Major building works followed. A forum, containing shops, offices and a basilica, was created to the north-west of the current cathedral whilst the axis of the street grid was laid out east-west. The Romans redirected the River Itchen further east, levelling the area and extending the settlement in that direction. The area now covered by Wolvesey Palace is thought to have been densely developed by the later C2, which is corroborated by evidence from partial excavation on the site.
In the Anglo-Saxon period the town became known as Wintanceaster. The immediate centuries following the demise of Roman rule are not well understood; there is currently limited archaeological evidence for occupation within the walled city. In about the mid-C7 a Minster church (Old Minster) was founded near the present cathedral. An early bishop’s palace may have been sited immediately to the south. In the late-C9 the Roman defences were repaired, a new street grid was laid out, and a Saxon burh (fortified settlement) created. Partial excavation on the site of the medieval bishop’s palace indicates that the area was laid out as a meadow in the C8 to C9, before becoming open ploughed fields. Between 975 and 979 Bishop Aethelwold constructed a wall to act as a western boundary of an enclosure, which was to form the precinct of a new bishop’s palace. The Roman city wall formed the south and east sides of the precinct whilst to the north the boundary followed the southern limits of the monastery known as Nunnaminster. The present wall on this line was built in 1377-8. Repairs and re-crenellation to the city wall were carried out at about the same time, in 1374-5 and 1381. By the C13 the area was consistently called ‘Wulveseye’ (Wulf’s Island); probably reflecting an original possession by one Wulf of a piece of higher ground on the valley floor.
The first bishop’s palace was built at Wolvesey in about the late C10. Bishops' palaces were high status domestic residences, which provided accommodation for the bishops and lodgings for their large retinues. The earliest recorded examples date to the C7. The focus was usually a large and elaborate timber hall, surrounded by courtyards and other buildings, such as a chapel of stone or timber, lodgings, kitchens, and storehouses, often within a ditched enclosure. Fewer than a dozen examples of the Anglo-Saxon period have been identified with certainty and even fewer excavated. Wolvesey is among these rare few; partial excavation has recorded a chapel, several timber structures and a boundary ditch. Documentary evidence indicates there was also a hall, bishop’s sleeping chamber and possibly a prison by c.1000.
In the medieval period another bishop’s palace was built at Wolvesey, although the earlier buildings remained in use for a short time. In the medieval period bishops' palaces were the setting for great works of architecture and displays of decoration. They were usually set within an enclosure, sometimes moated and usually high-walled, containing a range of buildings including a hall or halls, chapels, lodgings and a gatehouse, often arranged around a courtyard or courtyards. In all some 150 medieval bishops’ palaces have been identified.
The first of the medieval palace buildings at Wolvesey was a stone residence, now known as the West Hall, built by Bishop William Gifford to the south-west of the early medieval palace in about 1110. This was not a true hall but a series of private apartments or chambers for the bishop and his entourage with a raised first-floor garden at the west, ground-floor rooms at the east and a tower housing a treasury, exchequer, private chapel and high chamber at the south. The building is the largest known non-monastic domestic structure of its date in England, exceeded only by Westminster Hall, London.
In 1129 Henry of Blois, the grandson of William the Conqueror and brother of Stephen of Blois (king from 1135-54), became bishop of Winchester. During his episcopate the palace reached its greatest extent and largely its final form. In about 1130 a stone culvert and new well-house were built, as well as a chapel on two levels at the south end of the West Hall. This well house is one of the earliest known examples of a piped water-supply in a medieval building, antedating by some 30 years the plan of the water-works of Canterbury Cathedral (Kent). The East Hall, built in c.1135-8, consisted of a great hall with a gallery at the west, a two-storey chamber block at the south and a porch at the north-west. This was a true hall that served as a venue for synodal and conciliar meetings as well as ceremonial occasions. It was separated from the West Hall by an open space, which would eventually form the centre of a courtyard. The remaining early medieval palace buildings were probably demolished at this time whilst the existing water pipeline was extended and a second well-house and pond built to supply this hall. In the following three years the West Hall was altered through the addition of a stone stairway and new entrance porch built of Caen stone at the north-east corner. It was elaborately decorated; an ex-situ door jamb decorated with foliage and figurative carving shows stylistic influences from the church of Saint-Denis, Paris, France.
