Bishop's Palace, Llandaff

Last updated

Bishop's Palace
Llandaff Castle
Bishop's Castle
Old Bishop's Palace
Bishop's Palace, Llandaff 2011 5.jpg
Bishop's Palace Gatehouse in 2011
Location Llandaff, Cardiff
Coordinates 51°29′41″N3°13′03″W / 51.49459°N 3.21755°W / 51.49459; -3.21755
Original useResidence of the bishops of Llandaff
Owner Cardiff Council
Cardiff UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Bishop's Palace
Location of the Bishop's Palace in Cardiff
Official nameOld Bishop's Palace, Llandaff [1]
Reference no.GM073 [1]
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameRuins of the Old Bishop's Palace [2]
Designated19 May 1975;48 years ago (1975-05-19) [2]
Reference no.13718 [2]

The Bishop's Palace, which is also known as Llandaff Castle or Bishop's Castle or the Old Bishop's Palace, [3] [4] [1] is the ruined residence of the bishops of Llandaff. It is located a short distance to the south of Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales. The twin-towered gatehouse is one of the few remaining structures.Its also known as the uncommon. The uncommon is when a group of boys that are up to no good decide to have a battle on the green. The activities that mostly likely are to be played is football, NFL, Golf and even some hockey. No matter the weather they will be out there fighting!

Contents

History

Historic images of Bishop's Palace
John Speed's map of Landaffe (cropped).png
John Speed's depiction of the Bishop's Palace in 1610
Bishop's Palace, LLandaff (without frame).jpeg
Richard Bernard Godfrey's 1775 engraving of the Bishop's Palace
Llandaff, Old Gateway to Bishops Palace (without frame).jpg
Francis Bedford's photograph of the Bishop's Palace c.1880

The surviving gatehouse resembles the architecture of Caerphilly Castle, which may indicate that the same master mason worked on both fortifications. [5] This would date the Palace to the time of William de Braose who became Bishop of Llandaff in 1266. [5] [6] It is believed the Palace was attacked and damaged by Owain Glyndŵr in the rebellion of 1402–05, and was subsequently abandoned by the bishop of the period, [5] who moved to live at Mathern Palace in Monmouthshire; bishops did not return to live near their cathedral again until 1850. The Bishops Palace was intact in 1610 when it was shown in a plan by John Speed, but was probably destroyed during the English Civil War. [7]

The site

The Bishop's Palace was really a small medieval fortress set in a rectangular enclosure measuring 52 by 40 m (170 by 130 ft). It had four irregular lengths of curtain wall, three towers and a gatehouse at the west corner. One of the towers was square and another was round, while the third has disappeared completely. The remains of the gatehouse survive to this day. It has two towers and originally had two storeys above the basement, a vaulted archway, a portcullis slot and a great oak door with much decorative ironwork. There would have been timber buildings within the courtyard, but there is now no sign of these.

Present-day images inside Bishop's Palace
Bishop's Palace, Llandaff 22 Feb 2022 (1).jpg
Bishop's Palace, Llandaff 2011 4.jpg

The Bishop's Palace buildings are Grade I listed, [8] meaning they are of exceptional architectural and historical interest.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llandaff</span> District and community of Cardiff, Wales

Llandaff is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese within the Church in Wales covers the most populous area of Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ewenny Priory</span> Former monastery in Wales

Ewenny Priory, in Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, was a monastery of the Benedictine order, founded in the 12th century. The priory was unusual in having extensive military-style defences and in its state of preservation; the architectural historian John Newman described it as “the most complete and impressive Norman ecclesiastical building in Glamorgan”. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, parts of the priory were converted into a private house by Sir Edward Carne, a lawyer and diplomat. This Elizabethan house was demolished between 1803 and 1805 and replaced by a Georgian mansion, Ewenny Priory House. The house is still owned by the Turbervill family, descendants of Sir Edward. The priory is not open to the public apart from the Church of St Michael, the western part of the priory building, which continues to serve as the parish church for the village. The priory is in the care of Cadw and is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Listed building</span> Protected historic structure in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland. The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland, where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is "protected structure".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denbigh Castle and town walls</span> Ruined castle and fortifications in Denbigh, Wales

Denbigh Castle and town walls were built to control the lordship of Denbigh after the Conquest of Wales by Edward I of England in 1282. The lands were granted to Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, who began to build a new walled town, colonised by immigrants from England, protected by a substantial castle and surrounded by deer parks for hunting. The work had not been completed by 1294, when the Welsh temporarily seized the castle during the Madog ap Llywelyn revolt. The defences continued to be improved, although the castle was not completely finished by the time of Henry's death in 1311.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidwelly Castle</span> Norman castle in Wales

Kidwelly Castle is a Norman castle overlooking the River Gwendraeth and the town of Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanthony Priory</span> Grade I listed priory in Wales, UK

