Reasons for Designation
Bishops' palaces were high status domestic residences providing luxury
accommodation for the bishops and lodgings for their large retinues; although
some were little more than country houses, others were the setting for great
works of architecture and displays of decoration.
Bishops' palaces were usually set within an enclosure, sometimes moated,
containing a range of buildings, often of stone, including a hall or halls,
chapels, lodgings and a gatehouse, often arranged around a courtyard or
courtyards.
The earliest recorded examples date to the seventh century. Many were occupied
throughout the medieval period and some continued in use into the post-
medieval period; a few remain occupied today. Only some 150 bishops' palaces
have been identified and documentary sources confirm that they were widely
dispersed throughout England. All positively identified examples are
considered to be nationally important.
Details
The monument includes the remains of the bishop's palace at Halling, situated
on the western bank of the River Medway, immediately to the east of the parish
Church of St John the Baptist. The monument includes the site of the great
hall, but further remains of the palace to the east of the monument, and an
associated chapel to the south east, have now been destroyed.
The ruined western wall of the great hall, which is Listed at Grade II,
remains upstanding to a height of around 6m. It was 0.6m thick and built with
a rubble and flint core faced with ragstone blocks interspersed with
occasional knapped flints. The wall is pierced by three, single-light windows,
the northernmost two of which have trefoil cusps, whilst the southernmost is a
simple lancet. The windows are dressed in red ironstone. A further length of
medieval walling continues from the northern end of the standing hall wall
towards the north for 13m, and survives to a height of c.1m. The remainder of
the hall survives to the east in buried form.
The palace was built in 1077, and was rebuilt or substantially altered in
1184, and again between 1320 and 1330 by Bishop Hamo de Hythe. During the 18th
century, much of the palace superstructure was removed, and the hall was
converted into a dwelling house. Further destruction of the ruins took place
in the 19th and 20th centuries. The surviving, upstanding remains were
restored in 1983.
Running towards the east from the northern end of the western hall wall is a
short length of stone walling which formed part of a modern pigsty. This
feature is excluded from the scheduling; a further length of wall which
continues towards the south from the southern end of the hall wall, and which
is constructed of reused medieval masonry, is interpreted as a modern boundary
wall and is therefore also excluded from the scheduling, although the ground
beneath both features is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
25473
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