During the civil war and conflict between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, Wolvesey Palace was fortified; the East and West Halls were joined by curtain walls and a moat was dug around the palace in c.1138-41. A latrine block was built to the north of the West Hall and two well houses were also constructed. In 1141 a garderobe turret was built at the south-east corner of the East Hall, and an additional wall was erected at this end of the hall providing an inner line of defence. In that year Bishop Henry’s forces burnt the city and demolished the royal palace. The building materials were robbed and used to construct a number of additions and alterations to the Episcopal palace. Between 1141 and 1154 the garderobe turret was transformed into a strong fortified tower (later known as Wymond’s Tower), the East Hall was heightened by a storey, a large square kitchen block (that had the superficial appearance of a castle keep) was built to the east, and a gatehouse erected to the south. Bishop Henry was in exile in Cluny for the following four years but when he returned there were further additions. A new gatehouse, later known as Woodman’s Gate, was built to form an impressive entrance on the north side. This was linked by a curtain wall to the kitchen block or ‘Keep’, thereby forming a narrow L-shaped courtyard next to the East Hall. Hence the palace that Bishop Henry left to his successors consisted of an inner court of four ranges grouped around a central courtyard. To the south lay an outer court containing stables, barns, a great wool house, the bishop’s prison, and an outer gate opening south through the city wall. It is shown in a panorama drawing of 1662 by Willem Schellinks.
The Pipe Rolls (annual accounts) that survive from 1208 to 1711 indicate that in the following centuries there were relatively few major alterations. During the episcopate of Bishop Peter des Roches (1205-38) the East Hall was remodelled by the insertion of an arcade between the hall and the western gallery whilst a passage was added across the south side of the courtyard. In the C14, under Bishop William of Wykeham (1367-1404), the changes were more extensive including the widening and deepening of the moat, a new bridge and drawbridge at the north, the construction of two new curtain walls either side of the kitchen block, a new salsary (a place where sauces are prepared), and the remodelling of the apartments in the tower of the West Hall. Throughout the C14 and C15 Wolvesey was used as the royal residence in Winchester and subject to numerous royal visits or occasions. For instance Henry V met the French ambassadors at Wolvesey in June 1415, when they attempted to broker peace prior to the Battle of Agincourt. In 1441-2 the roof of the great hall was replaced and the chapel rebuilt. The following century saw notably less expenditure and Wolvesey fell into decline. The last great state occasion was in 1554 when Queen Mary stayed at the palace for her marriage to Philip of Spain. In the following 100 years Wolvesey was virtually abandoned; bishops favouring Farnham (Hampshire) and Southwark (London) as residences. In the C17 Bishop George Morley carried out extensive work in cleaning the moat, wainscoting the dining room, building a muniment house and refurbishing the chapel. The Hearth Tax returns of 1664 show that the palace had 23 hearths.
Near the end of his episcopate, Bishop Morley (1662-84) took the decision to replace the medieval palace with a new residence in the Baroque style immediately to the south. This was initially designed by Sir Thomas Finch (d. 1689) but took several years to complete, with work continuing into the early C18. It is shown in an engraving published in 1773, a painting by John Lewis of 1769, and a map of 1805. The principal south front was eleven bays wide and two storeys high with three central bays projecting under a triangular pediment. It was faced in ashlar with rusticated quoins and set on a plinth with tall wooden cross windows, a pedimented central doorcase, a modillion cornice, hipped roofs and dormers. Running northwards from the south front were east and west wings. The medieval chapel remained in use, attached to the new residence, but many other buildings were stripped to provide building material. Bishop Sir Jonathan Trawley (1707-21) converted the great wool house into a coach house and stables, and erected new gates and piers to replace the medieval gatehouse at the south. However in 1786 Bishop Brownlow North demolished all except the west wing of the Baroque palace. The remaining wing, which is Grade I listed, was put to a variety of uses until 1926 when Bishop Theodore Woods proposed that it should once again become the main bishop’s residence. Alterations were undertaken by W D Caröe and the medieval remains were also consolidated, with interventions marked by the use of red tile for window arches and quoins etc. In 1915 the medieval ruins were scheduled before passing into the Guardianship of the Ministry of Works (the predecessor body to English Heritage) in 1962.
INVESTIGATION HISTORY
Prior to 1845 a Roman tessellated pavement was uncovered north-east of the medieval palace (see below). In 1895-6 the architect N C H Nisbett partially excavated the inner court of the palace to provide a ground plan of several of the medieval buildings. The city walls were partially excavated under the Directorship of Sir Barry Cunliffe in 1960. Several seasons of excavation on the site of the inner court of the medieval palace were undertaken under Professor Martin Biddle for the Winchester Excavations Committee in 1963-71 and 1974. Since then there have been archaeological watching briefs in 1981, 1987, 2004 and 2008, and a topographical and geophysical survey in 2009.