Llanthony Priory is a partly ruined former Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep-sided once-glaciated valley within the Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It lies seven miles north of Abergavenny on an old road to Hay-on-Wye at Llanthony. The priory ruins lie to the west of the prominent Hatterrall Ridge, a limb of the Black mountains. The main ruins are under the care of Cadw and entrance is free.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Padarn's Institute</span> House / College in Cardiff, Wales

St Padarn's Institute came into being in 2016. Until then the site belonged to St Michael's College, an Anglican theological college in Llandaff, Wales. St Michael's college was founded in Aberdare in 1892, and was situated in Llandaff from 1907 until 2016. Among its many alumni was the poet R. S. Thomas. The original building on the site was a house constructed for himself by John Prichard. After his death, that building was incorporated into the newly founded St Michael's College, which was built mainly to the designs of F. R. Kempson between 1905 and 1907. In the late 1950s, a chapel was built by George Pace. The college had significant financial problems in the early 21st century and was eventually closed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llantilio Crossenny</span> Human settlement in Wales

Llantilio Crossenny is a small village and much larger former community, now in the community of Whitecastle, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom. It is situated between the two towns of Abergavenny and Monmouth on the B4233 road. The community included Penrhos, and Llanvihangel-Ystern-Llewern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penhow Castle</span> Castle in Penhow, Newport

Penhow Castle, Penhow, Newport dates from the early 12th century. Extended and reconstructed in almost every century since, it has been claimed to be the oldest continuously-inhabited castle in Wales. The castle is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathern Palace</span> Historic site in Monmouthshire, Wales

Mathern Palace is a Grade I listed building in the village of Mathern, Monmouthshire, Wales, located some 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of Chepstow close to the Severn Estuary. Between about 1408 and 1705 it was the main residence of the Bishops of Llandaff. After falling into ruin, it was restored and its gardens laid out between 1894 and 1899 by the architectural writer Henry Avray Tipping. The garden surrounding the palace is listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Listed buildings in Cardiff</span> Protected buildings in Cardiff, Wales

There are around 1,000 listed buildings in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. A listed building is one considered to be of special architectural, historical or cultural significance, which is protected from being demolished, extended or altered, unless special permission is granted by the relevant planning authorities. The Welsh Government makes decisions on individual cases, taking advice from the heritage agency Cadw, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and local councils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grade I listed buildings in Monmouthshire</span>

Monmouthshire is a county and principal area of Wales. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. The largest town is Abergavenny, with the other major towns being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The county is 850 km2 in extent, with a population of 95,200 as of 2020. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into effect in 1996, and comprises some sixty percent of the historic county. Between 1974 and 1996, the county was known by the ancient title of Gwent, recalling the medieval Welsh kingdom. In his essay on local government in the fifth and final volume of the Gwent County History, Robert McCloy suggests that the governance of "no county in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century was so transformed as that of Monmouthshire".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grade I listed buildings in Pembrokeshire</span>

This is a list of Grade I-listed buildings in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grade I listed buildings in Powys</span>

In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In Wales, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Cadw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grade I listed buildings in the Vale of Glamorgan</span>

There are 33 Grade I listed buildings in the Vale of Glamorgan all of which are churches and priory buildings, castles, country or manor houses and associated structures such as churchyard crosses and a dovecote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire</span> List of buildings in principal area of Wales

Monmouthshire is a county and principal area of Wales. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. The largest town is Abergavenny, with the other major towns being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The county is 850 km2 in extent, with a population of 95,200 as of 2020. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into effect in 1996, and comprises some sixty percent of the historic county. Between 1974 and 1996, the county was known by the ancient title of Gwent, recalling the medieval Welsh kingdom. In his essay on local government in the fifth and final volume of the Gwent County History, Robert McCloy suggests that the governance of "no county in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century was so transformed as that of Monmouthshire".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moynes Court</span> Historic site in Monmouthshire, Wales

Moynes Court is a Grade II* listed building in the village of Mathern, Monmouthshire, Wales, about 3 miles (4.8 km) south west of Chepstow. An earlier building was rebuilt as a private residence by Francis Godwin, Bishop of Llandaff, in about 1609/10, and much of the building remains from that period. Its grounds contain earthworks thought to be the foundations of an earlier moated manor house. The gatehouse to the court has a separate Grade II* listing. The garden at the court is on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Registered historic parks and gardens in Carmarthenshire</span> List of buildings in county of Wales

Carmarthenshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. It covers an area of 2,370 km2 (920 sq mi). In 2021 the population was approximately 188,200.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cadw. "Old Bishop's Palace, Llandaff (GM256)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Cadw. "Ruins of the Old Bishop's Palace (Grade I) (13718)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  3. "Llandaff". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  4. "Old Bishop's Palace (96079)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Pettifer, Adrian (2000). Welsh Castles: A Guide by Counties . The Boydell Press. p.  97. ISBN   0-85115-778-5.
  6. A history of Wales from the earliest period , p. 420, at Google Books
  7. "Llandaff Bishops Palace". Gatehouse. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  8. "Ruins of the Old Bishop's Palace". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 March 2013.