Details
PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS:
The monument is situated on the south-east side of the original Roman settlement of Winchester (Venta Belgarum), 150m west of the River Itchen. It includes: the buried remains of part of the Roman civitas capital of Venta Belgarum; the upstanding remains and buried remains of part of the Roman, early medieval and medieval city wall; the upstanding and buried remains of the medieval north precinct wall; the buried remains of the early medieval bishop’s palace of Wolvesey; the upstanding and buried remains of the medieval bishop’s palace; and the buried remains of the late C17 palace.
THE ROMAN CIVITAS CAPITAL OF VENTA BELGARUM
The south-east part of the Roman civitas capital of Venta Belgarum survives as below-ground remains. Partial excavation in 1962-1971 beneath the inner court of the medieval bishop’s palace of Wolvesey revealed five Roman buildings situated on either side of a street running north-south with another street leading off to the west. In the angle of these two streets is the south wing of a large stone house with plain tesselated floors, which was still in use in the C4 (Building 1 in the Interim Reports (Biddle 1962 and 1972)). On the opposite side of the street are four buildings demonstrating several phases of construction and re-building. Furthest north is a rectangular building, possibly a shop and workshop, 12m long and 6m wide, with timber-framed walls set on chalk footings (Building 1A). It was constructed in the early C2 replacing an earlier structure before again being rebuilt with flint walls in the mid to late C2. Immediately to the east is another building c.10m wide and over 15m long (Building 1B), and to the south is a house initially constructed of timber but subsequently replaced in stone (Building 2). The latter comprises a north-south range adjacent to the street with a wing at the north end extending eastwards, surrounding a courtyard with a well. To the south of this is a stone building that was only partially revealed during excavation (Building 3). A further building of the late- or post-Roman period was subsequently cut through the earlier levels. It was built on foundations of rammed chalk and was 13m long by 5m wide.
North of the inner court of the medieval palace geophysical survey has indicated the presence of further rectilinear walls and structures on an alignment with the existing Roman remains. Whilst to the north-east, beneath the playing fields, are the buried remains of a further Roman building. A tessellated pavement was uncovered prior to 1845 and is shown on the 1871 Ordnance Survey map at SU 48497 29101.
THE CITY WALL AND NORTH PRECINCT WALL
Part of the Roman, early medieval and medieval city wall of Winchester survives as upstanding and buried remains at the east and south of the site. The upstanding remains run south-west for 230m from the north precinct wall before turning WNW and continuing for 50m until they meet the pedestrian entrance to Wolvesey Palace. Beyond, and on the same alignment, the city wall will survive as buried remains and is included in the scheduling. The upstanding remains are formed of a flint and limestone rubble wall, largely faced with knapped flints with limestone dressings. It is approximately 2.7m wide at its base and stands up to 6m high. The eastern part of the city wall is partly faced in flint arranged in a herringbone pattern dating to about the C10. Elsewhere the wall has been partially refaced, probably in the C19, and along part of its length is topped by a crenellated parapet with a moulded coping. Built up against the back of the city wall is an earthen embankment thought to be of Roman construction, which is included in the scheduling. It is between 6m and 9m wide and up to about 3m high. It runs for over 125m south before following the wall WNW where it becomes broader and shallower before terminating at the pedestrian entrance to Wolvesey Palace from College Street. An external ditch originally surrounded the Roman and medieval city walls and may survive as an in-filled buried feature but is not included in the scheduling as its presence remains unconfirmed. The later property boundary walls built to the west of the pedestrian entrance to Wolvesey Palace are excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath them is included.
The medieval north precinct wall survives at the north of the site and is included in the scheduling. It is a flint and limestone rubble wall, largely faced with knapped flints, with a tiled coping. It runs ENE for 225m from the Cathedral Close wall at the west to the city wall at the east. The wall is thought to have a C14 core but has been partly refaced at a later date. Several openings within the wall are marked by later limestone rubble, squared stone, or ashlar in-fill. The lean-to building at the east end of the north precinct wall is not included in the scheduling but the ground beneath it is included.
THE EARLY MEDIEVAL BISHOP’S PALACE
An early medieval bishop’s palace survives as buried remains in the north of the site. Partial excavation under the north range of the Norman palace has revealed the foundations of a chapel; a masonry oval structure, 11m long, which terminates in eastern and western apses, to which a rectangular chancel was later added. Just to the east of this building was a range of timber structures, whilst bounding it to the south and west was a broad shallow ditch. Documentary sources indicate that the palace also included a hall, a bishop’s chamber and possibly a prison by c.1000. Further buried remains of the early medieval palace are likely to survive at the north of the site, although at least part of it may have been destroyed during the construction of the moat, which surrounded the inner court of the medieval palace.
THE MEDIEVAL BISHOP’S PALACE
The medieval palace was originally approached from a gatehouse, which survives as buried remains beneath the current pedestrian approach off College Street (SU 48401 28977). To the north of the gatehouse are the buried remains of a medieval outer court, which contained stables, barns, a great wool house and the bishop’s prison. Beyond this is the inner court of the medieval palace, the greater part of which remains upstanding.
WEST HALL
At the west of the inner court is the West Hall built in c.1110. It is set on a timber-raft foundation on which are flint walls faced externally with ashlar blocks of diagonally-tooled Quarr stone. The hall is orientated broadly north-south and is 50m long by 24m wide. The walls of the north half of the hall are upstanding up to about 2.5m high but the southern half survives as buried remains, which extend beneath the current bishop’s residence and garden and are included in the scheduling. It originally consisted of a north-south residential block entered from a vestibule at the north-east corner, a tower at the south-west corner, a walled garden at the west and ground floor rooms, later known as cellars, at the east. The main block is adorned with pilaster buttresses on all four sides. Attached to the north-east vestibule are the Caen stone footings of a stair and porch built in c.1135-8. At the south end of the West Hall is a C15 chapel built on Norman foundations. This chapel is Grade I listed and is excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath it is included.
EAST HALL
An East Hall built in c.1135-8 survives to the east of the West Hall. It is orientated north-south and is 44m long by 24m wide at the south end and 18m wide at the north. The building originally comprised a great hall rising the full height of the building, a two storey chamber block to the south, a gallery running nearly the full length of the west side except for a porch at the north-west angle, and a gallery running along the southern half of the east side. The walls are set on foundations of rammed chalk and longitudinal timbers and built of flint rubble with Quarr ashlar dressings. The south gable wall survives to the height of the second floor window arches whilst the opposite gable includes the remains of a later gallery passage that overlooked the hall. Between the gable ends of the hall the east and west walls vary from first floor height to low footings. A chamfered plinth runs along the base of most of the walls. The centre of the south elevation is framed by pilaster buttresses and has round-headed arched openings on three levels. In c.1141-54 Bishop Henry of Blois remodelled the upper part of the East Hall, raising it by a storey. The lower limit of this heightening is marked by a bull-nosed string-course between the first and second floors. The north elevation has pilaster buttresses rising to the level of a square stone string course, above which is the bull-nosed string course and then the remains of a gallery passage. On the internal wall, just beneath the gallery, is a blind arcade of two-centred arches. During the C13 the great hall was remodelled and the west gallery was extended by the insertion of an arcade of three bays to replace the wall on this side. The low foundations of the inserted piers and responds remain.
SOUTH RANGE
The curtain wall of the south range is built of flint rubble, with the remains of a square ashlar-faced turret projecting from the south-east corner. It was built in c.1138-41 to link the West and East Halls. The curtain wall extends south from the south-east corner of the East Hall, where it survives up to about 5m high, before taking a course east towards the chapel. Along most of this easterly section it survives as low footings although a later, probably C19, wall has been built next to it. Incorporated into the curtain wall near Wymond’s Tower are the remains of a well house, accessed down a flight of steps and through a round-headed arch. A medieval gateway also originally stood in the south wall and survives as buried remains. In about 1141 the enclosed area south of the East Hall was partitioned by a thick and heavily buttressed wall running towards the West Hall, much of which is still upstanding and forms a boundary between the central and southern courtyards. Also within this enclosed area are the low footings of a gatehouse and range of buildings, which were inserted between c.1141 and 1154. The structures within the curtain wall were levelled to form a yard when the late C17 bishop’s residence was constructed. The remains of the gatehouse are attached to the low footings of a cross wall, which originally created a second courtyard just to the east of the chapel. Within this courtyard are the buried remains of an earlier well house, built c.1130, including an ashlar-lined tank fed by two lead pipes. In the later C15 or C16 this area was remodelled to form a new approach to the central courtyard. The east side of the new entry was formed of a flint rubble and ashlar wall with a chequer pattern in the west face, which survives as upstanding remains and is built upon a series of relieving arches.
KITCHEN BLOCK
A kitchen block, traditionally known as the ‘Keep’, built in c.1141-54, is attached to the east side of the East Hall. It is about 20m long by 16m wide and built of flint rubble but with external walls with central and clasping pilaster buttresses. There are loopholes on three levels between each pair of pilaster buttresses, although the kitchen was originally of a single storey internally, rising open to the roof. The interior has undergone numerous alterations, and shows the traces of the former positions of ovens and ranges. It is divided internally into four rooms.
WYMOND’S TOWER
Wymond’s Tower stands next to the south-east corner of the East Hall. This tower, originally called the Guiscard Tower, was initially built as a small garderobe turret in c.1141 but enlarged by 1154 to provide a defensive work. The outer faces of the tower are cased in ashlar, with central and clasping pilaster buttresses. The walls of the tower are solid up to second floor level, apart from two latrines. At this level, which was originally reached by an upper wall passage in the East Hall, are the remains of a series of small vaulted chambers giving on to loopholes in the outer wall. A turning stair gave access to the battlements on the level above. The tower is attached to the ‘Keep’ or kitchen block by a curtain wall added in 1372-3, which runs diagonally to the north.
NORTH RANGE
The range of buildings running along the north side of the palace include a latrine block, Woodman’s Gate and curtain walls. The latrine block was added to the north end of the West Hall in c.1138-41 when the eastern and western halls were linked by a curtain wall forming the central courtyard. The walls of the latrine block vary in height from about 1.2m at the east to about 3.5m at the west. Internally it is divided into four rooms with a drain running under the northern two rooms, which originally emptied into the moat. Running from the latrine block to the north-west corner of the East Hall are the upstanding remains of the contemporary curtain wall. Immediately to the south are the low footings of a wall, which formed part of a passage on the northern side of the courtyard. Built up against the south wall of this passage are the below-ground remains of a sunken well-house, about 5m square and constructed of ashlar blocks.
WOODMAN’S GATE
In c.1158-71 Bishop Henry constructed a gatehouse, later known as Woodman’s Gate, reached by a drawbridge over the moat on the northern side of the palace. The upstanding remains of the gatehouse, formed of flint rubble and ashlar walls, include an entrance passage and series of rooms to either side. It is entered from the north through two arches; a round-headed arch and two-centred arch. In 1453-7 the rooms in the gatehouse were remodelled, internal walls were removed, and large windows and fireplaces were inserted, the openings of which survive. The upstanding remains of a curtain wall, which is contemporary with the gatehouse, run to the west and was originally attached to the ‘Keep’ or kitchen block, forming an L-shaped courtyard. At the north end of the East Hall are the footings of a rectangular wine cellar inserted in the later C14. The courtyard was extended east at about this time through the construction of a diagonal curtain wall, which survives as upstanding remains and is contemporary with the wall to the south of the ‘Keep’. The low footings of several bakehouses built, rebuilt and extended in the following two centuries abut this wall.
MOAT AND OUTER COURT
Surrounding the inner court of the medieval palace are the buried remains of a now in-filled moat. Geophysical survey has recorded the likely buried remains of tumble and foundation material from the medieval curtain walls immediately surrounding the palace. Whilst to the south and south-east of the upstanding remains, within the area of the outer court of the medieval palace, geophysical survey has indicated the buried remains of further medieval walls and structures.
THE LATE C17 BISHOP’S PALACE
The scheduling includes the buried remains of the south and west ranges of the late C17 and early C18 century baroque palace. The current bishop’s residence, known as Wolvesey Palace, is Grade I listed and excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included. Partial excavation in 1987 recorded the stone footings of the south range to the west of this residence. Geophysical survey has indicated that further parts of the south and west ranges survive as buried remains.
EXCLUSIONS
The monument excludes: the Grade I listed Wolvesey Palace and Grade II listed Wolvesey Cottages (also called ‘Wolvesey Stables’); modern notice boards and signs; modern fences and fence posts; modern gates and gate posts; garden walls and property boundary walls with the exception of the city wall and north precinct wall; the lean-to building at the east end of the north precinct wall; modern walkways; tarmacadam or gravel surfaces of modern paths, pathways, roads, roadways or car parks; benches; the site hut; garden furniture or ornaments such as the sundial and urns; the greenhouse; the sports pavilion; garden or utility sheds; modern sporting equipment, fixtures and artificial surfaces, including the rugby posts, football goal posts, cricket net, and the long jump track and pit; scoreboards; the flagpole in the playing field; electricity or telephone poles; modern water pipes and electricity cables. However the ground beneath all these features is included.
